Mickey in the house!

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andya700

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We got back from our walk around 8.00PM on Monday evening, and I was first in the kitchen, so switched the light on. I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and really hoped my eyes were deceiving me. My OH noticed me staring at the floor and asked me what was wrong. Before I could answer the mouse darted from underneath the radiator cover and scurried between the 1cm gap between the tumble dryer and the kitchen unit. At about the same time my OH screamed and left the kitchen, slamming the door shut - nice to have some back up:D
We last had mice around six years ago, and completely renovated the kitchen, putting down 12mm marine ply, wall to wall around the whole kitchen, butting up against the walls - not close enough it seems:(.
I spent yesterday filling all the easy to get to gaps with interior filler over steel mesh.
However, when we got home last night, our unwanted "pet" was there to greet us again, and although it was not exactly a surprise this time, it still elicited the same response from my OH:rolleyes: Heaven only knows what she would do if it was a fully grown rat:eek:
So, this morning I have removed all the skirting around the kitchen units, and isolated where the little beggar is coming in. We have a cellar, and in the corner where all the pipework goes, there is a slightly larger than pipe sized hole leading down into the cellar. Our cellar door is a tight fit and is sealed around the bottom. We do however live in a semi, so I am wondering if the mouse (mice) is getting in via their cellar and running through via the various airbricks/cavities etc.
That is by the by though, and I am going to have to undertake a very awkward filling job around the pipe.
Any reccos for suitable filling material gladly welcomed. I am half thinking about expandable foam through a nozzle/hose device?
 
We had a mouse in our flat a couple of years ago. I once saw him/her dart under the washing machine, and using a mirror on a stick I found an accumulation of droppings there but couldn't find any nesting materials anywhere in the flat. I think (s)he was coming into the flat via the gap around the main drainage pipe that runs through the flats in the corner of the kitchen but was nesting elsewhere.

Numerous attempts to catch him/her with traps failed, so in the end I got a sonic repeller and plugged it in behind the washing machine. Never saw him/her (or any more droppings) again. No need to seal up the gaps - (s)he doesn't want to come in!

During my efforts to get rid of him/her, I picked up one tip that may help you (it was no use to me); traps are best placed against walls where you know (s)he runs. If you can't spot/smell a urine trail, try laying down some talc powder.
 
Cartus said:
A mouse can compress it's skeleton to squeeze through a hole the diameter of a pencil apparently!
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Not particularly true, but mice are "all skin" and no where near as big as they look ;)
but if you can get the tip of your little finger in a hole, an adult they will get though it.
(Even those multi holed air bricks you see on older places.

Mice and rat will travel keeping something solid to one side of them, as the Hairy one says, so place traps, against the wall where you suspect it maybe running.
Certainly not directly in front of any hole you find.

Speaking as a pestie more years than I care to admit, if I had mice ( they wouldn't dare btw ;) )
and having all sorts of poisons at my disposal, I'd use a good old fashioned kill trap, not the so called crocodile plastic ones though, they aren't strong enough to kill.

Bait the trap with something sweet, Mars bars are good, rolled into pea ( no larger) pellets.
If you want to use a live trap, bait it the same and leave a couple of morsels near the entrance too.

If you have one, check your loft for droppings, lift up the insulation, near the hatch and near any water storage tank,
They need food, water and shelter, and will lick condensation off the side of the tank, this time of the year as fields are laid bare due to harvest, and the weather gets colder, they will find a way in.
Usually going up the cavity, into the loft.

It is irrelevant if the cavities are filled they will still get there ;)
Pull the kick boards off from the kitchen cupboards, particularly the one under the sink, service pipes are rarely sealed in, to the floor or wall, and they will follow those in to a house also.
Check for droppings there and in the cupboard it self,
Maybe even set a trap in or under the cupboard.

Be particularly careful about leaving food out at night, or anything spilled on the floor,
baring in mind, something that you can barely see will feed a mouse.

If you have a toaster, watch for spilled crumbs, they have been known to get into a toaster and get roasted too, yes I've pulled a few out of there in my time :D

andy700 said:
We do however live in a semi, so I am wondering if the mouse (mice) is getting in via their cellar and running through via the various airbricks/cavities etc.
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Thats also possible

andy700 said:
Any reccos for suitable filling material gladly welcomed. I am half thinking about expandable foam through a nozzle/hose device?
Click to expand...
They will chew through expanding foam, but if you can reinforce it with wire mesh, screwed up, even better :thumbs:
 
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Cobra said:
Not particularly true, but mice are "all skin" and no where near as big as they look ;)
but if you can get the tip of your little finger in a hole, an adult they will get though it.
(Even those multi holed air bricks you see on older places.

Mice and rat will travel keeping something solid to one side of them, as the Hairy one says, so place traps, against the wall where you suspect it maybe running.
Certainly not directly in front of any hole you find.

Speaking as a pestie more years than I care to admit, if I had mice ( they wouldn't dare btw ;) )
and having all sorts of poisons at my disposal, I'd use a good old fashioned kill trap, not the so called crocodile plastic ones though, they aren't strong enough to kill.

Bait the trap with something sweet, Mars bars are good, rolled into pea ( no larger) pellets.
If you want to use a live trap, bait it the same and leave a couple of morsels near the entrance too.

If you have one, check your loft for droppings, lift up the insulation, near the hatch and near any water storage tank,
They need food, water and shelter, and will lick condensation off the side of the tank, this time of the year as fields are laid bare due to harvest, and the weather gets colder, they will find a way in.
Usually going up the cavity, into the loft.

It is irrelevant if the cavities are filled they will still get there ;)
Pull the kick boards off from the kitchen cupboards, particularly the one under the sink, service pipes are rarely sealed in, to the floor or wall, and they will follow those in to a house also.
Check for droppings there and in the cupboard it self,
Maybe even set a trap in or under the cupboard.

Be particularly careful about leaving food out at night, or anything spilled on the floor,
baring in mind, something that you can barely see will feed a mouse.

If you have a toaster, watch for spilled crumbs, they have been known to get into a toaster and get roasted too, yes I've pulled a few out of there in my time :D


Thats also possible


They will chew through expanding foam, but if you can reinforce it with wire mesh, screwed up, even better (y)
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Well well little blighters, very informative Chris :thumbs:

I once went to work and opened my briefcase and there was a mouse inside looking back at me! I think the cat had brought it in and it had managed to escape his clutches by hiding in my bag. It was liberated in a local park :)
 
jakeblu said:
Well well little blighters, very informative Chris (y)
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No problem Steve, perhaps I should add that as a sticky as this comes up every year about this time :D
jakeblu said:
I once went to work and opened my briefcase and there was a mouse inside looking back at me!
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LOL and of course that's the other way, they get in, cats bring them in. don't kill them, and they eventually escape.

I've had call's to places, people have gone to a cupboard for a packet of crisps only to find that they were all empty, with a almost unnoticeable hole in one corner.
They love crisps, the same applies to cereal packets too, especially ones that have been un opened and been there a couple of weeks or so,
they've opened the box, to find it totally empty, now, that's what you call an infestation. :D
 
And don't do what a particularly stupid llama did and store your home brew kit in the shed.

Opened the door one day to find 500g of rauchmalt and a large bag of crystal malt deposited on the shed floor, seasoned liberally with mouse droppings. They must have though it was Christmas.
 
Thanks for the advice folks.
I have been out and purchased three old fashioned spring traps, and will set them at seven tonight when we go out for our walk (baited with a little cheap choccy), and then just before we turn in for the night. I think I know the route it (they) is taking, so fingers crossed.
 
yeah sort that out real quick, my parents have just had to have some rewiring done in the kitchen due to mice chewing.

go to town, there are some humane traps as well that just trap them and you can release them a few miles up the road.
 
andy700 said:
Thanks for the advice folks.
I have been out and purchased three old fashioned spring traps, and will set them at seven tonight when we go out for our walk (baited with a little cheap choccy), and then just before we turn in for the night. I think I know the route it (they) is taking, so fingers crossed.
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Most importantly, keep the bait fresh, if its not taken tonight change in tomorrow night and repeat until you get the little sod.
Even when you do, keep the trap(s) set for a few days, he may have invited his mates round for a beer and pizza ;)
 
Llamaman said:
And don't do what a particularly stupid llama did and store your home brew kit in the shed.

Opened the door one day to find 500g of rauchmalt and a large bag of crystal malt deposited on the shed floor, seasoned liberally with mouse droppings. They must have though it was Christmas.
Click to expand...

I read that as crystal meth and thought WTF???? :lol:
 
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viv1969 said:
I read that as crystal meth and thought WTF???? :LOL:
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Shhhh where else do you think the staff Christmas party is being held this year?
 
viv1969 said:
I read that as crystal meth and thought WTF???? :LOL:
Click to expand...


So did I! My first thought was that mousey would be able to get through even the fastest kill trap after a dose!

Had mice some years back - they were coming up through the cavity and had eaten all the fillings from my juggling balls. A few weeks of humane trapping and distant releasing (2 miles away in the woods) has seen the end of them in the house, although the cat has done her own catch and release with a couple (again, caught and released unharmed [but scared shirtless!!!]) Occasionally see one cleaning up spilled bird food on the patio but they seem to be nesting elsewhere so no a problem for us. The main store of bird food is in a steel dustbin with a bungeed down lid so as mouse proof as practicable.
 
Nod said:
Had mice some years back - they were coming up through the cavity and had eaten all the fillings from my juggling balls.
Click to expand...

If you've got video of your balls juggling, you could make a fortune!!! :eek:
 
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If chocci doesn't work try peanut butter. My last infestation (12 in total) couldn't resist it. Mind you I did go for quality - M&S.
 
It used to be my job to dispatch Mr Mouse in our house

Proper snap trap baited with a bit of crunchy peanut butter did the trick for me.

I was under strict instructions from the ex to make sure trap and dead mouse were no where to be seen when she and my daughter got up in the morning
 
Mice in the garage have nibbled through carpet and numerous chipboard floor squares. There are two sonic repellers in there. Funnily enough they're closer to the wall without one. Did think they'd gone but they seem to have returned. Fortunately next door's cat seems to be on a mission to kill every mouse on the road. Seen him several days this week proudly carrying another victim :)
 
srichards said:
There are two sonic repellents in there. Funnily enough they're closer to the wall without one.
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A well known Dr within the field of pest control research, trials various baits and "equipment" for the major companies.
He has a feral colony of Rats and Mice. When the Sonic's first hit the market he put a few in his pens, I say pens its half a cow barn.
Within 24 hours the Rats and mice ( obviously two separate colony's) were sitting on / chewing and scent marking the plug in's.
I know the guy quite well and have worked side by side with him on a few occasions, that was good enough for me, never to recommend them.
 
Derbyshire mice like their snap traps baited with Yorkie.
At least they die happy :-)
 
My visitor refused peanut butter, chocolate, Nutella, bread and a specialist bait. He knew what a trap was!

The sonic repeller worked immediately.

The example above of a repeller not working mentioned it was a colony. The advice I was given was once they've had babies, they're a LOT harder to remove and killing them is the only viable solution.

So I'd recommend giving the sonics a go, but you have to act fast. If they've got comfy you'll have a much harder time convincing them to - like the Littlest Hobo - just keep movin' on.
 
The single tone ones definitely don't work. These ones are random frequencies. Wish one of the myth buster or similar programmes would test them along with spider repellents!

I'm wondering about lion poo or lion smell instead...
 
Yep would agree the sonic ones don't work.

Wilko instant snap traps are the only way to go. A cat is also good, provided you can convince them not to bring the blighters into the house.

Blocking holes with Brillo pad or wire wool works well. Plastics including expanded foam is no good either They will eat it or scratch it away.

Even seen mice nibble away at shampoo bottles until they can get to the contents. (Not sure if that was a vain mouse wanting to have a new fur-do.)

If you have plastic water or heating pipes, as most new installations do, beware, the mice gnaw them to get them to slowly bleed moisture, like a drip feeder.

Consumer bait is useless in the main, they will just collect it. Takes ages to have any effect by which time they will have bred and the problem multiplied.
 
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Update.

Andy 1 - Mice 0

"This isn't the end. It may not even be the beginning of the end, but it may well be the end of the beginning"

Eggheads had just ended, and my OH, nervous about entering the battle zone, handed me the tea cups to wash (just another petty excuse to get out of household duties:rolleyes:). I entered the conflict zone, eyes peeled and immediately spotted the enemy, darting along the worktop, reaching cover behind the microwave - the games afoot!
I had decisions to make, quickly. The enemy is well schooled in this type of warfare, move quickly, never get surrounded, always look for an escape route.
I held my ground, and watched and waited.
I decided to employ one of my closest allies (the ally who had deserted me:mad:) weapons - the size5 Nike designer trainer - once state of the art technology, now a bit scuffed around the edges, a bit "old school", never the less in the right hands a formidable weapon.
The battle went on for a good twenty minutes or more, with me trying to flush the enemy out of its lair, until finally it made a wrong move, and Nike the corporate giant claimed yet another victory.
 
My OH relies on a frying pan, if I am away.

A very effective weapon.
 
Llamaman said:
The example above of a repeller not working mentioned it was a colony. The advice I was given was once they've had babies, they're a LOT harder to remove and killing them is the only viable solution.
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None of that makes any difference, the sonic ones are supposed to hurt their ears as it's a high pitched noise. Most animals Don't like that and will startle. The sonic repellants are good in theory, but they will get used to the high pitched noise before too long, as already proved. But yes killing them is the only way to go. Be that with the Nike bat or more traditional methods
 
No obvious mouse activity to report this morning.
Maybe it was a lone insurgent, a one off terrorist plot designed to destabilise my semi rural tranquility - who knows?
Whatever happens, I am prepared for the next time;)
 
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