So H and I are having a bit of a mice problem. Our D is having a problem in her apt with too. We’re using the old fashioned snap traps for now…thinking of adding the electric ones that zap the mice…Anyone had any luck with those?
Also, D said she swept up an area where droppings had been and vacuumed up an area of the carpet where droppings had been and now she’s worried about hantavirus (thank you google). I’ve vacuumed up areas where droppings had been and I’m fine…D lives in NV by that way…I told her to stop looking at google…
We’re experts, ha. Deal with them at our cabin. This is the best we’ve found. Easier to get lots of mice and easier to dispose of them. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6SIlYiiCGLI
Traps, schmaps. When my daughter had a mouse in her Washington, DC apartment a few years ago, she called maintenance and a huge guy came up, located the mouse in the closet, and stomped it to death with his work boots.
Then somebody came in the next day and put steel wool around the places where pipes come in to the apartment because apparently that’s how mice get into individual apartments within a building. Your daughter might want to inquire with her building’s management about steps that can be taken to avoid mice getting into her apartment.
It also helps to get rid of things that attract mice. We had mice in our basement a while back and my husband eventually discovered the cause – a tiny rip in a bag of grass seed in the garage just above the basement and an equally tiny hole in the wall that enabled the mice to get into the basement from the garage. He figured this out after he saw mice climbing up and down the basement walls. Once he got rid of the grass seed, the problem ended.
She has talked to maintenance and the management office. The maintenance guy did block some holes and put out traps. The exterminator guy who serves the apt complex as needed, put out more traps.
She cleaned up and put away food…so we’ll see!
We’ve set out traps and tried to get rid of all trash…so guess it’s just the waiting game.
I am going to construct a soda bottle (+ coat hanger) + bucket trap like in the video (Thanks for the link! @MaineLonghorn ). We have evidence of mice in the attic (lots of droppings) but in the past 11 years of living in this house I have never seen a mouse or any evidence in the house (no droppings, nothing disturbed in the cupboards) so I might just put a trap in the attic to see if there is anything currently going on up there… besides the squirrels.
@NJres, good luck! That trap works really well. We used to set individual traps and it was such a pain. It’s kind of scary how many mice we catch in the homemade trap. It’s hard to get a cabin airtight, no matter how much you caulk the logs.
We kept on catching them until we called in the pros. With their professional traps we were able to figure out the route the mice were taking and we found the hole they were coming in from. Sealed it up and no more mice.
“Then somebody came in the next day and put steel wool around the places where pipes come in to the apartment because apparently that’s how mice get into individual apartments within a building.”
Good suggestion. We now use a year round pest control company and they use steel wool to plug up any exterior gaps and bait stations on the outside of the house which seems to have eliminated any issues inside the home.
Another variation on the bucket style trap is to fill the bucket with water, put the wood ramp up to the top of the bucket and float sunflower seeds on the top.
I’ve heard these bucket type traps referred to as the “Stairway to Heaven”.
Three year old son named the mouse in our house “Friendly” and we were able to catch and release it with a shoebox as it scurried from wherever- some twenty plus years ago in a newly built house near woods. Builder filled any entry points.
More pertinent and up to date. We had rats that chewed a soffit corner and the pros sealed the entry point plus traps. Had gotten a few of my own baited with peanut butter (which doesn’t decay and smell weeks later, btw). In the store discovered different sized traps for mice and rats. Put traps in attic from garage access point. Learned to not use poison to kill them as then could have dead rats in some far away corner. A poison trap was placed outside near the entry point but never entered.
When we had a mouse inside our house, we had good luck with just a traditional snap trap. We laid out several of them exactly where we had seen the droppings and it only took a couple days. Never found anymore droppings, so we figured we were good.
Now if you ever have a chipmunk infestation in your neighborhood and they are burrowing under your walkway and already caused a neighbor’s walkway to collapse - well, I’ve got a solution for you. DH had tried the “stairway to heaven” approach to no avail. I did research and found that it works best if you place the 5 gallon bucket upside down over the hole. Dig a tiny trench for them to follow that leads to one of those black plastic (Tomcat) rat traps with peanut butter on it. The total count over the fall between us and three neighbors doing it was mind boggling. We also caught a couple mice this. And a possum. Who totally played possum. DH released the trap thinking the thing was dead - and it ran off. He was just grateful it didn’t attack him!
@patsmom I’ll got out and buy it after work! Does the rat zapper also work on mice or is there a specific “mice zapper?”
My parents live in a brand new house in a retirement community and even they’ve had mice…but only once. Probably because there is a lot of construction nearby…
The Rat Zapper works with both mice and rats. It just has a larger opening so rats can get in. You bait it with dry food (we used dry dog food kibble) so as not to mess up the electronic plate on the bottom. There is a Mouse Zapper, too, but I can’t vouch for the quality. Some of the reviews aren’t great. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Victor-Mouse-Zapper-Electronic-Mouse-Trap/50092422
Yup. Rat Zappers work with mice. If you bait your traps in the garage with peanut butter, and you are known to have ant problems, I highly recommend adding borax to the PB. This is what Mr. B did after discovering that PB in mouse traps began to attract ants. Problem solved.
This is what Mr. B did after discovering that PB in mouse traps began to attract ants. Problem solved.