[stlrman]

I have been unable to stop the spread of mice in my house!!!!
I called in a pro company , he came , cleaned out a very messy troublesome cabinet. I was supposed to pay about $385 to start mice control, and first visit. He never charged me, said he trusts me, and he will call me in a day or two. He never called me back, I never paid for any services.
He talked about sealing off areas where they are traveling , putting tube traps of poison around the house outside .

I am at my wits end !!!  I am still trapping a few, but they are running around our kitchen and living and dining room!!
Should I go with a private service or a big name exterminator?
What should I be looking for as far daily, weekly, monthly service?
How much investment am I looking at?
How long to end our problem?
Thanks !!

[DaveC113]

He's right... sealing the outside and poison work very well, in combination they will end the problem. Any pest control business should be able to help you.

Trapping never seems to help, the supply is endless if you allow them an entrance. 

[mikeeastman]

Sealing is the way to go,  mice can get through very small gaps so seal everything. Poisons have 2 down sides 1 if you or your neighbor have pets they can eat the mice and get poisoned. 2 they usually die in a wall or under a cabinet where you can't get to them and you have week of rotting mice smell.

[Brettio]

Im surrounded by pastures so I deal with mice a lot, now mostly outside the house.  My plan for keeping them in the pastures...#1, seal every crack that will allow them in.  I use steel wool for this.  #2, good old mouse traps baited with a chocolate chip and some peanut butter.  Wedge the chip in there good and you'll get them. My best is two mice in one trap...which I've seen two times.  Yeah, I had a mouse problem!

What I have learned is to not poison them. First because of the mouse predators that may be poisoned upon eating them and second have you ever smelled decomposing mouse flesh? I have. It's horrible and lasts a good long time (mostly because the mice will climb back into those cracks and die).

Hope this helps.  Brett

[stlrman]

Thanks gentleman!!!

[thunderbrick]

Maybe pay the man his $385 and he'll stop putting mice in your house?   

[SoCalWJS]

Sounds like it's time for an outdoor cat or 2. Indoor cats can be a great deterrent as well.

[Bob in St. Louis]

It's been said twice in this thread, and a few times in the first thread, but I can't stress enough, DO NOT POISON the mice! 
They will crawl to an area, die, rot, smell and you'll never find them. It takes two to three weeks for the smell to go away.
--- ask me how I know --- 
They will also "steal" the poison and place them in your shoes for you to find at a later date..... Like they're taunting you.
--- ask me how I know --- 
You can place all the cats and snakes around your house to eat the ones that come in. That will help.
I've got a half dozen electronic "emitters" and more glue traps than I can count, in and around my house. 
For the past several months, I've not seen a mouse in my house. I installed the electronic units in my house in August of 2016 and haven't seen a mouse since.
The glue traps, on the other hand, have trapped an incredible amount of crickets and various other insects.
So kind of a extra bonus, in my opinion. That's my recommendation, for what it's worth.

[stlrman]

Bob , I tried the transmitters, they didn't work at all.
Do you have a certain brand?
The poison would not be inside , only in tubes outside , mice go in but don't come out of the tube I think .

[JakeJ]

It's been said twice in this thread, and a few times in the first thread, but I can't stress enough, DO NOT POISON the mice! 
They will crawl to an area, die, rot, smell and you'll never find them. It takes two to three weeks for the smell to go away.
--- ask me how I know --- 
They will also "steal" the poison and place them in your shoes for you to find at a later date..... Like they're taunting you.
--- ask me how I know --- 
You can place all the cats and snakes around your house to eat the ones that come in. That will help.
I've got a half dozen electronic "emitters" and more glue traps than I can count, in and around my house. 
For the past several months, I've not seen a mouse in my house. I installed the electronic units in my house in August of 2016 and haven't seen a mouse since.
The glue traps, on the other hand, have trapped an incredible amount of crickets and various other insects.
So kind of a extra bonus, in my opinion. That's my recommendation, for what it's worth.

Could not agree more!  And I will tell you why.  My Dad has a small (650 sq. ft.) rental house that I rented from him for about two years.  The hot water heater is inside the main kitchen counter cabinet in a corner dead space.  When the mice first showed up I put D-Con all around the place.  Well it got rid of them but one died on top of that water heater and it stunk everytime the heater cycled on...for the better part of a year!!  now I know most homes have their water heaters exposed but the point is unless you and your family like the smell of dead rotting rodents poison is not the way to go.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!!

So, Bob, how do you know? 

[Bemopti123]

I have been unable to stop the spread of mice in my house!!!!
I called in a pro company , he came , cleaned out a very messy troublesome cabinet. I was supposed to pay about $385 to start mice control, and first visit. He never charged me, said he trusts me, and he will call me in a day or two. He never called me back, I never paid for any services.
He talked about sealing off areas where they are traveling , putting tube traps of poison around the house outside .

I am at my wits end !!!  I am still trapping a few, but they are running around our kitchen and living and dining room!!
Should I go with a private service or a big name exterminator?
What should I be looking for as far daily, weekly, monthly service?
How much investment am I looking at?
How long to end our problem?
Thanks !!

Having lived in several apartments in NYC prior to moving to my detached house, I can attest that the best solution is #1-Sealing all entry points....be it radiator pipes that come from different parts of the house to exterior cracks.  Mice are small and with springy bodies, they can fit pretty much anywhere especially those radiator joint cracks. 
Fill them with steel wool-----I heard this from other people long time ago. 

#2-Whatever mice you have inside, place traps along elongated walls and on corners.  Do not place them next to the obvious entry points where the mice will sneak out. 

With solutions 1 and 2, you will have this under control in no time. 

I have only used poison in a pesky garage but never indoors...Do not like the smell of decaying poisoned mice. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

The two brands I've bought from Amazon now show "No longer available".   
For what it's worth, here's the key words (title) of the items I bought;

Pack of 4 Koocat Ultrasonic Pest Repeller for Insects, Rodents, Mice, Rats, Ants, Spiders, Cockroaches, Bug - Premium Pest Control Repellent

Set of 4 Cravegreens Pest Control Ultrasonic Repeller -Electronic Plug -In Repeller for Insects- Best Repellent for, Cockroach, Rodents, Flies, Roach

Jake.... uhg... I put my shoes on one day and felt something in the toes. I turned the shoe upside down, and guess what falls out.... Decon. 

My home theater rack system is a vertical unit that has an open ceiling to the cavity between the basement and main floor.
Works great for airflow and getting rid of heat from the amps. At the top, there's a 2"x4" about 8' high. I've seen mouse poop in, on, and around my audio and home theater equipment. So I put a box of Decon up there on that 2"x4". A couple months later, I found that box laying at the bottom of the rack system. Empty.
It was almost like they ate dinner and kicked the plate back at me to refill for them.   
Not long after that, I was buying air fresheners and hiding it like Easter eggs inside that cavity between the ceiling  of the basement and floor upstairs to mask the rotting corpses. 

My main PC desk is right behind my main HT seating chairs. Behind me, are acoustic panels hanging on the wall. One day I heard a ticking/scratching sound directly and immediately behind my head. I turned in my chair to see a tail hanging under one of the panels. There was a mouse inside the panel walking along the 1" wood strip of the panel, but his tail was hanging down. I almost grabbed it and pulled it. down. Gotta say, that creeped me out. It was 6" behind my head just walking along like nothing... since my head was so close, it could have jumped over and landed on my head without much effort.

Suffice it to say that I've gone "full Caddyshack" on the mice.

[JakeJ]

Wow, that is a creepy experience, Bob.

Question about the electronic repellers.  Do you have pets?  If so, do the repellers bother them?

[Armaegis]

In my experience, the electronic/ultrasonic/emitter/devices don't work very well on mice, but stress out dogs.

No one has mentioned yet, but seal up all sources of food. Get a bunch of extra rubber totes if you have to and put all your food into them. Only open them to take food out, and seal when not in use. Be careful when you eat or where you prep meals and don't leave crumbs or anything anywhere. Instead of one big garbage in the kitchen, take out smaller bags daily. Get rid of sources of food for the mice and they will stop coming in searching for it.

Along those lines and something that people always forget about, but remove all sources of water as well. Fix the drippy faucets, don't leave water splashed along countertops in the bathroom and kitchen, beware of condensation from toilets, etc.

Sealing up the house is only half the battle. You have to get rid of all the stuff that the mice are looking for.

[JakeJ]

In my experience, the electronic/ultrasonic/emitter/devices don't work very well on mice, but stress out dogs.

Interesting, we have cats and that's the specific pet I am looking for answers about but am curious concerning all animals.

No one has mentioned yet, but seal up all sources of food. Get a bunch of extra rubber totes if you have to and put all your food into them. Only open them to take food out, and seal when not in use. Be careful when you eat or where you prep meals and don't leave crumbs or anything anywhere. Instead of one big garbage in the kitchen, take out smaller bags daily. Get rid of sources of food for the mice and they will stop coming in searching for it.

I didn't go through the original thread but this very true.  Eliminate their access to all food sources and generally they will just move out.

Along those lines and something that people always forget about, but remove all sources of water as well. Fix the drippy faucets, don't leave water splashed along countertops in the bathroom and kitchen, beware of condensation from toilets, etc.

Sealing up the house is only half the battle. You have to get rid of all the stuff that the mice are looking for.

Agreed.  It easy to overlook the smallest detail when it come to the big three, access, food, and water.

[mcgsxr]

I have 3 cats.  2 are indoor only.  1 is indoor/outdoor.

The cat allowed outside is a very competent hunter.  There is not much he won't take a run at.  Birds, mice, voles, moles, rabbits, rats...

He has brought back a fair number of mice.  I have never, ever seen one or evidence inside the house.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Wow, that is a creepy experience, Bob.

Question about the electronic repellers.  Do you have pets?  If so, do the repellers bother them?

We have one cat and it does not seemed bothered by the devices spread around the house.

[mikeeastman]

In my experience the electronic devices don't work. The best trap I found is called the Rat Zapper, will work on mice, rats and squirrels.
It electrocutes them. We use them under the hoods of are cars' to keep the mice and packrats from eating the wiring and fuel lines.

[JakeJ]

Thank, Bob.  We don't have mice (a couple of the cats are outstanding mousers) but we do have some bug that gives a nasty, itchy bite and it's not fleas or 'skeeters.  I'm thinking it is spiders of some sort due to a waning red spot after the itch is gone.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Chiggers?