Mice - should I get pest control out?

whadafook

Hopefully somone can give me a bit of advice.

Last Sunday night we woke up to hear a mouse in our bedroom. He has since met his maker and there has been no more evidence of mice upstairs.

I have found evidence of them under the kitchen sink. I set traps in the press and have bait boxes on the floor. Over the last week I have caught 5 with the traps. One bait box was touched the night they went down with nothing on them since.

I came home to the fifth dead mouse after 2 days of no action this evening.

I have sealed any visible cracks in the kitchen

Am I likely to continue to catch them or should I get the pros in?

tomo2470

Unusual to see them upstairs. Do you live in a timberframed house???. I lived in timber framed house and was infested with mice in winter time especially. I saw mosr of mine in the attic. They were getting in under the paths and up the wall in the living room. I'd say you may have a hole or gap somewhere outside. They can get in a hole the size of the top of a pen. Check outside and block any gaps you see. If you live in a semi then they could be coming in from next door

whadafook

tomo2470 wrote: »

Unusual to see them upstairs. Do you live in a timberframed house???. I lived in timber framed house and was infested with mice in winter time especially. I saw mosr of mine in the attic. They were getting in under the paths and up the wall in the living room. I'd say you may have a hole or gap somewhere outside. They can get in a hole the size of the top of a pen. Check outside and block any gaps you see. If you live in a semi then they could be coming in from next door

Its a semi d not timber framed. Any cracks I can see are sealed. They are on the non attached side of the house

Considering baiting outside but dont wan to encourage them.

tricky D

The original pair probably had offspring and you are in the process of killing them off. I'd stick with the snap traps as you are probably getting the last of them. The pros won't be able to do much more than what you are currently doing.

jpfahy

Remove all food. Mice can survive for days on a just a few crumbs so be very thorough. Block any holes with coarse wire wool, they cannot chew through this. Chocolate and peanut butter are the best bait for traps.
They could be coming in from next door, maybe through the attic.

Fuh Q

As already said, they are probably already in, they come in out of the cold to have their babies.
Just keep doing what you are doing, I had the same problem this time last year, one got into a space in a wall and couldnt get out, we could hear him jumping up the wall for about 4 or 5 day then it stoped, im guessing he died there.
Chocolate or peanut butter works well, I caught mine last year with it.
They move around so dont panic if you dont catch them in the kitchen, put traps all over the house, even upstairs.

bbam

Another thing that helps is a good tidy yard outside.. They love crap to hide under while they find their way into the house. Don't have stuff stored up against the house and if possible don't have anything outside that they can go under at all..

Yes you can put traps outside, round bins in particular is a good idea. Try to have them in something or at least covered to stop birds getting caught..

Keep the traps down in the house, all year round. Your original pair most likely had a family of maybe 6-8 little crawlers, you need to catch all and then have the traps set waiting for any new visitors, that way you catch them BEFORE they breed..
Happy hunting !!

Prenderb

Keep a trap or two in the hot press, I caught one there last year.

SIX PACK

Have mice in our home now just noticed in last few days. Wife is having a Canary. We have Timber Framed House & can hear them under the kitchen floor where under floor heating pipes are. The Estate im Living in in less than 10 years old & their is huge problem with rodents mainly mice I have a suspision their coming in from under Footpath at side of house.

What i dont like about where we live is the fact the houses were slapped up in a hurry & a lot of corners were cut If their were more regulations & inspections when these were built this wouldn't be a problem :mad:

michael999999

SIX PACK wrote: »

Have mice in our home now just noticed in last few days. Wife is having a Canary. We have Timber Framed House & can hear them under the kitchen floor where under floor heating pipes are. The Estate im Living in in less than 10 years old & their is huge problem with rodents mainly mice I have a suspision their coming in from under Footpath at side of house.

What i dont like about where we live is the fact the houses were slapped up in a hurry & a lot of corners were cut If their were more regulations & inspections when these were built this wouldn't be a problem :mad:

Why did you buy the house so?

muffler

michael999999 wrote: »

Why did you buy the house so?

Not very helpful.

Have you nothing positive to contribute?

Xantia

They could be just field mice which are actually nice creatures if you get to catch one and pick it up.
However back to reality
Mice will crawl up a wall if there is pebble dash on it and can get in under guttering.
They follow the urine trail of the leader mice and they can get in to the house via the tiniest of holes.
Best look around the house and fill in all small cracks and holes.

SIX PACK

This time of year they will try everything any anything to get in out of the cold. Iv done a couple of diy repairs. I noticed a crack in one of the air vents maybe that's where they were getting in.

I have also caught 4 small & 1 big one in traps. So hopefully iv them nearly all wiped out.

The_Mask

Start charging them rent

The_Mask

Maybe you could try one of those plug in rodent control frequency transmitters while also laying traps....seemed to do the job in my parents house. Alot cheaper than calling out pest control so worth a try.

blondie990

The_Mask wrote: »

Maybe you could try one of those plug in rodent control frequency transmitters while also laying traps....seemed to do the job in my parents house. Alot cheaper than calling out pest control so worth a try.

These have actually worked in our house. Well, a combination of a few things.

This time last year we had 3 mice in our hall, a crowd of them in the attic and a rat in the bathroom - long story involving my husband's elderly father leaving all the external doors open when out of the house. We killed them all off prior to beginning extensive renovation work on our house. We put in new floors in all the rooms, filled in any cavities and had all of the walls and attic insulated for the first time. That work probably brought our 50 year old little country house up to the standard of most newer houses. We then began using the frequency transmitters in all of the rooms in January/February of this year and we have not had one mouse or rat this year. We live on a farm, which we are in the process of cleaning up, and there are loads of lovely hidey holes for the rats and mice out there so I don't doubt that the house is probably surrounded by them but just thankful that they aren't in the house.

angelfire9

OP would you not consider getting a cat or terrier type dog?

The_Mask

angelfire9 wrote: »

OP would you not consider getting a cat or terrier type dog?

My Jack Russell Milo would only love to have a go at clearing your house of mice.

Cerco

angelfire9 wrote: »

OP would you not consider getting a cat or terrier type dog?

Not much good if the mice are in the attic though.

The_Mask

jpfahy wrote: »

Remove all food. Mice can survive for days on a just a few crumbs so be very thorough. Block any holes with coarse wire wool, they cannot chew through this. Chocolate and peanut butter are the best bait for traps.
They could be coming in from next door, maybe through the attic.

Ahhh the thoughts of anything or anyone chewing on wire wool...that's hit a nerve ). The best and cheapest way of blocking holes preventing mice/rats though.

angelfire9

Cerco wrote: »

Not much good if the mice are in the attic though.

Depends on the cat, my fella follows me up the stira stairs and loves the attic it's nice and warm and dark

duffman21

touch wood haven't had any mice or rats in the house, but my Labrador killed a rat the other day and brought it to the back door to show us, Lots of open space in the back garden so I'm sure there are a few out there but thankfully none in the house so far.

duffman21

Do the rodent control frequency transmitters actually work? do they affect other animals aswell or just mice and rats? Just wondering as I've never used them and dont know anyone that has

stoneill

Just keep with the traps until all mice are caught -

Safehands

duffman21 wrote: »

Do the rodent control frequency transmitters actually work? do they affect other animals aswell or just mice and rats? Just wondering as I've never used them and dont know anyone that has

I used them. They are as useful as a Ferrari in a traffic jam. Get a cat. Two weeks and all the mice will be gone. We did and it works.

Awesomepest

Yes, these mice are probably found in the attic because the attic is an area where no one goes and the rats roam freely. We should pest control attic as well as whole house.

artanevilla

Safehands wrote: »

I used them. They are as useful as a Ferrari in a traffic jam. Get a cat. Two weeks and all the mice will be gone. We did and it works.

How do you get rid of the cat?

Safehands

artanevilla wrote: »

How do you get rid of the cat?

We gave him to somebody down the country. He was a lunatic, but a great mouse catcher. But he wrecked curtains also. But no mice within 100mt of the house.