Mouse problem , Do I need a cat??

[predator]

Hey guys , just looking for some advice , I have a mouse or 2 in my apartment , And I have been using traps with peanut butter , but the traps never get them ( my theory of superior genetically engineered mice, they eat the bait , but the trap only snaps on my finger for some reason). Now my question : is a cat the best choice to get rid of these? The problem is I am an international student , And I am prob leaving the country in a year , and the cat is a big responsibility in my book , just don’t want to throw it out to the street ( plus a second mouth to feed). Now is there a place in which I can adopt a cat ( one which is already trained for a litter box , I really have zero experience with animals) and maybe a humane society that I can give the cat up for adoption when I leave?

Unless you guys can think of a better way to get rid of these mice ( I am hoping they haven’t bred yet)

Thanks

[Evil Techie]

LMAO
no you dont need a cat to catch some mouse

first of all, try using mouse baits for the mouse trap
if you are renting, you need to tell ur landlord about the problem and let him/her to take care of it

[MrMoo]

dont just use a cat to get rid of ur mice and return it later, becuase if u do this, by the time you leave, the cat will be older and noone will want to adopt it and it might need to be put down (most people want to adopt kittens)..

as for the litter box training, if the kitten has been with its mother, adn the mother is trained to use the litter box, in most cases u wont have to teach it to use the litter box, as the mother cat has already done so... i have had 2 cats in ym lifetime and not one needed to be trained...

[Lauralai]

please don't get a cat to fix your mouse problems, not all cats will hunt and kill mice, i mean you could get a dud, i have 7 cats and we have had mice, not one has killed a mouse. The mice are mainly in the cuboards though which most can't won't go into, your best bet is to hire someone to come in and deal with the mice, also if you rent your landlord may pay for the pest control, ours did, have not had mice back yet, also sticky traps work too. i'm not a fan of killing living things, but you getting a pest control company would be much better. Just think about it at least $10 a month for food and $10 a month for litter, that's $20 a month, you could buy a fair amount of other pest control devices for 1 months worth, or even a couple months worth of food or litter. oh and yeah, please do not get a cat

[Iron Chef Ajax]

Hey guys , just looking for some advice , I have a mouse or 2 in my apartment , And I have been using traps with peanut butter , but the traps never get them ( my theory of superior genetically engineered mice, they eat the bait , but the trap only snaps on my finger for some reason). Now my question : is a cat the best choice to get rid of these? The problem is I am an international student , And I am prob leaving the country in a year , and the cat is a big responsibility in my book , just don’t want to throw it out to the street ( plus a second mouth to feed). Now is there a place in which I can adopt a cat ( one which is already trained for a litter box , I really have zero experience with animals) and maybe a humane society that I can give the cat up for adoption when I leave?

Unless you guys can think of a better way to get rid of these mice ( I am hoping they haven’t bred yet)

Thanks
Talk to the landlord immediately. Let him worry about it. Mouse droppings are deadly and a real health hazzard.

[predator]

Thanks for all the replies guys , I will look at it

[LegiT]

lol...mice are smart. I have one in my house, been trying to get rid of it for the last month or so. Keeps crapping everywhere, been hiding all the food, don't know what it's eating now but droppings can still be found. Tried multiple baits but none work...it just squeals a lot when it gets trapped in a glue bait and by the time I get there with an old shoe in my hand, it's gone. Smart mouse though, saw it slide down my basement stairs (the side) with ease and headed to the vents. Dang thing...

[wanna_be]

What are you using to anchor the peanut butter? I found that jujubes worked great. They stick to the trap. The mice try to get the peanut butter of the jubes.

[ah802]

I suspect you need a better bait and method of securing it to the trigger. Mice are rodents and require some respect as a vaild life form, unlike the spammers and scammers on the internet.

[predator]

lol...mice are smart. I have one in my house, been trying to get rid of it for the last month or so. Keeps crapping everywhere, been hiding all the food, don't know what it's eating now but droppings can still be found. Tried multiple baits but none work...it just squeals a lot when it gets trapped in a glue bait and by the time I get there with an old shoe in my hand, it's gone. Smart mouse though, saw it slide down my basement stairs (the side) with ease and headed to the vents. Dang thing...

Thats one damn smart mouse ... LOL , when I imagine him sliding down the stairs I laugh a lot , well , until now no visible mouse droppings , but I have been seeing them for 2 weeks now , damn the pizzapizza next door... I blame them

[gh05t]

You need to set your mouse traps with precision so that the slightest pressure sets it off.

Many people are scared of getting their fingers snapped when setting mouse traps and so they set it too secure so it does not go off when the mice step on it.

[predator]

well , I set it as precise as I could I think , snapped my finger twice also in the process... Will try to somehow stick the bait ( peanut butter ) to it , so that they don't just nibble on it , they have to pull/push.

[KrispyFive]

Try using those plastic traps so that you can dispose of the mouse easily & without touching it. Another benefit to these types of traps is that you won't get your fingers caught in it while setting it. Some mice like peanut butter, some don't. I found that after using one thing for a while, they'd get sick of it. Try a variety of things to use as bait, such as cheese, bread, chocolate, anything really.

Also try getting some poison traps as well. Some places sell this black box type of thing with a hole big enough for a mouse on each end so that they can go in and eat the poison. Once I actually caught a mouse going in there, so I quickly grabbed a trap that would kill it and placed in in front of the box then made a noise to startle it and it came running out right into the trap. Make sure that you get the poison that dehydrates them so you won't have to deal with the smell of a dead mouse in your walls.

If you notice any holes in your walls, try stuffing them with steel wool & expanding foam. They can't chew through steel wool, I think because it hurts their teeth or something like that. I heard they don't like chewing through that foam either, but not too sure about that.. Just something to fill up the gap that you wouldn't be able to reach with polyfilla.

[Chrispy]

Have you tried other baits than peanut butter?

[wanted]

Have you tried other baits than peanut butter?


Yeah, ie. Poison

[kungpowchicken]

Dude I think you could be using the wrong trap. I used to use those cheap wooden ones - and the mice loved them - They would take the chocolate or peanut butter with ease, leaving the trap set or tripped with no mouse inside( I actually think I heard them laughing at me :-0 ) Now when I have the scritchy scratchy little bahstads shufflin' at night I use this baby...

http://www.kness.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=19

When set, the bait cup is actually under the trigger plate, so they have to stand on it to get at the peanut butter- then WHAM-O. There is no fiddling trying to set it right on the edge of the bar to get that hair trigger response- just pull the bar back and flip the clip. Eventhough I had wooden ones set out, the plastic ones would catch 95% of the offenders. I even caught mice I didn't know I had. Check out this site for positioning and baiting techniques...

http://www.victorpest.com

I think I got those "ketch-all 2" traps from Rona or Canadian Tire

[sptembergurl]

My parents used to have mice in their kitchen. Then they went to Home Depot and bought these devices that have a vibration or noise that is emitted through the air, one that humans cannot hear. My parents have had these devices for 2 years and no mice have ever returned.

Maybe this is a possibility for you? At least you don't have to kill them!

-Sptembergurl

[Keelie]

all cats are not mousers! my one cat could care less if he saw a mouse, the other one loves to play with them, which ends in death of the mouse, thankfully.

shes great at letting me know theres a spider in the house too!

but if you have mice, they are getting in somewhere, thats what needs to be fixed

[predator]

Hmm.... Reason I didn't try to use poison ( although I bought a pack) Is that I didn't want the mouse to die in the walls and start rotting there , I have those standard wooden traps, Tomcat i believe they were called , from homedepot , but all they snap on are my fingers , twice , and never catch the mouse ( they cleaned the peanut butter on the trigger though). Now this plastic mouse trap looks promising , I don't think I saw them at Homedepot though , and the sound device , if it's cheap and can cover the kitchen , living room and 2 bedrooms I will look into it , otherwise traps it is >:( . I just don't want to spends a fortune fighting mice. especially since I think they are cute ( although very unsanitary , I volunteer in a hamster lab , so I have a liking for those rodents now).

Now if I can find those plastiv traps in a store for a reasonable price , or any product like it , it might be my best choice

[MizTEcK]

mouse problem? scrap it and wait for one of the mx500 deals again :)

[predator]

lol , just got an mx510 yesterday of futureshop actually , now waiting for a pm deal so that I can go and get the price protection :)

[needie]

when we 1st moved in our house, there were a lot of mice. That was in the early 1990's, we just used glue mouse traps and eventually they all died or left (we killed like 50 ish).

However, the glue mouse traps we had in the early 90's were incredible, it was like super glue, i once had a flip flop step in one, we couldn't even rip it out without extreme force.

[felix]

all cats are not mousers! my one cat could care less if he saw a mouse, the other one loves to play with them, which ends in death of the mouse, thankfully.

shes great at letting me know theres a spider in the house too!

but if you have mice, they are getting in somewhere, thats what needs to be fixed
I thought all cats play with their prey before killing/eating them.

Also some cats can catch flies/insects, while some can care less. So I guess it depends on the feline in how they like to entertain themselves .. :lol:

[felix]

Hmm.... Reason I didn't try to use poison ( although I bought a pack) Is that I didn't want the mouse to die in the walls and start rotting there
There are the kinds of poison where the body dries up after it consumes it and dies. So no rotting problems to worry about. That's what they used in our attic when we called the exterminator and had to pay a couple hundred $$ for a few minute visit! Those guys must be rich!

[D.NGUYEN]

We have a mouse problem, can't get rid of them, in our kitchen and cupboards. At my old house the traps worked, sticky ones made them stuck, and wooden ones snapped their spinal cords, pretty cool.

[CARLiTO_]

I have used the "glue" before and that has worked well. If u do use the glue, be sure to put some food around it.

[Pete Jones]

There are the kinds of poison where the body dries up after it consumes it and dies. So no rotting problems to worry about. That's what they used in our attic when we called the exterminator and had to pay a couple hundred $$ for a few minute visit! Those guys must be rich!

Warfarin is a typical mouse poison. It acts by preventing the blod from clotting. An overdose of it basically causes the mousie to internally bleed to death. The net result is a (more or less) dried out carcass which, as long as there is ventilation, doesn't smell too bad for too long. (a couple of weeks, tops) And by the way, warfarin is also used to treat people with blood clots.

Another way of getting rid of them is to build your own mousetrap.

To build the mouse trap, you will need the following things:
1 wire coat hanger.
1 can of tomato soup.
Some fine wire to hold the bait (raw bacon)
A three foot board, 2" or 3" wide (ramp)
A five gallon plastic bucket.
Two gallons of soapy water. ( in the winter use car window washer solution )

To make the trap, drill a 1/8" hole in the center of the top and bottom of the tomato soup can. Put the can in some hot water to get the soup out through the holes. Put the wire hanger through the can and bend the ends so the can will hang three or four inches down in the bucket. Wrap the bacon around the can and hold in place with the wire. Put water in the bucket and set up the ramp.

The mice will run up the ramp, see the bacon and jump on the can, the can will spin over and drop the mouse in the water. Try it, it works great!

If the trap is to set for any length of time you can keep the smell down by pouring a cup of cooking oil on top of the water in the bucket when you set the trap out.

If you don't want to drown the little buggers, don't put any water in.

Cheerio,
--Pete

[thelefteyeguy]

my previous neighbour's old cat use to head out to the lawn and catch crickets to eat ^_^

it was quite funny to hear the crunching :lol:

[h2o-]

Warfarin is a typical mouse poison. It acts by preventing the blod from clotting. An overdose of it basically causes the mousie to internally bleed to death. The net result is a (more or less) dried out carcass which, as long as there is ventilation, doesn't smell too bad for too long. (a couple of weeks, tops) And by the way, warfarin is also used to treat people with blood clots.
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Found those mouse related threads the other days, read through them to get ideas how to solve the problems I've had for years. They come and go... I don't know how many of them were here... caught a few in years ago with sticky pads and did not see them returned until months ago.

Had never used Warfarin at all in my house so that I decided to give it a try... bought a box from Home Depot month ago. There are 4 bags in a box.... opened one bag, put them onto some swallow plates and located them around in laundry, kitchen underneath the stoves, inside garage... etc.. etc. :cheesygri

One day, found out the Warfarin has been *touched* :-0 and realized that the little friends must have consumed it. During the weeks, I think one bag of Warfarin fed them :evil: (I don't know how many little friends in my house, maybe more than 1) since then... so that I think they immune from it. Until this morning, one got caught on a sticky pad... has nothing to do with the Warfarin I placed. I'll continue use the Warfarin and pads as a trap combination.

My 2 cents........

[poedua]

Warfarin is a typical mouse poison. It acts by preventing the blod from clotting. An overdose of it basically causes the mousie to internally bleed to death. The net result is a (more or less) dried out carcass which, as long as there is ventilation, doesn't smell too bad for too long. (a couple of weeks, tops) And by the way, warfarin is also used to treat people with blood clots.

Another way of getting rid of them is to build your own mousetrap.

To build the mouse trap, you will need the following things:
1 wire coat hanger.
1 can of tomato soup.
Some fine wire to hold the bait (raw bacon)
A three foot board, 2" or 3" wide (ramp)
A five gallon plastic bucket.
Two gallons of soapy water. ( in the winter use car window washer solution )

To make the trap, drill a 1/8" hole in the center of the top and bottom of the tomato soup can. Put the can in some hot water to get the soup out through the holes. Put the wire hanger through the can and bend the ends so the can will hang three or four inches down in the bucket. Wrap the bacon around the can and hold in place with the wire. Put water in the bucket and set up the ramp.

The mice will run up the ramp, see the bacon and jump on the can, the can will spin over and drop the mouse in the water. Try it, it works great!

If the trap is to set for any length of time you can keep the smell down by pouring a cup of cooking oil on top of the water in the bucket when you set the trap out.

If you don't want to drown the little buggers, don't put any water in.

Cheerio,
--Pete

Did something similar - and has worked for me each time.

-5 gal plastic bucket
- place a wad of peanut butter in the middle / bottom of the bucket
- a small wooden ramp ( or a stack of books ' staired ' to the top of the bucket )
- place it along a wall or mouse run at night before you turn in
- during the night the mouse climbs up the ramp and falls into the bucket
- in the morning release the mouse in the yard ( next door !)

[keanefan]

Did something similar - and has worked for me each time.
-5 gal plastic bucket
- place a wad of peanut butter in the middle / bottom of the bucket
- a small wooden ramp ( or a stack of books ' staired ' to the top of the bucket )
- place it along a wall or mouse run at night before you turn in
- during the night the mouse climbs up the ramp and falls into the bucket
- in the morning release the mouse in the yard ( next door !)

why bother releasing the mouse?
KILL THE MOUSE. Or else, the mouse will return to your house.

The easiest and cheapest way to kill a mouse:

-put some cold water in a bucket/pail (50% full of water)
-the mouse needs a ramp to climb to top of bucket (cardboard, wood, books, wall, furniture, etc)
-put the bucket where you know the mouse likes to explore for food
-maybe drop some peanuts or nuts into the pail
-in the morning, you will see the drowned mouse.

[Xtahse]

cat-woman!!!