[FullRangeMan]

11 Razones Científicas Para tener un gato:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTaoej6u3EU

[mcgsxr]

Bear and his kill.



And one for scale!

[rif]

I've heard that mice can smell a cats scent and will often leave.  So even if your cat isn't a mouser, it can still do some good.  Rats, on the other hand, are very smart and ruthless.   Maybe these are old wives tales....

[Larkston Zinaspic]

I would agree that exclusion is going to be the best means to controlling the problem. Because depending on how heavily populated the area is with rodents...you'll just keep on trapping them. But nothing is fool-proof, and you'll need to seal every opening you can find, inside and outside, the size of a dime or so, with steel wool, caulking, expandable foam, wire meshing, etc. to close them off. If you have a low-lying deck they're probably getting in under there. If you have an attached garage, the weatherseal typically doesn't shut flush with the ground and they're probably getting in there too.

If you have an unfinished basement, shut the lights off and check to see if there's any daylight peeking through around the sills / rim joists where utility lines come into the house. Even if there isn't get closer and see if you can feel a draft. The spider webs will be moving. Inspect the top of the foundation wall where the sills are and see if there's a "runway" for rodents to move through. You may see acorns, droppings, leaves and shredded insulation up there. And rodents will climb the insulation to get up to the attic as well. Don't forget to check up there.

Before you use any exclusion materials on your house I would recommend trapping extensively first so you aren't holding most of your current "residents" inside. They'll start looking for other ways to get out and you'll wonder why you're seeing more activity. Depending on the size of the house I use anywhere from 40, 50, sometimes 90+ rodent traps, if necessary. I'll use snap traps and the large rat glue boards. Usually I bait with peanut butter/chocolate/hazelnut spread. You can get more creative if you want but that combo seems to work well.

In an unfinished basement I'll usually place snap traps on the sills, and the glue boards will go on the basement floor in the corners and against the foundation wall, but I'll mix them up too. In a finished basement you'll have to be more creative, but traps will generally go somewhere in the vicinity of utility panels and behind drop ceiling tiles. You can always tie a string to a trap and anchor it if you think it might launch itself behind a wall.

I'll usually leave a certain amount of traps in the garage if it isn't too cluttered. Either side of the door at least, in the corners, close to the walls.

The kitchen area is common. It's usually a good idea to set some traps behind all the large appliances if possible, and under the sink where the plumbing lines are coming through.

Sometimes I'll set traps under the radiators where heating pipes are coming through the floor.

In the attic, try to set your traps as close to the soffits as you can, if possible. Look for tunneling holes and excrement in the insulation.

I'm opposed to using poison inside the house for reasons already mentioned, but I'm not opposed to using bait boxes outside of the house as long as they are locked and secured. They can be very useful, at least for awhile.

I probably forgot a bunch of other things....

Oh, and I love cats, but cats obey their instinctive impulses only, and they're going to hunt only when and if they feel like it.

[Elizabeth]

One other thing about the sticky traps. If you have small children, or ANY pets not always in a cage. NEVER use the sticky traps. Wait until you two year old has one stick good and hard to his FACE....
Or your cat has one stuck, or your ----.
You get the idea.

[TomS]

Poisons will also kill birds of prey when they scoop up dying and dead rodents outside, so not such a great thing 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Poisons will also kill birds of prey when they scoop up dying and dead rodents outside, so not such a great thing 

VERY good point!

[JakeJ]

Bear and his kill.



And one for scale!

Bear is worth his weight in gold!  How big is he?

[Johnny2Bad]

I like the age-old spring traps, simply because they are effective and kill almost instantly, which in my world means humane. I know others who would differ, but they all to often are the same people who would feed wild animals, which if the animal is very, very lucky, won't result in someone having to shoot it as it loses it's natural fear of humans and starts eating the neighbour's pet dogs.

Out of the box, they aren't very effective. The problem being they are cheap (which is good) and "precision made" isn't part of the sales pitch. You need to get a pair of needle nose pliers and tweak the trigger so that they snap closed very easily. When you get to the point where you can barely set them down without triggering the trap, you're good to go. Otherwise, you're just feeding the mice, not trapping them.

Bait with peanut butter.

Place along the walls as this is a favourite means of travel to mice, along natural borders. Any area where you've seen mice travel before, or have noticed droppings, is a path of repeat traverse. They mark their trails with drops of urine that other mice can smell and will follow. That is why if you see one mouse has been in the Corn Flakes, there will be other mice in the Corn Flakes.

Someone mentioned food, but this is somewhat incorrect. We do, of course, see evidence of mice in some food stuffs like cereals or maybe the pet food bag, but that is really just a symptom of mouse activity.

What the mouse wants and needs to survive is a source of water. This may be a leaky water pipe somewhere in the home, possibly not accessible easily or any moisture collecting spot normally found in most houses. A mouse needs only a drop or two of water a day to survive.

But while a mouse can live without food for weeks, without water and it's dead in a few days. So if possible take care of any leaks or drips. It's a good thing to do anyway, but now you have extra incentive. If you can successfully eliminate all sources of water, you will no longer have a mouse problem, regardless of how much easy pickings as far as food goes that you have; it's that simple.

Mice propagate in a very short time; the newborn of today is breeding in period of time measured in weeks. That is why you must keep on top of the issue. Do not consider the problem solved until you have not caught or seen evidence of a single mouse for a minimum of 14 days.

In some parts of North America there is a potential problem with Hantavirus, which mice carry. I would not worry too much about it, as it's unlikely to be an issue in an occupied, reasonably clean home, and only certain breeds of field mice carry it, so it normally won't be in the mice found sneaking into your house.

However, if you are cleaning out an outbuilding or shed, a barn, a garage, that kind of thing, where mice have been living for some time and there is a large amount of droppings, disturbing the droppings releases the virus into the air. Generally the person who is cleaning the area is the one infected. Find out if Hantavirus is an issue in your area, and if so, leave the cleanup of mice infested areas to professionals.

I don't want to cause any panic, but it has to be said: Hantavirus is potentially fatal to humans, you may die in about 48 hours or less. Fatalities are rare, but none the less the risk is real.

The bucket-and-wire trap works very well, but isn't really appropriate in most homes. Plus, the combination of water and drowned dead mice may be too much reality for the squeamish. It is very effective at the cabin or other areas that may not be lived in 24/7.

I too like a cat for ongoing maintenance. The best way to prevent having to rid a home of mice is to not have any in the first place. If the cat can catch and kill the occasional mouse, they won't usually get established somewhere where a nest and proud parents start setting up the mouse Hilton. You have to decide on traps or cats, as the poor kitty is unlikely to be able to refrain from playing with one, and they do hurt when they snap on a paw.

I too suggest you avoid poison in the home. It may be appropriate in some situations, but unless you live on a farm those situations are unlikely to be one of yours. Some say there is a risk that there will be other mammals or birds who will be poisoned; I say it's not a risk but a sure thing. Plus, death from Strychnine is extremely painful to the victim; it's the furthest from humane you can imagine. Kill the mice when you must, but let's put torture off the list.

Mice, like all animals, have keen senses of smell. But the mere presence of a cat, regardless of how aware the mice are to it, will do nothing if the cat doesn't cooperate.

I know that glue traps are popular but I don't see why you would use them when a spring trap, properly set up, is just as effective, and in my opinion more humane. I have no problem with killing animals as pests or for my table, or with using fur or leather for any appropriate purpose.

In fact I firmly believe that everyone who is a carnivore should kill and prepare an animal for food at least once in their lives, so that you know what the sacrifice that animal has made for you so that you can thrive. It makes me angry to see people improperly store meat and throw it away, as an animal died so that they could carelessly toss that food into the trash. But I am unapologetic as far as my choice to eat meat and fish goes; I just have some respect for it and will always choose the quickest means of dispatch available to me. So in my home, no glue traps.

[stlrman]

Thanks for all the great info!!!
I am using Victor mouse traps! This is my best method , price etc
    BUT!!
I can't set 80% of them , the triggers are way too sensitive. Is there a way to make the spring less sensitive?
They are going off in my hand as I go to set them down , scaring the shit out of me !!
 
I'm using the plastic cheese trap kind .
Thanks !!!

[thunderbrick]

Spring traps are great!  You might "set" them on a piece of cardboard on your counter, and gently slide them off the cardboard onto the floor.

Or try holding the trap on the OUTSIDE edges of the "baited" end.  That works very well for me.

[JerryM]

Tweek the traps with a pair of needle nose pliers to get them where you want them; it's pretty easy. Use peanut butter on the lever, where they have to work to get it.  *Snap*

Please remember that there is a pretty slim line between mice in the kitchen and a full-blown infestation. Mice breed quickly, and tend to do so in a place that seems ideal. Call a few exterminators and ask them what they would do; do that yourself. Soon.

[stlrman]

Thanks everyone!!
New spring traps by Tomcats , no more early firing !!
I used chewed up tootsie roll. A guy on YT , says it's mouse crack !! Lol
We shall see.

[mcgsxr]

Bear is worth his weight in gold!  How big is he?

Bear is not that big, he is actually the smallest of our cats at 9lbs.  Just don't try to tell him he is not a 180lb Panther!

My other 2 cats (strictly indoor) are 12lbs and 13lbs.  They came after Bear was rescued, and one of them thinks he is the alpha.  Bear often plays along until it is time to show who is really boss...

Good luck with the traps!

[JakeJ]

Thanks, mcgsxr.  Interesting that bear isn't that big and handles rats and the other two cats with ease.  Very self confident, eh?

strlman, best of luck with the traps and getting rid of the mice.  It can be frustrating.

[Bemopti123]

If they are inside the house, that means that there is a hole somewhere where they come in.  In NYC, in an apartment building I used to live, we used to get mice in Winter.  The rodents used to climb up through holes in the walls or even worse, the steam pipe plumbing where they used to squeeze through the floor and the heating pipe.  It was advisable to fill such spaces with brillo/steel pads and then seal it with caulk.  They cannot chew through brillo and if they do, they die. 

Traps are good for a trapped population that will not expand but if the holes to the house are not sealed, it will be a problem dealing with this.   

[Bob in St. Louis]

Ran across this, thought of this thread
https://www.facebook.com/AnAmericanHomestead/videos/1313749961994461/

[richidoo]

An open, half full box of uncooked spaghetti placed along the floor corner is good mouse bait. They will stay in there hiding while you pick up the box for disposal. Don't just put him back outside, as they remember how to get back in, no matter how tortuous the path.

[DaveC113]

If they are inside the house, that means that there is a hole somewhere where they come in.  In NYC, in an apartment building I used to live, we used to get mice in Winter.  The rodents used to climb up through holes in the walls or even worse, the steam pipe plumbing where they used to squeeze through the floor and the heating pipe.  It was advisable to fill such spaces with brillo/steel pads and then seal it with caulk.  They cannot chew through brillo and if they do, they die. 

Traps are good for a trapped population that will not expand but if the holes to the house are not sealed, it will be a problem dealing with this.   

Yup, trapping is an indication you've failed to keep them out and you can trap a million mice and they'll still keep coming unless you seal the entrance. It's not easy to find entrances though, and strategically placed poison does help A LOT. Professionals will seal entrances and place poison bait, and it does work.

As far as humane, spring traps aren't humane at all. I've killed tons of mice with them and they are often not dead when found but mutilated by the trap, still alive... I've heard traps go off then mice freaking out and have to go find them and kill them to keep them from suffering. IMO there's no great solution to this problem besides prevention and if they do get in they need to be killed. It's no picnic...

I do remember years ago I moved to the mountain and was dealing with an old A-Frame house that was hard to keep them out of, I saw one and out of frustration grabbed a quarter sitting on a table and flung it at the mouse from 10-15 ft away, hit him right on the head and killed him instantly! If only it could always be that easy...

[thunderbrick]

I've found spring traps to be very effective, and it most cases seemed to kill them instantly.   Broken neck, eyes bugged out maybe, but no struggle.

And yes, sealing the house is critical.