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by Kaffirdog on 28 July 2009 - 20:07
I got out some of my old breed books tonight and discovered a mouses nest! Luckily, apart from a chewed dust jacket on one, the books are unharmed, but I am worried about future "invasions" so any suggestions of anything I can use to deter mice from my book cupboard? Some net searching indicates mice are repelled by peppermint oil and fabric softener cloths as they dont like the smell, but does anyone have any suggestions for anything they have used personally that worked, preferably something easy to obtain in UK. The cupboard is in my office and both myself and my dogs spend a lot of time in here so I can't use anything that is repulsive to me or them.
Margaret N-J
Margaret N-J
by 4pack on 28 July 2009 - 20:07
All I can say is Google it. I have never had a mouse in my house. Once had a rat in my attic when the winter rains flooded him out of wherever he came from. I baited his butt and he was dead and gone within a weeks time. They have bait traps your dogs can't get into.
by Kaffirdog on 28 July 2009 - 20:07
I've already set traps so I'll probably kill this intruder quickly, but it will just leave a vacancy for the next one, mice seem to be a seasonal problem. I didn't know the blighter was here until I found the nest so I worry that I might not spot the next one until after my books have been chewed!
Margaret N-J
Margaret N-J
by Mum of Zoe on 28 July 2009 - 20:07
Look into getting some pellet bait that dehydrates the mouse/rat and drives it outside to look for water. We get palm rats in our house occasionally, and setting traps and throwing chunks of that bait all over the attic helps drive them out. Just last week I'd heard a noise coming from the big box of Milk Bones on top of our cabinets. I threw a bottle of vitamins at it, and this huge friggin palm rat LEAPED out and ran into an opening into the attic. Traps were baited and set, and pellets were distributed. We found it three days later, outside and dead as a doornail.
We use these kind of traps, so save our fingers and make baiting easier on us: They sell them at Lowe's and other places, and are inexpensive yet effective! They take no prisoners. :D
We use these kind of traps, so save our fingers and make baiting easier on us: They sell them at Lowe's and other places, and are inexpensive yet effective! They take no prisoners. :D
by gsdlova on 28 July 2009 - 21:07
We get mice occasionally here too. Those T-Rex traps (shown in the photo) work well and don't snap shut on your fingers.. Not so sure on how to prevent them though, we keep traps set year-round just in case... If you have a nest, you may have more than one mouse..
by Sunsilver on 28 July 2009 - 21:07
Look into getting some pellet bait that dehydrates the mouse/rat and drives it outside to look for water...
NO NO NO, a HUNDRED TIMES NOO!!!
That pellet bait contains warfarin. If your dog or cat gets hold of a mouse that's eaten these pellets, and eats it, IT WILL DIE!! I know a lady who had this happen to her dog when, unknown to her, it ate a dead rat!
And they don't always go outside in search of water! That's a myth! They can just as easily die inside your walls, and make a huge stink!
Nothing...not fabric softener, nor mothballs, nor anything else will keep the mice away. The only thing you can do is find out where the cracks and opening are that are allowing them into your house, and fix them. For mice that are already inside, nothing beats the old snap trap, baited with peanut butter, and hidden in a corner where your dogs or cats can't get to it. Cut the grass short around your house, and remove any debris (stacks of wood, etc.) near the house that can provide hiding places for them. Make sure all food is in secure containers that the mice can't get into, so if they do get in, they will have no food.
DO NOT USE POISON!!
Even if you don't have pets, it can poison your neighbour's pets, which is what happened in the above instance.
I've lived in old farmhouses that were infested with mice, so I've had some experience with this. You don't know what mice problems really are until you've made yourself a bowl of soup, and, half way through eating, noticed little black specks floating in it...
That was the day the snap traps got put out. We caught one or two mice a day for about a week, then that was it. The problem was solved. Boarding up a broken basement window helped too...
NO NO NO, a HUNDRED TIMES NOO!!!
That pellet bait contains warfarin. If your dog or cat gets hold of a mouse that's eaten these pellets, and eats it, IT WILL DIE!! I know a lady who had this happen to her dog when, unknown to her, it ate a dead rat!
And they don't always go outside in search of water! That's a myth! They can just as easily die inside your walls, and make a huge stink!
Nothing...not fabric softener, nor mothballs, nor anything else will keep the mice away. The only thing you can do is find out where the cracks and opening are that are allowing them into your house, and fix them. For mice that are already inside, nothing beats the old snap trap, baited with peanut butter, and hidden in a corner where your dogs or cats can't get to it. Cut the grass short around your house, and remove any debris (stacks of wood, etc.) near the house that can provide hiding places for them. Make sure all food is in secure containers that the mice can't get into, so if they do get in, they will have no food.
DO NOT USE POISON!!
Even if you don't have pets, it can poison your neighbour's pets, which is what happened in the above instance.
I've lived in old farmhouses that were infested with mice, so I've had some experience with this. You don't know what mice problems really are until you've made yourself a bowl of soup, and, half way through eating, noticed little black specks floating in it...
That was the day the snap traps got put out. We caught one or two mice a day for about a week, then that was it. The problem was solved. Boarding up a broken basement window helped too...
by SitasMom on 28 July 2009 - 21:07
mint?
by Sam Spade on 28 July 2009 - 21:07
My first thought is a cat, but if you are like our family, we can't have one due to allergies.
I dealt with mice for two years. Every fall they come in for warmth and food. You can use everything they got out there but they are all temporary fixes until next fall. The best thing to do is find out where they are getting in and close it off. We finally found a hole in the wall between the garage and basement. After I closed it off, we never had another.(Knock on wood).
I dealt with mice for two years. Every fall they come in for warmth and food. You can use everything they got out there but they are all temporary fixes until next fall. The best thing to do is find out where they are getting in and close it off. We finally found a hole in the wall between the garage and basement. After I closed it off, we never had another.(Knock on wood).
by oso on 28 July 2009 - 22:07
We had mice in our piano and the tuner recommended moth balls - they worked! I would not let the dogs chew them though...
by Aqua on 29 July 2009 - 00:07
Please don't use bait. The possibilities of harm to your own animals are endless.
I have been told, though haven't tried it, that mashed potato powder, the stuff you buy in a box, makes an effective mouse killer. Apparently, they eat it and it swells up inside their bodies, dehydrating and dessicating them. Not hazardous to dogs if they should eat a dead mouse but the problems of smell remain if it dies inside the walls of the house. Not a good way to die.
We use snap traps though I must say, mice are getting smarter. They somehow manage to take the peanut butter without setting off the mechanism.
Then there are sticky traps - I won't use them because I find them cruel but I can see where they would be very effective.
If you locate the hole they used to get inside your book cupboard stuff it with steel wool. They won't chew through it to open the hole up again.
I have been told, though haven't tried it, that mashed potato powder, the stuff you buy in a box, makes an effective mouse killer. Apparently, they eat it and it swells up inside their bodies, dehydrating and dessicating them. Not hazardous to dogs if they should eat a dead mouse but the problems of smell remain if it dies inside the walls of the house. Not a good way to die.
We use snap traps though I must say, mice are getting smarter. They somehow manage to take the peanut butter without setting off the mechanism.
Then there are sticky traps - I won't use them because I find them cruel but I can see where they would be very effective.
If you locate the hole they used to get inside your book cupboard stuff it with steel wool. They won't chew through it to open the hole up again.
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