Mice in the house

dublinwoman

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I am freaking out. I saw a mouse and panicked. I rang a company to come out which they did. I told both of my neighbours and they too saw a mouse in their house. The guy came out and put poison down in attic and under kick board in kitchen. He came back and said that it is just light activity. Three weeks later and I have not eaten in the house or sat in my sittingroom. When home I am sitting in the bedroom and not sleeping. I thought they would be gone by now but heard scratching noice again. What I dont understand is that when the guy comes out he just checks the boxes but never entered the attic to have a look and I thought that he would check the house for me but he just put the boxes down for €305. I live alone and hate going home now. I got an electronic mouse trap but got nothing. Dont know what to do
 
Poison will get rid of mice. A cat is better. Traps ineffective in my experience.

You don't need to pay crazy money on professionals. Just buy the poison yourself and lay it in attics and behind kickboards in kitchen.

Mice are generally harmless. If they are causing huge anxiety seek help for that too.
 
We always get a mouse or two this time of year. I have learned to be prepared for them - a few traps set in the attic. They are very fond of peanut butter or chocolate. One I catch them when they arrive they leave us alone for another year. (Why, I do not know). If they get breeding they are a little harder to get rid of - but persistence with traps has always done it.
 
While it's good to catch the little blighters, it's more important to find out where they're coming in. Have a good walk around the house. Check around pipework, brickwork, windows, doors, flower pots you might be bringing inside, etc. They're cunning little things and right now are mad to get warmth for the winter months, don't be leaving doors/windows open, especially this time of the year or throwing out breadcrumbs, etc, on the pathway or you'll have bigger visitors.
 
Thanks a mil for all the tips, much appreciated. I am always very calm in situations but at the moment I am looking after two family members who are ill so its nice to go home and relax so its just bad timing as I am very stressed. I have Poison down but will also buy some traps tomorrow. Will have to get someone in to check the house so I dont miss anything. Want to seal up the house as much as I can
 
Having mice in the house is a unpleasant, but it is not a major concern. They come into houses at this time when the weather is getting cold. You obviously want to be rid of them and now is the time to do it. Putting down poison is not a great approach, that is what the pest control companies do because they are set up for rats and poison is effective for rats but less so for mice.

If you are willing to set traps, setting them is easy getting rid of them is unpleasant, or can get someone to do it for you, that is the way forward in the short term. Do it immediately before they multiply.

Longer term the 100% effective way is a cat.
 
Get a female cat, not a Tom.

Mrs Romulan had a Tom and he never bothered with hunting in the garden.

She now has a female cat and it is a killing machine for mice.

She will leave you the odd one as a present though.
 
Unfortunately cats do not always get rid of mice, I had mice and came in to the living room to witness the cat sitting on the chair looking at the mouse, then looking at me with an expression that said that creature is disturbing my sleep, can you deal with it! & it was a female cat. Traps are the best solution in my experience, ask a buddy for help in setting them.
 
I'd be slow to use poison in the house. Mouse eats poison - mouse goes off to die somewhere within house - mouse stinks out the house as it decays.
 
Our cat brings the live mice into the house. I think she is trying to teach us to hunt which is why she brings live ones, and an odd dead one. Mice or shrews must be very stupid as she catches way too many for my liking.
 
Mice or shrews must be very stupid as she catches way too many for my liking.

Cats have evolved to be very good hunters, estimated to kill 4 million birds in Ireland annually.

Mice are very good climbers, so you need to look at more than just ground floor access. The reason they are so often found in attics is that the eaves or roofline is often how they get in.
 
€305 for some lad to spin out to your house and put 2 bait boxes down.... That's criminal, especially since he only managed to place 2 to cover an entire house.

Also you're right - If he had any interest in doing his job properly he could have checked the house and attic for droppings/signs of nesting and targeted his efforts properly, it speaks volumes that he couldn't haul his backside into the attic for 5 minutes work.

The traditional wooden mouse traps below are just 99 cent each and they work brilliantly - You definitely will not need 300+ of them anyhow....


Tesco, most hardware shops, convenience stores etc all stock them (ie a version of in above link)

When we had this same issue OP it was very quickly solved by buying around 10 of these, putting them in key locations around the house and baiting them for a couple of days.

I found the knack to it all was to use a bit of cheap chocolate as bait ---> Put them in place first ----> set the trap but then use a ruler (or anything that's not your fingers) to very carefully prime the spring retention mechanism so its totally on the point of snapping. By this I mean that theres just the barest sliver of metal keeping the trap from going off... This takes a little practice!

OP also if you can mange to get over the mental side of this issue it would be a big help - Mice are very commonly kept by kids as pets, they're totally harmless, kinda cute in their own way and just an annoyance that will pass very soon - The very worst there'ye going to do to you is nibble at your possessions and be a minor inconvenience.

Finally don't get a bloody cat - Kill the mice using traps, you've enough to be getting on with without having to go out and buy a cat before paying for: cat beds, litter tray, neutering, feeding, constant clean ups (smell + cat hair everywhere), pay ongoing veterinary bills, cattery costs etc.

PS Just to add that this commonly happens when the weather get colder - They move indoors. Also if your neighbours don't take action then there's a fair chance you'll continue to see mice until they do.
 
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I'm not a lover of cats, but my neighbours have one each and I must be respectful. Be careful that you are not solving one four legged problem with another.

Mice get into a house through pipes penetrating walls that are not properly sealed. The garage door is another offender where mice can get in under the door. There is the possibility that they can enter from next door through the attic where there is not a proper "seal" between internal border wall and the roof. Check for obvious holes in your internal walls and seal them up. Your kitchen is not a bad place to start. Buy a flash light to check behind presses. Don't leave food available for mice unless it is attached to a small metal platform supporting a spring trap.

Reduce the access for mice and seal up everything you can. You can buy an expander fluid in spray cans for about €10.00. It might be the best tenner you've ever spent.
 
Reduce the access for mice and seal up everything you can. You can buy an expander fluid in spray cans for about €10.00. It might be the best tenner you've ever spent.

Waste of time I've found, using expanding foam. They just absolutely LOVE nibbling through it. Slows them up by minutes, if even that.
 
Steel wool is what is often recommended for plugging gaps but I'd imagine it rusts into a mess and then loses its strength.

I'd just get someone to mix up a nice consistency of sand and cement and tidily trowel it into any gaps or crevices and then smooth it out.

Cheaper with less chemicals and mess - that expanding foam is a nightmare to clean off anything & yes rodents love it as its an ideal nesting material - great to work with they "say".

No, it because their insurance won't cover them for entry into the attic.

Thanks Leo, I've heard this before actually, it's such a blessing for them all right, I'd say they happily pay extra for the convenient excuse.
 
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