Mouse control question

[sun_set_bravely]

So, we live in a small apartment with a dog and a bird. But there are these other creatures who have taken up residence -- several small mice. Normally, I'd just be annoyed by the mouse droppings on our fridge, counters, tabletops, and stove, but now I think the mouse is crawling INTO OUR BIRD'S CAGE and eating the discarded seed shells.

This is not okay. I want to rid our house of these mice. We've tried those super-sonic plug-in things, plain cheap-o mouse traps, and the slightly fancier snap traps with black covers. We caught one with the black-cover trap, but these mice are smarter than us, as they are detonating the cheap-o ones and then eating the bait. This means that we are now feeding the mice.

Does anyone have any tried-and-true mouse control options? (Besides a cat -- our dog would eat it.) I'd be very sad if my little bird got hurt by a mouse crawling in its cage at night.

Comments

[lolliejean.livejournal.com]

Back when I lived in a brand new house North of Atlanta there were field mice. We used some kind of blue poison stuff (yes, it's icky but I'm sorry, no mice). It was in a little box, we put it out where we suspected they were coming in from outside. They take the stuff back to where they live so it stops new mice from moving in.

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

I thought about poison - but I worry about the other animals - could our dog eat the mouse that ate the poison and die? What about the bird?

[lolliejean.livejournal.com]

Well.. I had Rocket back then and he never ate the stuff.. but it was in a cupboard so he couldn't get to it and he didn't eat the mice. I actually don't remember that we ever even found a dead mouse. We just didn't see any anymore.

I think you'd probably be pretty safe to use it if you don't put it out in the open where the doggerus can get to it.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I used to use peanut butter in the old-fashioned type of trap, which worked for some reason, notwithstanding the detonation issue.

But smart mice. A tough one.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

These little boogers are stealthy! We've loaded all our traps with peanut butter, but to no avail. I think they might have long straws or something. :)

Mice

[mizannie.livejournal.com]

I think maybe an exterminator?

Re: Mice

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

I think you might be right on this one.

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

Snap traps with peanut butter were always hideously effective for me.

Lately, thought, I've been finding that wiping surfaces and floors with a cleaning product containing cedar oil (like Murphy's oil Soap) and using a homemade mint spray around everywhere else has discouraged them and made them move elsewhere.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this, ech. Mice are cute until they come in droves, if I remember correctly.

The mouse droppings are unsanitary for everyone and can spread disease. They're not gonna kill you, but they're definitely not something you should get used to. Gurdonark is right, the mice love peanut butter. Set the traps with those and you'll probably get more.

Unfortunately you have city mice, which are mightier and craftier than usual field mice. We put down D-Con when we had an infestation and, according to the exterminator we later still had to call, we'd succeeded in breeding supermice. It's your landlord's jurisdiction to keep pests out so I think you need to call him/her at this point. The mice are a health hazard to you and to the building in general if they keep breeding, plus they're destructive.

Having said that, the snap traps and sticky traps work although they are horrible if you're a pacifist. Maybe one of you who's less squeamish can clean the traps out. Also, you might have to move Merrill somewhere else while this is shaking down - if you have seeds right there in the open, you've got a Mouse Country Buffet. If exterminators come they or the landlord will tell you what the deal is with the pets.

Our exterminators threw these packets of blue pellets all over the house where we'd seen the mice (i.e. everywhere). He said that the mice would eat them, get sick and die, ideally leaving the premises first. As long as we swept up the remaining pellets and cleaned the area down the road, it should be OK for pets. But we were warned that pets shouldn't eat the pellets.

OK! Enough info for you! Oh, and we started keeping rice, cereal etc., in the fridge or freezer, which the mice couldn't gnaw through. Sigh.

[amiok.livejournal.com]

can you hang the birdcage from the ceiling or a hook to prevent them from crawling up and in?

Humane traps

[(Anonymous)]

These mice are animals just like your dog. You should not be cruel! These poisons can cause slow painful deaths, and have you ever seen a mouse struggling in a snap trap?

I always had success with those humane traps, that close behind the mouse so that they can be released elsewhere. Peanut butter was good for bait. I caught maybe a dozen mice in my apartment that way, and none of them got hurt. You have to check the trap daily, though, or the poor mouse will starve to death in there.