I am so sick of mice

[hearts and roses]

My dad used to slam them against our backyard fence and then chuck them over into the easement on the other side. I remember thinking he was so cruel, but I get it now.

My H has been calling me Josef Mengele ever since I left one outside still trapped in his cage to freeze. Yeesh, c'mon.

 

[KTMom91]

We have had the occasional mouse, set a wooden trap, and Hubby disposes of it.

Right after I bought the house, I had skunks that moved in underneath the house. The house had been vacant for a while, so I guess they remembered it as a good place to be. The animal shelter would loan me a trap, but wouldn't come and get the trap once it was full. Right, like I'm gonna load this in my trunk and drive it over to you? Thanks for nothing. Fish and Game didn't want any part of it either. I didn't want to put down poison because I figured they would smell worse if they died under there, plus I had an outside cat. I finally put a radio in each room, tuned to a different station, and turned them up LOUD when we left in the mornings. It took about three days before they left.

 

[gcvmom]

I finally put a radio in each room, tuned to a different station, and turned them up LOUD when we left in the mornings. It took about three days before they left.

Hmmmm... I might just try this with the in-laws when they're visiting over the holidays...

 

[donna723]

Don't remember if it was here or not, but I heard something before about some kind of electronic thingies that are supposed to get rid of mice! You plug them in to your electric sockets. Supposedly they make a high-pitched sound that people can't hear and that won't bother your dogs or cats, but the mice can't stand it and they pack their little bags and leave! Has anybody heard of this before? I was told that they had them in Walmart but I looked all over that darned store and couldn't even find the regular mouse traps!

 

[hearts and roses]

Donna, we did the plug ins last winter - they seemed to have worked, but then they didn't.

 

[Lothlorien]

My parents' house is an old house. We had mice all the time. My parents used to do the catch and release...no good. Then they tried poison....awful. They die in the worst places and you don't know they're dead until the smell hits you. They used the wooden traps that killed them. We still had the problem. The all time best thing that ever happened was when I started feeding a stray cat outside of our house. My parents started feeding the cats and now they have several indoor cats. No more mice.

My friend had a mouse problem, recently, after the stray in her back woods must have died. Once another stray cat came around, the mouse problem dissappeared. If you do get a cat or attract a stray, make sure the cat is spayed, so you don't have LOTS more cats, though.

 

[hearts and roses]

I am allergic to cats - I WISH I could have a cat, as I know that would help solve our problem with mice.

That said - our neighbor has about 4-5 cats and they hang out in our yard...do you think I should start feeding them? I don't think she'd care, as she lives right across the street, so it's not like I'd be stealing them. Hmmmm.....just thinking of the possibilities.

 

[donna723]

I wish I could have a cat in the house but my dogs would make its life miserable. I really don't think a cat could get any more mice than my dogs do though. They are extremely quick and extremely patient. Trouble is, the mice seem to have smartened up in the last few years - they're up in the ceilings and run across the counter tops. They know to stay up higher. Only the little dumb ones run across the floor now - and the dogs get them.

JoG, where did you find the plug-in mouse trap?

 

[Lothlorien]

I'm sure if you put a little cat nip in your yard (don't throw tomatoes at me. I know some of you think it's bad, but our vet said it's okay, sometimes), it would attract them. If you left them a little treat once in a while, they'd come around and keep your mice away. I'm actually surprised with all of them being outside, you continue to have problems.

 

[hearts and roses]

I'm actually surprised with all of them being outside, you continue to have problems.

Maybe because they are my neighbor's cats, their house is mouse free and that's why they are at my house?

 

[hearts and roses]

JoG, where did you find the plug-in mouse trap?

At Home Depot.

 

[Shari]

Hey, Jo, from one allergy ridden person to another...
***
I'm allergic to cats. I'm also equally allergic to mice. I can keep the cat under control with coat spray and grooming, frequent vacuuming, and generally just giving him his space. I can't keep the mice under control without the cat, so damned if I do, and damned if I don't.
***
I opted for the cat and a bunch to live outside. Our house is ancient, so its doesn't completely stop the problem, but drastically reduces it.
***
Lots of allergists don't check for mouse allergies, so you might want to check it out. Mice might be worse than a cat.

 

[hearts and roses]

Shari, yes I am definitely allergic to the mice as well. Unfortunately, I cannot have a cat - been there done that with the testing, since I was 3 years old. I went for the immunology shots most of my childrehood and stopped at about 16, then restarted for a few years in my 20's. I grew up in a house full of cats and dogs (my mother says she still can't explain why my asthma was so bad!) and once I moved out of the house my immunity to those pets went away so when I tried to have a kitty years ago with exh, I ended up in the hospital. My siter has 5 cats and 3 large dogs. I can't even go to her house once it's closed up for the winter months! And, to boot, I take daily medications for my asthma - 2 kinds! H doesn't get the allergy to the mice thing. When I cleaned out the cabinets I broke out in hives and have had asthma daily since. It's gotten better as we've gotten rid of the mice, but everytime I clean out a trap and reset it, I get wheezy again. And I wipe out the cabinet we're trapping them in twice a day! This is why I have no remorse for just killing them. I hate them.

 

[Shari]

Oh, man, that stinks.

Hopefully their outside presence will help. I know it does at my house.