<p>all that experimentation with lab mice, proves that evolution does work.</p>
<p>We haven’t seen any mice, but we do have “tree rats” (squirrels) and chipmunks getting into our attic. Two were caught this week, one in a sticky trap & one in a hav-a-hart trap. I’m heading to HomeDepot/Lowe’s to buy more sticky traps so we can line the perimeter of all of the attics. We had a pest service for a while, but some of their guys refused to deal with critters so I fired them and bought more traps. I just wish we could determine how they’re getting inside. Dh sealed several tiny openings along the roof line last spring, but it seems they’ve chewed more.</p>
<p>I just ordered two pest repellers from Amazon, too. I don’t really expect them to work, but dh wants to try anyway. </p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on chunky peanut butter. That’s on my list for today, too.</p>
<p>We have LOTS of mice this year. I had seen one mouse in 10 years in my yard prior to this year. But we had an early, warm spring, and I think they got in an extra round of multiplication this year. I saw them in my garden this summer, found one in the insulation in my basement (as we were patching the rotten board near it), and had them take up residence in my garage for the first time.</p>
<p>I tried smearing the peanut button on the top AND below the little trigger tab. That worked for the mouse that had licked off the peanut butter a few times previously.</p>
<p>Years ago, I learned that there were two types of families in my neighborhood: People with mice, and people with cats. No amount of traps or poison could get rid of the mice without a cat, and with a cat no traps or poison was necessary. I’ve never heard of a family who had both cats and mice, although maybe if your cats are declawed they have gotten out of the mouse-catching business.</p>
<p>When we got our first cat, shortly after the research described above was concluded, the mice were gone in two weeks, and didn’t reappear until more than a year after he died. We tried the trap/bait thing for a few years, and were CONSTANTLY cleaning droppings out of everywhere. In the three years since we got our current cat, I have not seen dropping #1.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Your cats aren’t pulling their weight. You need a fully operational cat.</p>
<p>I love cats but I too have a DH that would need to go to the ER if a cat was in the house. I’ll try the electronic trap. Though, I will pass on the chunky peanut butter suggestion to DH who due to his cat allergy, must set the traps. My mom uses glue traps and puts oil at their feet to un-glue them and release them outside. She has cats, but they often bring them in to play with and lose interest before they’re dead.</p>
<p>Peanut butter, oatmeal and a little water. Make a paste which dries pretty hard. The mice will not get the food without springing the trap. A very few mice will be quick enough to spring the trap and avoid getting caught. The odds are against them.</p>
<p>We have both mice and a very good hunter cat. The mice are in the cabinets…the cat doesn’t go inside them!! We don’t have too many mice in the house itself because the cat gets them (or leaves her scent or whatever…). I suppose I could leave all of my cabinet doors open so the cat could prowl around but really, the traps are working just fine IN the cupboards.</p>
<p>The secret…the cat has to be HUNGRY. We feed ours less in the winter. </p>
<p>Years ago, I had a funny cat who was not a hunter. We lived in an old farmhouse. She loved her cat food but not the mice. She would sit with me on the couch and sometimes we (together) would watch a mouse scamper across the room. She had NO interest.</p>
<p>The problem with the mice is they shouldnt be outside near your house to begin with. Don’t leave any leaves or debris outside for them to make nests in and dont have any food around to attract them. Then when it gets cold out there wont be any outside wanting to come inside. Like people who leave animal food outside and feed birds. Hello you are also feeding the mice. I like trapping them alive on sticky traps too sometimes cause then i can use my blowgun:)</p>
<p>we had mice in the house on more than one occasion. They are disgusting…not to mention a health hazard and also can chew thru wires and create a fire hazard as well. We too have had cats the same time as the mice , but it’s not that easy for them to get into the cabinets and under the sink.
When the kids were younger ,we came home after taking them to see " Stuart Little " , only to find a dismembered fella on the floor ;)</p>
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<p>Good thought…but our house is situated in a very wooded rural area. The mice were here LONG before the houses. We’d have to clear cut the land not to have leaves and other debris outside.</p>
<p>I have a 65 mustang that spends the winter in a wood garage. We keep a tin of moth balls inside the car and it works like a charm to keep the mice out of the car (and the garage for that matter). Of course, it takes about a week of letting the windows down in the spring before you can stand to take the car out.</p>
<p>We also live in a rural area, and I use tom cat baits which I have been buying from Lowe’s. They are green blocks, not the pellets that can get spread around. The way my house is set up, I am able to toss them into the blocks in the foundation, as well as under the cabinets. Knock on wood, but no mouse droppings yet. They are p nut butter flavored, so keep far away from dogs, but cats won’t go near them.</p>
<p>I also have a very old cat, in her youth she was a great mouser, but I think just having cat smells around also deters the mice.</p>
<p>Mice are not cute when they poo all over and you have to scrub and disinfect!</p>
<p>I also live in the woods and share the area with resident wildlife - up until the point where they are trespassing in my territory (house). Have a cat who hunts but who definately prefers the taste of the wild population to the ones that have moved indoors. The indoor ones actually steal the cat crunchies right out of her bowl because I have found cat crunchies hoarded in all sorts of strange places, some even appeared in my shoe overnight once.</p>
<p>I prefer “the better mousetrap” plastic type to the victor spring loaded type of trap - so much easier to set, dispose of corpse, and set again. The mice in my house have a taste for butter so that is what I smear on the bait spot of the trap.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Intruder 16000 Better Mouse Trap 2 per Package: Home Improvement](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Intruder-16000-Better-Mouse-Package/dp/B000NCTKTM]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Intruder-16000-Better-Mouse-Package/dp/B000NCTKTM)</p>
<p>When our cat falls down on the job (like last night) we have luck with these traps–
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DH baits them with shaving soap, which is what we see the little teeth marks in!</p>
<p>I prefer the traps to waking up at night and hearing munching sounds coming from under my bed.</p>
<p>We use the intruder traps, too. I’ve never baited them, but we catch the stupid ones anyway. Our mice are fond of the dog food – have found little dog food bites in places the dog has never been! We now put her bowl in the fridge before bedtime.</p>
<p>We live on the edge of town with fields in front & back of our house. Only 2 varmints I don’t like are mice & snakes, although spiders are close behind. Mice come in the garage when it gets cold out. We set the old fashioned snap traps with cheese (but will try butter because cheese dries out). S found one in the kitchen recently, but I think it was lost. Dog didnt’ seem to care at all. </p>
<p>I also think the dog helps keep the snakes away. They know when there’s a dog in the yard, although we have found them in the front yard where the dog doesn’t go. S2 saw one in the basement when we first moved in.</p>
<p>A couple of days ago, a mouse walked by our 16 year old cat, who was snoozing by the “Warm Spot” (kick space heater in kitchen). She never opened an eye, mouse disappeared of course! I asked her if perhaps she was “retired?” We also inherited D’s cat who has a front leg missing, however, she does catch mice with one front paw! </p>
<p>Mouse traps? We use pieces of raw hot dog, tied down with thread. Seems to avoid them stealing the food & not springing the trap.</p>