Mice Issue!!!

ellacoach

ellacoach

Member
Feb 24, 2007
5,785
3
#1
So a couple of weeks ago, we found out that we had mice…my husband was up late one night, and went into the kitchen and found one sitting in front of our dishwasher! About a week later, I found a lot of mouse droppings under our kitchen sink. So we cleaned that up and set out one of the 'Have a Heart' mouse traps. Success! My husband took the mouse out in the woods and set it free. And since then, we have caught at least 5 more mice! Each time, my husband takes it out into the woods and sets it free…

What we are wondering is if these are different mice or is it the same mouse coming back? I find it hard to believe (or I don't want to believe) that we have a large family of mice living in our house! Each time my husband takes one to set it free he walks it a little further into the woods. Next time he said he's going to drive it down the road! Which will probably be tomorrow because I found more droppings under the sink last night!

Thoughts..do you think it's the same mouse or do you think we have a family? And if it's the same mouse what the hell do we do? Besides setting a trap other than the "have a heart" which I don't think we'd feel comfortable doing. I know it's just a mouse...but still...
 
#2
I had a problem with mice. Try cramming steel wool pads into every small opening you can find. I put it around the pipe that goes to the heater in my kitchen and I have not seen a mouse since. It is amazing how small of a space they can squeeze through. Good luck, I know this is a tough problem.
 
#3
I had mice in my first apartment (a duplex), and I know how you feel about not wanting to harm them. The steel wool trick is great! They can't chew through it so it keeps them out. Stuff it into every single opening you can find - especially around pipes and drains. Every hole in the home or foundation. If you keep finding the droppings under the sink, my guess is they're coming in from outside through an opening in that general area, probably around a pipe that leads to the outside. As the above poster said, mice can fit through the tiniest holes imaginable. You could also try one of those Riddex or electric plug-in things that supposedly repels them with some high frequency sound.

Again, it would be my guess that the mice are not actually residing in your house, but coming in from outside, and probably there is a nest/colony/whatever-you-call-it of mice living near your home. Do you have a vacant or overgrown lot near your home? A firewood pile? Piles of anything?

We had a situation a few months ago with a mouse in our kitchen. We have cats and have never had a single mouse in our home (although our city has a large rat/mouse problem). We have an older home and a popular shortcut back then was to vent the vent-a-hood exhaust fan pipe into the attic instead of outside. Well, somehow this little guy got into our attic and fell down the pipe and was sitting in the vent-a-hood over our stove! My husband had to disassemble the entire thing at 10 PM at night to get him out. :lol:
 
Last edited:
#4
so people may say im wrong for this but get a cat . i have 2 cats and they kill the mice i have to then dump the mouse in the out side trash . i do not get them that bad with cats in the house maybe 1 a year if that . but im also a cat person so i would have cats even if i never had mice .
 
#5
We used the live mice trap when we had a mouse problem and it seemed like they kept coming back. I read online that they can travel 2 mile back to their home, so if you are letting them go drive them away really far. We ended up buying a cat and all the mice moved out. My cat never caught a mouse but I guess her scent sent them packing.
 
#6
Thanks everyone!

I will try the steel wool suggestion for sure.

We have a 16 year old cat, but she's useless at catching mice...I got her when she was a kitten and when she was old enough I had her declawed (front claws only) as she was doing damage to the apartment I was living in. We had another cat that passed away 2 years ago that was a Predator when it came to catching mice. We never had a problem with mice when she was around, except that she would occasionally leave us presents...if you know what I mean.

pmburk, it's interesting you ask if we have a wood pile etc...We have a large brush pile on the other side of our lawn that has been there for about 2 years, that we keep adding to and actually intend to take care of this year finally. Perhaps they are living in that brush pile...and coming in from the outside. The kitchen is on that side of the yard (although the pile is on the far end of that lawn).

I don't want to hurt them, but I'm sick of cleaning up mice poop!
 
#7
^ Yep, that's it! I would just about guarantee you that the mice are living in that pile and coming into your house from there. Once you get rid of the pile, the problem will probably disappear.
 
#9
There is no such thing as 'a mouse'. You have a mouse, you have mice, possibly many. I thought I had one. I started setting traps -- 10 dead mice later, I still found evidence of them. I didn't want to use poisons becuase I didn't want my cat getting sick if she caught one. She doesn't kill them, she plays with them like cat toys until they get worn out and die from exhaustion.

I finally gave in and placed poison baits where I though the mice wouldn't be an issue for the cat. Five or six sets of baits later and I finally stopped seeing traces of them. I figure there must have been 20 or more.

This is an older farm house deep in the country and we have a wide variety of critters, so mice are common.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back