The unwanted guests thread.

[scoundrel]

This is a thread for discussing our enemy-companions.

After quite a long respite and possibly encouraged by the recent cold weather, I found that I am suffering from unwanted company again.

There is a mouse...Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mouse with clogs on.
Well I declare!
Going clip clipitty clop on the stair...

My past experiences with pest control were not encouraging. Mouse traps are all very well, and I find the occasional success rather satisfying to my sense of revenge.

But traps do not wipe all of them out in one fell swoop and they are fast learners, so that traps are not the answer. The supermarket sells a poison called "Rodine" which is marketed as a "super-antocoagulant", a bit like warfarin on steroids. But when I had this same problem seven years ago I found that the mice were immune to this agent and that I was actually attracting neighbouring mice by feeding them instead of poisoning them.

I looked into the problem on Google and found that:

1. There are other poisons out there and instead of using one I should use several at once.
2. Anti-coagulants are questionable in that the mouse might be taken by predators after it dies and the predator gets poisoned as well.

But when I researched for organic and environmentally friendly mouse poisoning options I was not very happy.

One method is to mix flour with sugar for the bait and add in bicarbinate of soda for the lethal agent. The soda ferments inside the mouse and kills it. If you have ever had gastritis [I have] then you will appreciate that this method scores low marks for human decency, even when you hate the little bastards as much as I do.

A second method is same as above but use plaster of paris instead of soda. The plaster of paris draws moisture from the mouse and sets inside its digestive system. Nice. I reckon this is even more cruel than the soda.

So, to supplement the previously ineffective "Rodine" I bought a product called "Mouse Killer" which uses a different anti-coagulant. The baits were taken enthusiastically for about a week but since then have been left alone. I have found two dead mice and my nose tells me there are others. But I don't think I have got them all yet; I still hear stealthy movements sometimes. So I will continue the campaign.

If I were in a relationship I would have a cat because then I could make my occasional weekend trips to the North of England without worrying about Tiddles. That would be the best answer but since I can't have a cat, I have to deal with it myself.

[bowlinggreen]

No cat? That would be one of the best anti-mouse things to have. Pity.

That would certainly discourage the little rodents.

Do you live in a detached home or a block of flats?

Mice are attracted to bits of food left laying about. If someone else's slovenly behavior elsewhere in the building is encouraging them, then you will have to tolerate the invasions.

Storing food in metal tins and bins with lids helps a great deal.

If you have a detached single family home, a careful inspection of the foundation walls outside and the basement within can pinpoint problem areas where mice are gaining access. These can then be plugged up with cement.

Killing them off with traps and poison may be amusing, but the only way to STOP them is to cut off their access to your living space. if you don't do that, more will keep coming, and the world has an endless supply of mice to plague you with.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by bowlinggreen

No cat? That would be one of the best anti-mouse things to have. Pity.

That would certainly discourage the little rodents.

Do you live in a detached home or a block of flats?

Mice are attracted to bits of food left laying about. If someone else's slovenly behavior elsewhere in the building is encouraging them, then you will have to tolerate the invasions.

Storing food in metal tins and bins with lids helps a great deal.

If you have a detached single family home, a careful inspection of the foundation walls outside and the basement within can pinpoint problem areas where mice are gaining access. These can then be plugged up with cement.

Killing them off with traps and poison may be amusing, but the only way to STOP them is to cut off their access to your living space. if you don't do that, more will keep coming, and the world has an endless supply of mice to plague you with.

I confess.

I am a slob; it is a thing about me. Whenever housework conflicts with anything else, including VEF, work-work and plucking fluff out of my navel, then housework will always lose. Only I know the safe path from my couch to the water closet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB_I1YBAozE

But I suspect that this is going have to be dealt with. I will probably begin by patching up my back door, as I am fairly certain that they got in that way. But of course the present lot must be 100% killed as well.

[hound dog]

I'd stick with trapping and trying to deny access into the house as my means of combat. Poison is a double edged sword, you do not want them croaking inside your walls.

As one who suffers from a similar attitude towards house cleaning, I've trained myself to do a full days cleaning at the start of the month then about 20-30 minutes a day after to maintain it. It gets easier and faster as the mess doesn't accumulate. Getting a handle on that would be a big step in insuring future infestations as less likely to happen.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by hound dog

I'd stick with trapping and trying to deny access into the house as my means of combat. Poison is a double edged sword, you do not want them croaking inside your walls.

As one who suffers from a similar attitude towards house cleaning, I've trained myself to do a full days cleaning at the start of the month then about 20-30 minutes a day after to maintain it. It gets easier and faster as the mess doesn't accumulate. Getting a handle on that would be a big step in insuring future infestations as less likely to happen.

Sadly, as my nose is telling me as I type, this particular horse has bolted. I am smelling several dead mice, I suspect. In spite of the unpleasantness I am glad rather than sorry because if they rot under my floorboards or wherever, they can't be taken by the neighbouring cats and the poison will go when they have gone, not entering any food chain. A nasty smell for a few days is no great price to pay to have that prevented.

The battle continues. I toured the baits this evening and two more (in the kitchen) have been taken; so I laid two more down for mousey mousey to enjoy. It is not my preferred option, but they laugh scornfully at my traps and yet have been gullible when I laid the poison. I have to go with what works. In fact, if they stop taking the relatively humane anti-coagulants, I will move over to the bicarbonate of soda and try them on that. But I won't ever use plaster of paris or (God help us) cement powder, because you have to draw the line somewhere.

[rotobott]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

but they laugh scornfully at my traps

What have you been using for traps ?



and remember cheese is not an option

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by rotobott

What have you been using for traps ?



and remember cheese is not an option

As far as bait goes, they were quite partial to bread, especially granary bread. I did try sticky traps as well as the standard little nipper ones but when I caught one and it was still alive, I threw the rest of the sticky traps away. Too slow and far too cruel.

[bloke57]

Originally Posted by bowlinggreen

No cat? That would be one of the best anti-mouse things to have. Pity.

Not necessarily.

My cats have twice bought effing rats in to the house. They think they are presenting you with a great trophy - but it ain't dead as they drop it at your feet so the bugger races off under the fridge.

Luckily we have a solid floor so the rats couldn't get under, but they hide behind the furniture and you have to flush them out and bash them with no help from the bemused felines. I did manage on both occasions, but it was a horrible experience.

[hound dog]

I've always had good luck with peanut butter as bait, it's not something they can grab and scoot off with, they tend to stay there and lick at it, setting off the trap.

[hound dog]

Originally Posted by bloke57

Not necessarily.

My cats have twice bought effing rats in to the house. They think they are presenting you with a great trophy - but it ain't dead as they drop it at your feet so the bugger races off under the fridge.(

When I was a teen, my mother's parents, were down visiting us for a holiday, and our cat brought in and released a small live mouse when my mother saw what she was carrying and screamed. Imagine Me, my mother and father running around our kitchen and dining room trying to coral this small mouse. In walks Grandma, an old farm girl from Arkansas, takes about 3 seconds to eye up the situation then STOMP, dead mouse. We were all kinda meek and giving grandma side eye for the rest of the day.

Grandma's 95 now and still going. She can't get around and doesn't hear well, but her mind and memory are still pretty good.