A Mouse in the House

A mouse in the house
is worse than a moose on the loose
A mouse in the house
is like having a bug in the rug

Whatever you do - don't give him a cookie!!

Kill 'em, kill 'em all

Name him Despereaux and then write a book about him.

I had a mouse in my office a few years ago. The only evidence was the bits of black rice he'd leave on my desk, and one day I picked up a pair of seldom-used work boots to find them full of sunflower seed shells from the open bags I would sometimes leave out.

No matter how much peanut butter, sunflower seeds, or bird seed I put on the traps, he continually managed to eat the traps clean without setting them off. I even tried wrapping thread through the peanut butter thinking that would increase the chances of him setting it off. No luck. After about six months of this I decided he deserved to live if he'd defeated me that thoroughly.

Whatever you do, don't let an elephant see him.

Poison the little fucker.

Their bodies dessicate when they die, so no worries about rotting carcasses.

I've had mice off and on over the last two years. Finding how they get in and blocking it off results in some somewhat satisfying desperate scratching and squeaking on the other side of the wall.

"I'm a bunny."

rhymegirl said:

I think we have a mouse in the house.

Or maybe more?

Suggestions for doing battle with rodents?

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If you travel down a page or two, you will see a What's your cat doing right now thread. I suggest you gather up all of our cats and invite them and us for a party. Why? We can play a game called How Fast Can a Cat Catch a Mouse in a House.

Seriously, other than that Decon stuff, cats are the only remedy I know.

I had it as my avatar one time.

Skip traps and use poison. I prefer a poison that comes in blocks and not pellets so they can't drag it off. I use Predator and get it at the hardware store.

If you've found a spot where you know they go--like maybe they've gotten into a cereal box or something--then leave it alone as much as you can and put the poison there. They'll usually stick to going to the same spot as long as there's food/poison there. If you take it away then they'll just spread out more looking for more food and it'll take longer to get rid of them.

Do not get a humane trap. Why? Because if you do and if you catch the furry menace you then have to decide what to do with the bloody thing!

I got a humane trap because the mousey was in a part of the kitchen my cat could not get to. So I thought. About three in the morning I am woken up by a noise. I go down stairs to discover that my cat has pulled the humane trap out of the cupboard I had put it in and was batting it up and down the kitchen. He was doing that because there was a mousey in the trap. I take the trap away and look at mousey. Mousey looks back at me. I put mousey in a tin with news paper and some water and oats and then put the lid on (with breathing holes punched in) with a brick on top. Then cat and self go upstairs to bed. I lie in bed thinking - what the hell do I do with mousey now?

Next morning I phone the RSPCA and ask for advice. I am asked if I have a wood pile. I do have a wood pile. Let mousey go into wood pile. I point out that the wood pile is next to the house and mousey will return. To which the lady says "Well dear, you do have a humane trap don't you?" I hang up the phone and put biscuit tin with mousey in it in the car and drive about five miles down the road and let mousey go.

See, humane traps are so bad for you. Don't get one. Owls like mice. Get an owl.

Humane mouse trap. Take it down the street where it's fair food chain game and move on.


If it's an infestation then call your local bug and mouse guy. Billy the Exterminator is pretty cute.

Nothing wrong with using a humane trap, just have an idea in mind where you want to take the little bugger(s) once you catch him. And you can use those traps over and over again. Cheapter than feeding a cat.

Have any parks, fields, forests, whatever, to drop him off at?

Susan Littlefield said:

If you travel down a page or two, you will see a What's your cat doing right now thread. I suggest you gather up all of our cats and invite them and us for a party. Why? We can play a game called How Fast Can a Cat Catch a Mouse in a House.

Seriously, other than that Decon stuff, cats are the only remedy I know.

Click to expand...

A couple of months ago I had what I thought was a mouse behind the 'fridge. It turned out to be rat. I thought I could catch it myself and set about doing so with a broom and big plastic storage bin. Ha! Do you know how fast those things move? And they can jump 6 feet with ease!

After half and hour of fruitlessly chasing this rat, which went up the curtains, across cupboards, under the stove, over the table and shelves and several times in and out the plastic bin so fast I simply couldn't keep up, I had a bright idea. Fetch the cat! Which I did.

The cat took one look at this lot, sat down in the corner and proceeded to watch my efforts with much interest. But did he go for the rat? Not on your life! Didn't so much as lift a paw to help. I think he was highly entertained though.

Eventually I removed said cat from kitchen, closed the kitchen door and called for the cavalry. Hubby had to cancel a meeting, come home, don welding gloves and manually extract rat from the space between the back of the 'fridge and the grillwork. Rat was then put in a bag and set free in the park that borders our property, where he could be owl food - or go forth and multiply. Whatever. As long as 'Ratatouille' was out of my kitchen.

And to think I spend so much money on premium cat food!!

Maybe that's the problem.

Sounds like you need the Mouse Man! If you do have a whole family a humane trap will not get rid of them and you ought to call in a professional.

Meanwhile ... if you know where they stuff the entrance to their living quarters with wire wool.

GailD not nice having a rat in your home... unless it is a pet! Or a partner...

Hmm... I rather like mice and rats. Had one living with me for three months once -- in the study. It decided it loved the boxes, and there were places the cats couldn't get to, so it thought it was safe.

I'd find black rice pellets on the desk in the morning if I forgot to take the plate to the kitchen. Plate was cleaned of crumbs, though.

Don't know what happened to it. Probably the cats.

If you have a family of them, I think calling in the professionals would be a good way to get rid of the mice. If you don't want them killed, however, ask if the professional(s) has a humane way of removing them?

Good luck!