difficult child is flipping out

[Jena]

difficult child is flipping out. A mouse crawled onto her leg tonight while we were watching a movie, it's the 4th mouse today.

Their everywhere, and i'm driving them 5 miles away now when i catch them. She's afraid to go to sleep now because it crawled onto the couch and onto her and than hid in the couch for 40 minutes while easy child's boyfriend and myself tried to find it and catch it.

If i owned it, i'd do everything the web told me to do to get rid of them. Yet I dont' own this huge old house.

I can't have difficult child freaking out like this i almost gave her more seroquel tonight because she lost it so badly a few times.

i'm sorry but i def have a black cloud. we finally move into a house and this is what happens.

 

[Andy]

I would be flipping right along with her. It is one thing to see a nasty bug or rodent and quite another to have it touch you! Ewwwwwww

Start looking into landlord laws to see what the responsibility of the homeowner is. I would think a HUGE decrease in rent is in line until these furry brats are gone. Maybe hand in receipts for mouse traps, cleaning supplies, mileage to get rid of the mice, ect and the balance with the rent?

 

[recovering doormat]

definitely contact the building's owner and tell him/her you've got rodents crawling on your kids! Then don't wait for them to act, get the sticky gel traps or I found I new kind that looks almost like a very thick plastic clothespin or clip for potato chip bags, that you bait and it snaps down and kills the mouse instantly, much less messy than the wooden and metal spring traps. Bait em and put them at the baseboards or whereever you see them.

I know how you feel. I hate the idea that my house is invaded with something nasty.

 

[klmno]

Jena, take photos, video clips, whatever to document how bad this is. There is a difference between an occassional bug or rodent and an infestation. There are laws against this- the landlord will either have to treat the place adequately to get rid of them or let you out of any contract you have. Get proof of the severity first. You might have to kill them and save them a couple of days (out in the yard or something)

 

[Jena]

good idea on all points andy and klmno, doormat, ok hate calling you that for short lol, thanks and yes nasty.

i have to take pics you are 100% right. i didn't even think of that iwas too busy trying to get difficult child down. she totally lost it, bigtime and continued to till she fell asleep. i'm sitting on a stool in our kitchen right now because i'm afraid to sit in the living room on those couches.

i'm totally grosed out. yup. an occassional one no biggie yet they've nested here no doubt in my mind.

she started crying tonight and said here we have this big house and there are mice everywhere i'm afraid to go to bed. we shouldn't live here now we have to move again! I said well let's not jump to conclusions let me see if mommy and boyfriend can fix it first. she shouldn't have to worry about these things and we shouldnt' have to live like this for $2,200 a mos not including gas, oil, electric etc.

ugh. the thought of spending day here tmrw makes me sick.

 

[gcvmom]

Best mousetrap we ever got was the C.A.T. brand. Works every time!

 

[flutterby]

I absolutely hate the idea of poison, but when the infestation is this bad I don't think you have much choice. It was the only way a friend of mine was able to get rid of hers. They were chewing through the ceiling. She tried catch/release and snap-traps first.

I would certainly do poison over sticky traps. Those things are the worst thing ever.

However, this should be your landlords responsibility and s/he should be calling an exterminator.

 

[BestICan]

OMG I'm so sorry to hear about this! I would do a difficult child-style freakout too. As if you don't have enough to deal with. Good luck getting results from your landlord.

 

[Marguerite]

I'd be going straight to poison. Sticky traps aren't humane - husband & I got a hysterical call from a woman we know one Easter Sunday, the exterminator had left sticky traps which had been all-too successful and she needed US to dispose of the struggling baby rats the traps had caught.

And while you should expect the landlord to be responsible, if you wait until the landlord fixes it you could be knee-deep in mice. Sometimes you just get plagues in certain areas and it's not just one house. We've recently had a plague in our area, the local school grounds are jumping with mice at night. We got a visit from our friendly local (very large) diamond python. Diamond Jim is getting very big on all the food.

In Australia we are experienced with mouse plagues. When you have to clear the bedclothes from reaching the floor (keep them tucked in) and then put each leg of every bed (and table, and chair) in a bucket of water, you know it's bad. But it's the best way to ensure a safe night's sleep, becausee the mice drown if tey fall into the bucket of water so it stops them from climbing up the bed posts and the bedding. Anything you don't want them to climb - wrap some thin sheet metal around it. Food - lock it all away in solid containers that seal tightly. If you have a large food area (such as a pantry) and it's a long-term problem, then build a special rat-proof room that seals tight and has no timber in the ceiling, walls or floor that can be tunnelled through. And remember to keep the rodent-proof room door shut! Wash the outside of containers (including drink cans, food tins etc) before you use them, wash your hands after touching anything possibly contaminated.

I don't want to scare you, but if you saw 4 mice in one day, then it's highly likely it's only the tip of the iceberg. The ones you see are the minority; most of them will be hidden.

Something else you can try, in rental accommodation - check out all possible entry points and begin to systematically block them. Stuff poison bait into any holes, if you need to. Just make sure no children or pets are likely to get to it. And if you find entry points you just can't block - make a note of them anyway to show the landlord. Try to find substances you could use to block the holes and then get supplies/permission from the landlord.

Marg

 

[Wiped Out]

Jena,
I am another who would be freaking as bad as a difficult child! I hope it is taken care of soon, I am sorry you are having to deal with this. Hugs.

 

[Jena]

hi guys and thanks for the input i greatly appreciate it everyone

Marg thanks for the tips. I already emailed the landlord last night and told her what needs to be done and told her if it isnt' done we're going to start looking for another house.

unfortunately boyfriend and i sleep on our mattresss on the floor. we couldnt' fit our box spring it's too big up the stairs of this old house. so i was a bit freaked last night.

get this i woke up with a weird thing on my eye and my neck. i was touching alot of carp last ngiht when i dealt with-them and i'm not sure if i washed my hands each time to be honest. it almost looks like a sty yet it's not. it's a red blotch on my eyelid that's big in the corner and my eye is a bit swollen and i have rash on my neck, fun never ends and i'm due back at work tomorrow!!

 

[svengandhi]

Get to a doctor or an urgent care immediately to have your face looked at. Wear gloves when dealing with the mice and throw them out after each use.

Get a cat - seriously! If you don't want one permanently, check with a no kill shelter about fostering one for awhile. Once the cat is imprinted, mice may stay away more.

Is your rental legal? Does Suffolk County or your town have laws about that? Where I am, if you rent an illegal apt or house, the landlord can't collect rent if you sue them and you might be able to get your deposit back. Your rent is less than the going rate in my town for a full house.

Good luck, mice gross me out.

 

[Marguerite]

Get your eye checked out, but it's unlikely to be from the mice, not so quickly. But be cautious.

Infection control - I think rats are more of a concern, but if you're even only moderately cautious you will be fine. No need to go overboard, just be vigilant with your hygiene and wash hands before eating, before handling food, make sure all food is kept locked well awsay from the risk of even the outside of the container being in contact with mice. wash down the outside of the storage/container and then wash hands again after doing this. Keep your food prep area washed down. use dilute bleach if you can, or neat vinegar. Dry it off with paper towel then discard the paper towel. Bugs are less likely to survive if it's dry, and dilute bleach will kill just about everything. Don't make it so strong that it chokes you; dilute is actually more effective. Antibacterial is actually not as effective(!!?!).

If you can improvise something for your bed (old boxes, even) to get you up off the floor, it has to be healthier. Thinking cap time.

I have lived in some squalid conditions in mytime, I have been extremely poor and also extremely desperate for a roof over my head and a patch of floor to lie on, in my time. So I know how to improvise!

I would advise talking to the neighbours/keeping your eyes open to assess the neighbourhood, to see if it's just the old house or if there's a general problem in the area. If it's a general problem, maybe you and the landlord can tag-team with ideas and support, because sure as eggs, any other place could be just as bad, if not worse. Maybe better the devil you know, if there's a local epidemic.

Marg

 

[Lucedaleblessed]

We are living in a small town, have same problems and there is only one answer: A big ugly cat. Are you allowed to have pets and is there a shelter nearby?

I will recommend a grown up cat. Kittens are cute but this is an adult job.

 

[Marguerite]

ANother quick thought on disinfection - alcohol is also good, but the low-cost really effective way, is salt solution. As concentrated as possible. Salt is an effective preservative, because it draws water out of cells. Bacteria are cells. Salt has been used for millennia to preserve food very effectively. To clean a chopping block, you scrub it with salt.

Also effective, especially for non-porous surfaces - boiling water.

You need something easy, cheap, safe and effective. It needs to be easy because if it's not, you won't use it as you should.

I remember when I was still in the hospital after having easy child, we were required to clean the baby bottle teats with salt. We'd get a spoonful, rub it into the teat with our bare fingers, scrub it over the surface in and out, then rinse it an drop into Milton until it was needed. The practice was only stopped, because there was a nasty accident where a nurse mixed up the powdered milk with the salt, 'formula' got mixed up with the salt instead of the milk, and babies died from salt poisoning. Not because of salt on the teats, but tablespoonsful of salt in the baby bottle.

Salt is effective at cleaning and killing germs. Just be careful to rinse it off well before you use whatever you have used salt on, in order to avoid anyone accidentally ingesting too much salt.

Marg

 

[Stef]

I have one professional and one apprentice mouser at my place. They do the job quite well. They're listed in my profile under zoo.

 

[susiestar]

We are having non-paying roommates also. Captain Morgan is now the "rent collector" for these unwelcome guests. He is quite surprisingly good at it for a cat who seems to have a lifetime goal of out-eating Garfield!