wild mice....going insane!!!! - Paw Talk

RSbunny · #1 02-04-2004, 07:32 PM

I just went to get some rabbit food to feed my bunnies and seen yet another little mouse running across the kitchen floor. I am soooooo sick of the rodent problem here....we have them all the time!! I make sure that all food is put into containers and that nothing is around for the mice to get too but I still get them constantly. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do to keep them out?? Apart from a cat of course!!! I am so sick of hearing the little traps go bang and knowing that I've just killed a poor little animal. We used to save them before but they'd come straight back the next day so we have had to resort to setting traps. Need help asap!!!!

Ravnos · #2 02-05-2004, 02:07 AM

Sounds like you need more snakes in your neighborhood.

Anyway, what I tell people when I go out to their property for snake calls - first thing to do is clean around the outside of the house. They're coming in from somewhere, they don't magically appear. Any debris piles, wood stacks, trash, etc, in the yard should be removed. It is perfect habitat for rodents, and not just mice (which attract snakes). Go around the outside of the house and board up holes - that expanding foam stuff also works wonders though it is butt-ugly. Its a heck of a lot of work sometimes, especially when it comes to older houses. Eliminating food inside is a good first step too - but mice will eat (or try to eat) pretty much anything they can get into.

There are live traps, I don't know if they're available where you are, but that may be an alternative. Let them go a couple miles away.

My main concern with wild rodents in the house is the possible risk of parasites and disease being spread to my own animals. No fun at all.

Rav

RSbunny · #3 02-05-2004, 05:46 AM

Thanx Rav!! We have a really small wood pile in the back yard that is away from the house but I'll get my bf to get rid of it as soon as possible!! I know of a couple of holes in the house that we had filled up before with steel wool (they can't chew through it) but my dog ripped it all out!!! grrrrr I know why they are coming in.....our neighbour owns chickens and her grass is always really long...then they mow and voila we have a mouse again!! It's been having a ball tonight...brave little devil that it is!!! I was cooking dinner and while I was cooking it was running around the kitchen floor!!!
The parasites is my biggest concern too...I own two pet mice and have two indoor rabbits...I stress about them so much when we have one in the house. Thanx for all your help!

Crittercall · #4 02-13-2004, 09:00 PM

Carmen -
Sorry I haven't been around to try to help answer your question, but Rav always has excellent advice. Being in FL we have anoles all over the place outside that I just love (and they sneak in sometimes so I know how tricky little critters can be to catch). But I also have a black snake (?) that lives under the palm in front of the house so I trust him to take care of all undesirables!

Sorry again for not responding sooner - I've been really sick, in the hospital, etc. and as we speak my energy level is going quickly!

Good luck!

Ravnos · #5 02-13-2004, 11:08 PM

How big is the black snake? Is he solid black? Does he have a white or cream colored chin? I'm sure I can help you figure out what it is.

Rav

Crittercall · #6 02-14-2004, 07:17 PM

No idea, Rav. We keep in our own spaces and don't bother each other! I did catch a peak of him sunning himself in the driveway one day, but he usually skitters into the mulch under "HIS Tree" and minds his business.

If he ever becomes a nuisance or seems to be a threat to me we'll do more checking on him!!

Thanks for the offer. Keep it cool.

RSbunny · #7 02-15-2004, 09:43 PM

Well mousey mouse is gone!!! It has just disappeared!! It was quite clever and was eating all the peanut butter off the traps but not getting caught...well it hasn't done it for days but our neighbour warned us of a 6 foot black snake roaming around at the moment so that might have fixed our problem!!!lol
Critter I hope you get better soon....

undercoverrats · #8 04-04-2004, 03:36 AM

Sounds like we snakes out here. I am in Oregon, and live in the country. The managers of this place will not allow cats outside. There are huge fields around here with tons of places for critters to live. We also live in a home that was built above an old, now unused lodge...perfect for the rats and mice to live in. I have seen the wild rats out on our second story balcony. I raise rats...but the wild ones are not a welcome house guest. We are currently looking to move. It is beautiful up here, but I have had enough with the managers. Hopefully our next home will not have such a wild rodent problem.

I am bunny sitting right now. I got a French Angora for a friend of mine. I had thoughtthe bunny would be fine on the balcony, in her cage of course. Well, right after dark I hear her stomp. I sneak quietly to the door and open it in time to see a rat scurry off. She is now spending the evenings in my kitchen. She is just so gorgeous. If my friend does not come get her soon I just might not be able to let her go. Hehe.
Marianne

Formula86 · #9 05-14-2004, 11:08 PM

hey carmen...i don't know what you would call this, but sometimes they make these devices that you can plug into the wall socket and it will transmit a certain wave frequency that repels pests. i don't know if they have them for rats, but i would look it up! maybe that could help. ??? or you could rescue a cat and let it have a field day! (padon the pun)

Crittercall · #10 05-15-2004, 12:01 AM

Hey 86, those things are not safe to use around rodents (your little wild buddies) or bunnies (your guest) so I guess that's out of the question. They seemed to work pretty well on my fleas but I don't know what I did with them when the chins (a no-no) left home.

After the bunny leaves it might be just the ticket to put out on your balcony!! Good luck - nothing like the sound of scurrying in the night!!

RSbunny · #11 05-16-2004, 05:56 PM

Jane I would love one of those things!!! Especially one to keep the cockroaches and spiders away! But having pet mice i'm a bit worried as to how it would affect them. I heard a rat in the roof the other day but haven't heard it since. We have some baits up in the roof (which is where the rats live) and even though it's completely cruel it's the only way I can get rid of them without hurting my animals an without having them die in the roof to stink out the house. We haven't had a mouse for a while but the neighbour is keeping her grass freshly cut which helps heaps cause it used to grow really high and then they'd cut it and we'd get a mouse!

Formula86 · #12 05-16-2004, 10:03 PM

oh i'm sorry carmen! i didn't know/forgot that you had pet mice! oops...ok i guess that won't work. have you called for a professional exterminator? maybe they can get rid of what you have now, and then do something to the perimeter of your home for the future. ???

RSbunny · #13 05-17-2004, 01:12 AM

Jane same deal...whatever they spray to kill the wild mice will kill my mice! I had the roof sprayed for bird lice nearly a year ago and one of my mice died the next day....I don't know if that's what it was but it was a bit of a coincidence! We only have to live in this area for a few more months and then we'll be moving well away so hopefully we won't find the same problem there!

Formula86 · #14 05-17-2004, 04:19 AM

jeeezzz...this is a hard one. some of the pest control people here will not spray or use chemicals, but they will trap them. i know that you are doing this, but maybe they will have more luck. it takes a small while to do this, but at least it's guaranteed.

other than that, i don't know what do tell you other than to leave for a week and let them bomb the house!!

but i don't think you can do that! oh well...i'm sorry carmen!! maybe you can wear your scary outfit and SCARE them away! hahahaha! j/j!!!

RSbunny · #15 05-18-2004, 12:15 AM

I wish that would work!!!