Mice. Any suggestions?

[Wicked Blue]

Cat died a few months ago.

Now mouse poop appearing in several places around the house.

Dogs don't seem to care.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. New cat.

[Wicked Blue]

8. Thought of that

but I'm tired of cleaning the litterbox, lugging heavy boxes of litter (even the lightweight weighs too much), and lugging filled bags of used litter and cat byproducts upstairs to the carport trash bin.

I love cats, have had many, the last one was 17 when she passed. But my arthritis is saying no.

[TheBlackAdder]

57. YouTube Channel Shawn Woods--MouseTrap Mondays. Walk the plank is one of the best.

.

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShawnWoodsprimitive-archer/videos

.

[jmbar2]

2. Get another cat

[Sanity Claws]

3. Another cat?

Maybe two?

[Phoenix61]

4. Live traps, lots of them. I can't handle killing

anything. My dad used to do the same thing.

[Binkie The Clown]

5. Mouse traps baited with peanut butter.

I saw mouse turds a few weeks ago. Set down traps and caught 3 of them. No more signs since then.

[CrispyQ]

6. This happens every time our house goes catless.

Two months, max, & the little scratching sounds in the walls. Time to get another cat.

Sorry about the loss of your friend.

[apcalc]

7. Seal cracks in foundation, openings around outdoor pipes

Leading into the house, gaps in between bricks and the like

Buy some D-con spread it in basement

Get a new cat? Sorry about your other...

[BusyBeingBest]

9. 5 gallon bucket, ramp running up side,

dowel through the diameter/rim, round oatmeal box or similar cylinder that spins freely, smeared with peanut butter. They run up the ramp, leap onto the cylinder to get the peanut butter, it immediately spins and drops them into bucket. I don't like killing them, especially inside my house where they might have fleas that jump ship (I live in a plague area), so we do this and take them away from houses and let them go. Then seal up entry points with Great Stuff or sheetmetal or grates. Edit to add: inside we have kitties, this is our garage setup.

[OregonBlue]

30. Can also stuff steel wool around all entry points. They won't chew it and it's very cheap.

[Clearly fogged in]

10. Never trust a cat

There is a stray nearby, planting mouse droppings as evidence of your needs, hoping you pick up on the clues.

[In_The_Wind]

14. Good kitty.

[Rorey]

19. LOL

I've got four cats, and none of mine are that smart.

[JenniferJuniper]

11. Seal the house up. Prevent them from coming in.

We found an entry where the AC unit enters the house. Sealed it up and they've haven't been back.

Unless it's a very small infestation (and few are very small - they reproduce at very rapid rates) cats won't catch them all. Trap or poison (if no other pets or small children around) the ones in the house. Then seal up the house to prevent them from coming back next season.

[mpcamb]

42. That's the ultimate answer.

In the meantime peanut butter baited traps.

[In_The_Wind]

12. Glue traps. Stuff steel-wool around pipes.

[Rorey]

17. Steel wool, yes

Glue traps are cruel. My now-ex-husband worked for a company that used them in their office. He felt pretty bad having to free little lizards that got stuck on the traps.

[In_The_Wind]

22. I live with a parrot and small birds. Mice drive my rescued terrier crazy.

I don't want to live with wild creatures in my home.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. Glue traps are horrid and inhumane. If you usr traps get those that kill instantly.

[Disaffected]

53. And barbaric (glue traps)

I'd use live traps, release them outside and seal the house. I live in the country and haven't had a mouse in the house in decades (and without a cat).

Sealing the house is something you should do anyhow to prevent cold or hot air and water infiltration and to keep out insects as well as mice.

[Rorey]

13. In my experience

The most important thing is to figure out where they're getting in.

We bought a house as an investment that was overrun with mice. After we got the house cleaned out, and spraying with a bleach water solution, I went around the whole house on my hands and knees and found a little hole they had gnawed through to get in. I blocked it with steel wool before covering it with trim.

Then we used these green cube things that I tossed around under the house, but I wouldn't advise that you use that without checking it out because it was probably poison, and you wouldn't want your dogs getting sick, or worse.

I don't like using poison if I can possibly help it. I feel like you're not just killing the mice, you're also killing predators of the mice. Trapping is probably your only answer after plugging up their access.

I don't like killing things, but mice do bring a lot of disease. I've found that the live trap thing really only works for a little bit.

[procon]

15. Live traps work for me.

You don't touch anything dirty, the mouse is locked inside and you just take him outside and set him free. No killing or a horrible slow and painful death like those ghastly glue traps.

[Corgigal]

18. Borrow a neighbors

female, youngish cat. Just a few days, then give her back.

[applegrove]

21. Foster a cat.

[Kali]

23. close access points and snap traps

baited with peanut butter and a chocolate chip or bacon. all other methods have major drawbacks, search this topic + my name and you will see my reasons/experience.

the most reliable, fast killing, humane way to get rid of vermin from your living space.

[Rorey]

27. Anybody who watches a mouse in a live trap

will know that they pee and poop pretty much every second. They're disgusting and carry disease, so I have always done what I felt I had to do.

[MissB]

24. Snap traps

I’m not nice to mice. Sorry, not sorry.

We fixed the area where they were coming in, I think folks have said that enough times now. It’s an important step.

I lost my best mouser last year. He was ruthless. He’d decapitate them (perfect cut, not a mouse hair out of place from the neck forward) and bring me those. He’d eat most of the rest.

My other cat- well, in theory she should be a great mouser. She’s a tortie. In reality? She actually *seeds* the house with live mice. She loves the chase but isn’t into killing them. She just brings them inside. We’ve cut off her hunting abilities because we were winning that battle, thank you very much.

If you’re not into snap traps (I like some black plastic reusable ones I found on Amazon- much safer for humans, still deadly for mice), then I suggest a tall waste basket. Put the peanut butter or whatever at the bottom and make sure they can get in- pile some stuff up outside so they can make their way inside.

Once inside, they can’t get out. You can do whatever your conscience allows with them.

[orleans]

25. no kill traps

(hold them in gerbil cages or waterless aquariums. mice make interesting cute pets; my daughter has had pet mice for years and they all have different quirks and personalities. the females live together really well, the males tend to fight each other and be assholes so she had to separate the males into their own aquariums)

[sinkingfeeling]

28. Please do not use glue traps. They are the most inhumane trap

ever invented. I had a poor mouse skin itself alive 30 years ago and swore to only use live traps since.

[BusyBeingBest]

31. Having used one once, it's horrifying. Never again.

[Disaffected]

55. Agreed 100%

I can't understand why they are allowed. Mice are sentient mammals like dogs, cats, horses, cattle - why the difference in protective legislation?

[BainsBane]

29. Just One Bite II

Is the only thing I've found that really works.

[OregonBlue]

32. We have a big Maine Coon. When we moved into our new house, he just ignored them.

I have two little Rat Terrier/Chihuahua doggies. They went after them and cleaned them all out in days. Terriers make great mouse traps.

[Wicked Blue]

33. Our cats never caught mice

Maybe the smell of cat kept the mice away

I love Maine Coons. Had a wonderful one for 15 years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. I had a cat who caught and ate a mouse in the living room while I was trying to read.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. It was disturbing.

[OregonBlue]

44. Yes. He's our second. Had our first for 14 years. He weighed 23 lbs. Sweetest cats ever.

[3catwoman3]

35. We had mice a while back, and discovered they had a nest...

...right under the rugs where our cats sleep in the basement -

[Wicked Blue]

36. That's bold of the mice! nt

[AmyStrange]

37. I don't know if this will work for you...

-

I had a big, big RAT PROBLEM, but one day I accidently left a bag of powdered mash potatoes out on the counter, and the next day, I found the bag busted open and powder all over the place.

That was two years ago, and I haven't seen a rat since.
============

[Wicked Blue]

38. That's fascinating

I wonder if the stuff swelled up in their stomachs and blocked their digestive systems.

[AmyStrange]

39. That's what I was thinking too...

-

or they got thirsty, drank some water, and kaboom.
===========

[left-of-center2012]

40. Glue traps

I worked a place some years ago that had a mice problem.

they bought these cardboard things that had glue in it and it caught the mice inside and then you threw the whole thing into the dumpster.

It may have been baited with some odor.

[Disaffected]

52. And utterly inhumane.

How would you like to die a slow death trapped in something similar??

[left-of-center2012]

54. You know what they say about opinions?

[Disaffected]

56. Sure, laugh it off.

Your response says as much about you as your OP.

[Tracer]

41. I thought that I had ONE mouse.

So I bought a "humane" mouse trap and set it where I'd seen the "one" mouse.

I caught "one" mouse for 14 straight days!

At that point, I called an exterminator who checked for entry points outside and inside, and laid bait traps in various places around the house.

As of two days ago, I've collected 9 dead mice from the basement. Have not seen any other bodies since then. I hope my mice have decamped.

[eppur_se_muova]

43. Honey mustard. Oh, wait, you meant ... nt

[OregonBlue]

45. Get a rat terrier. She will clean them all out.

[Vinnie From Indy]

46. Definitely go with some snakes.

They will clear up that problem.

[CTyankee]

47. We had one seveal months ago. Got an exterminator. He put down those paper traps but

no mice were caught on them. There are none now. The exterminator must have done something because there is no sign of them nor of their poop.

[mnhtnbb]

48. Get a pair of kittens. Or adopt an older already bonded pair of cats.

I had mice in an old house when we lived in Lincoln, NE. Adopted a pair of kitties from a little old cat lady who advertised free kittens in the local paper (1994). Our boys, Simba and Mouse, had been born in two different litters within days of each other and grew up as brothers. Brought them home and the mice disappeared. They were the most wonderful kitties and we never had mice again in any of the houses where we lived with them.

[temporary311]

49. If its mice and not rats,

bait your traps with peanut butter.

[Wolf Frankula]

50. You need a professional,

a live-in professional. Go to a shelter and hire one. Make sure they go purr and meow and are in good enough health. The professional will expect free room and board, sanitary facilities, medical care, scratches and rubs, and to be able to take a break when they want to.

Wolf

[Hotler]

51. stir fried.....

[orangecrush]

58. New cat(s)

[Alpeduez21]

59. Yeah, you definitely got to get rid of them

I, too nominate catch and release baited with PB. I take them at least a mile away.

I completely sympathize with your unwillingness/inability to handle another cat.

What kind of mice are they? Small grey are indoor mice(house mice?) Brownish with a white belly and bigger are field mice. The field mice are coming in from outside. So get your house looked at and sealed.

There is a snake repellent that is biofriendly/nontoxic. An exterminator acquaintance places it around the house perimeter and swears it works. I don't know if it smells inside or anything. Use that or something like it, seal the house, catch and release.

It's a process getting rid of mice, man.

P.S. This is my 1,000 post.