We have a mouse

[PrettyPaisley]

and obviously two worthless indoor cats.

I don't want to use poison and I really don't want to use those sticky trays to catch them and since my cats can't seem to do the job, what do I do? I really don't want mice in the house.

[cathryn]

The cheap snap traps have worked well for me. Every change of season the mice decide to check out our house and we need to "evict". I use peanut butter or a raisin. Put the trap so it snaps toward the wall to decrease your chance of getting the bait stolen, and giving a mouse an education on traps. Just drop the whole thing into a bag when you get one.

Keep the traps away from the cats & kids by putting them in the attic, basement, or behind furniture that they can't get behind.

Good luck.

Peace-Cathryn

[Wis Bang]

Last invasion they invaded the dog food [bought a plastic container w/ latching/gasketed lid to fix that] so I took a chunk of kibble & dredged it thru the peanut butter & used that to stick it on the trigger of snap traps. Bought 4 packs of Victors @ Megalo-Mart

They also have metal ones that you set one handed like squeesing a paper clip that makes them easy to empty...

Read up & they recommend settting alot of traps, always facing a wall as they follow the walls when they move around...MOST successful day is the first one so set alot...

Old one from Mother Earth News - dishes of cola; they can't burp so the carbonation kills them...

Water trap works. Drill two holes near the top of a 5 gal. bucket & make a wooden dowell into a roller across the top & place a glob of peanut butter at the middle & add a wooden strip as an approach ramp. They roll off the dowell, fall in and drown - popular at cabins 'cause they hold alot of dead ones!

[Anderson farms]

We use snap traps also. Victor has a trap out now that you bait and set and the mouse goes inside it and it spins closed, kills mouse and you just throw entire trap away. With these you don't have to worry about your cats getting into them. I agree with the others, you can't set too many traps because a lot of times they bring buddies with them. We thought we had one this past fall and we ended up catching 8! we bait with peanut butter or honey

[hunter63]

There is no such thing as "a mouse", it's "mice" in a very plural way.

I have used pretty much all the above methods, like the water trap, but I still like the old mouse trap w/peanut butter, the best.

[Michael W. Smith]

Yep, what hunter63 said. You saw A mouse. All the other ones have kept out of your sight. No doubt about it THEY are in your house and even with warmer weather, they won't be moving out.

Your house provides all the necessary requirements - food, shelter, etc. And apparently, they don't have to worry about any predators in your house!!

[suitcase_sally]

Humane live trap:

http://tomcatbrand.com/product/24-mu...tch-mouse-trap

Humane dead trap:

http://www.ratzapper.com/

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by hunter63

There is no such thing as "a mouse", it's "mice" in a very plural way.

Amen, hunter -- there is no such thing as "ONE" mouse!!!

Snap traps in places where little fingers and doggie noses can't get at them. Check them daily, and if you're really squeamish about emptying and reusing them, they're cheap enough to toss with the carcass in it.

Don't let the problem fester -- mice breed like wildfire -- you can have eight generations and an unmanageable rodent population in a few months, and they carry disease.

[PrettyPaisley]

Well great. So I have more then once mouse. Guess I'll be getting some snap traps tonight. And some cheap peanut butter. And making space in the closets the cats stalk.

Thanks y'all.

[Pink_Carnation]

I would do a walk around outside to see if you can find where they get in at. The openings don't have to be very large so it will be easy to miss them. We finally found where they could get in our house when the basement flooded...yup follow the water. Check the vents and where pipes or lines go into the house carefully.

There is one possibility for a single mouse....if the cat brought it in to play with.

[BRYAN]

I string along with the snap trap baited with peanut butter recommendation. Trapping is like real estate, location location location. Runways along walls behind appliances are great, they usually live and feed within a ten foot area. If you really want to take your mouse hunt (or rat hunt) to the next level turn out the lights and illuminate the area with a black light (like the Disco days, without the "smoke"), if they have been traveling there for long their runways will glow from urine they dribble as they run along. I'm sure that inspires you all the more to trap them now. Pink Carnation's recommendation is also good as exclusion and eliminating food sources are important parts of a good Integrated Pest Mangement Plan. Go get em!

[NEfarmgirl]

I agree mouse=mice, but occationally it may only be one that snuck in on its own but treat it like there are more than one. If you don't like the glue traps or snap traps use the ones from Decon as suggested. We had one little critter that could get the peanut butter off the snap trap and off of the glue trap we had sitting by it without getting caught. The little snot couldn't get out of the enclosed one.

I agree also with walking around the house and sealing all of the little holes all over even up by the roof line--hubby has seen them on the roof of a building he worked at before! I spent two hours one day walking around the house sealing holes and no more mice!

Mice don't like the smell of mint so I bought mint essential oil and put it on cotton balls and placed them in safe places around the house in the kitchen, and one per room. Our friends have had big mice problems due to a bad foundation that will be replaced and they have seen none this year. Plus the house smells nice and minty fresh!

[RedneckPete]

I had mice in my house until I kicked my cat outside. Granted, she doesn't get fed as much as she used to, but my mouse problem in the house and the chicken coop disappeared about the same time.

Pete

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Vaccinate it.

[PrettyPaisley]

Originally Posted by LisaInN.Idaho

Vaccinate it.

Oooh. This is the best idea yet!

Thank you for the helpful, productive posts. I appreciate your willingness to support my mice issue with a well thought out and sincere response.

Seriously, haven't you got anything better to do then stalk me?

[Irvin Cooper]

This reminds me of a funny mouse trap incident in our home a few years ago.

We have the semi-annual mouse move-in in fall and spring. At which point, I have my semi-annual cheap-o victor mouse trap placements throughout the house. The usual locations where little fingers and noses cannot get to them, including one under our buffet. I use peanut butter as bait.

Our dog (a scottie at that time) got a whiff of the peanut butter under the buffet and was up against it trying to figure out how to get to it. he was growling, barking, etc..., and i guess a vibration from him on the carpet caused the trap to snap shut. Missed his nose, fortunately, but scared him so bad, he passed gas out loud while jumping back. One of the funniest nights ever in our home...... :>

[highlands]

A Mouse?
Just one?
Wow!?!

[soulsurvivor]

We used to have problems with the field mice but over the years we've trained them to stay out in their fields. We put a great mouser cat outside. We installed screened vents in the foundation that are guaranteed mouse proof. We have stainless steel wool stuffed into every nook and cranny that could be an access point for the little critters. Every so often the cat will bring a half dead mouse to the back patio and put on a show of playing with her food. The cat spends every night in the outside shop building, so we know it's mouse free too.

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by Irvin Cooper

Our dog (a scottie at that time) got a whiff of the peanut butter under the buffet and was up against it trying to figure out how to get to it. he was growling, barking, etc..., and i guess a vibration from him on the carpet caused the trap to snap shut. Missed his nose, fortunately, but scared him so bad, he passed gas out loud while jumping back. One of the funniest nights ever in our home...... :>

LOL! Our dog (a mutant 80 lb Australian Shepherd cross ) did similar once... scared herself out of a dead sleep by passing gas, jumped up and started barking at her own butt, and then got all offended at those of us who were laughing at her.

Mice LOOOOVE peanut butter, even more than cheese -- and it's harder for them to steal without setting off the trap.

[slynn]

We've had some bad mouse issues. We found that if you can stomach getting the dead mouse out of the trap, re-using the trap leads to better results. It seems that mice are attracted to the smell of the last mouse that was there. Hmm. Not so bright, those mice.