Baby mouse in the house(in the city)

WoollyRedHat

I woke up this morning to a scream. When I went out of my room to see what the fuss was about, the person living with me told me to my absolute joy there was a baby mouse in the kitchen. Now I didn't want to believe this for two reasons-

First off, we use to have a bit of a rodent problem in the past ( in the kitchen one day studying, I saw massive claws grip around the door that would make Freddy Kreuger look friendly in comparision) However, this has since changed and the house was done up, holes covered and well insulated and as a result, there had been no mouse sightings until today...

The other reason, and one I thought would of been the best damn deterrent from mice even thinking of entering the house is that we have a cat. So I go down to the kitchen, where this charade was and still is unfolding, and I fully expect the cat to carry out its natural predator duties and am a bit baffled as to why it hasn't already.

Now, I don't like mice, not one bit, ever since those massive giant claws came out of the cupboard a few years ago. So there is the situation in front of my eyes as I walk in. The cat is in the corner, and low and behold, the mouse is there too. I'm thinking great, she's got the mouse, she'll kill it and I'll have to sum up the courage then to put on the cleaning gear, go outside and put it in the bin. But no, the cat is actually playing with the mouse! I always suspected she was a bit useless, she's a real scaredy cat, but this is taking the piss. I think she wants to make friends with it. This can't happen.

I'm up in my room, scared terrified and hoping this is some kind of nightmare (I was watching the episode Nightmares last night, for any of you Buffy fans out there)

The person living with me had to go to work, but kindly suggested I pick up the mouse by the tail with some gloves on and put him outside. Easy for her to say. This idea freaks me the hell out, and I'm terrified even contemplating it.

First, what happens if the mouse jumps into my face, claws and all if I attempt it. Or if its mother, residiing somewhere in my cupboard( I found a bag of rice yesterday with a hole in it, so figure thats their little house now)
jumps out and attacks me. Maybe the rest of the extended family are there, so I'm picturing several of the comint at me at once. An army of mice, ready to feast on my flesh, before taking over my house and having free reign completely.

Meanwhile, my cat won't actually be a cat and would rather have some mice mates, so she won't do a thing. Maybe she'll get hungry in a few hours, when I haven't been able to fill up her bowl and do the logical thing.

So what do I do, help!!! I'm scared to go down to the kitchen

TL;dr There's a baby mouse in the kitchen, cat won't kill it and wants to play with it, extremely freaked out by them and feel like there's loads more of them lurking in my cupboards, ready to pounce,

danniemcq

If you have mice you don't have rats.

So thats something at least.

Other than that get one of those humane traps that don't harm the ickle thing and then release it somewhere else

Aside from shítting in your cereal, mice aren't that bad.

mud

The cat is being a cat, in other words a dickhead.

It'll kill the mouse when it gets bored.

I feel your pain. I ended up having to get rodent boxes a few years ago when mice over-ran the cottage.

They worked and I haven't had a mouse since.

Best of luck, I know that horrible feeling.

Banjo String

Is it wearing clogs op?

Interceptor

It is more scared of you then you are of it. It can't harm you, it isn't interested in getting near you and it is just looking for heat and food. Get whatever type of trap you feel most comfortable with (I favour the traditional break its neck version) and just be glad of where you are on the food chain.

Your cat will kill it if it is hungry enough btw...

'c

WoollyRedHat

danniemcq wrote: »

If you have mice you don't have rats.

So thats something at least.

Other than that get one of those humane traps that don't harm the ickle thing and then release it somewhere else

Silver linings and all that I guess, where can I buy these?

Deleted User wrote: »

Aside from shítting in your cereal, mice aren't that bad.

Yet when I do it, it's seen as completely unacceptable...

mathie

I awoke about two weeks ago to the sound of a mouse in my bedroom. There it was climbing up the curtains.

Sweet dreams.

WoollyRedHat

Interceptor wrote: »

It is more scared of you then you are of it. It can't harm you, it isn't interested in getting near you and it is just looking for heat and food. Get whatever type of trap you feel most comfortable with (I favour the traditional break its neck version) and just be glad of where you are on the food chain.

Your cat will kill it if it is hungry enough btw...

'c

Will I turn the heat off? There's **** all food in the house. I was looking forward to breakfast this morning What are rodent boxes

kneemos

Sorry but,no baby mouse without mammy and daddy mouse.

General General

Cut off its tail with a carving knife...

Gee_G

Unfortunately for those of you that don't want to hurt the mouse (?) I find the only thing that works is poison....lots if poison!!

mud

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Will I turn the heat off? There's **** all food in the house. I was looking forward to breakfast this morning What are rodent boxes

http://images.esellerpro.com/2215/I/134/49/Rat%20station%20baited.jpg

I got one similar to this. Only mice can get in, they nibble the poison and go away to die.


It was a last resort for me.

Maybe try the traditional traps first.

Irish Halo

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

the cat is actually playing with the mouse ... I think she wants to make friends with it.

That's exactly what your cat is doing, it'll have a Monopoly board out in a minute, they love Monopoly ...

Seriously though cats "play" with mice, they don't just kill them, and they will do it for hours, its similar to hunting for them. They will then mostly kill it and (you can't have a cat for long if you don't know this) present said "kill" to its owner ...

Also mice don't live in bags of rice they gnaw them open and eat the rice/bring it back to their nest they definitely don't jump at people's faces looking to eat their tasty, tasty eyeballs with the entire clan in tow.

Budawanny

mud wrote: »

http://images.esellerpro.com/2215/I/134/49/Rat%20station%20baited.jpg

I got one similar to this. Only mice can get in, they nibble the poison and go away to die.


It was a last resort for me.

Maybe try the traditional traps first.

not a good idea. they will crawl off to some unaccesible hole and die and your house will stink of death for months.
you will spend all your waking hours trying to find the last wire clothes hanger to hoke it out of its death hole.
to find the missus threw out all the wire ones and replaced them with useless ones from Ikea. and a packet of candles.


not for use inside...ever.

gg2

mathie wrote: »

I awoke about two weeks ago to the sound of a mouse in my bedroom. There it was climbing up the curtains.

Sweet dreams.

What did it sound like?

WoollyRedHat

Irish Halo wrote: »

That's exactly what your cat is doing, it'll have a Monopoly board out in a minute, they love Monopoly ...

Seriously though cats "play" with mice, they don't just kill them, and they will do it for hours, its similar to hunting for them. They will then mostly kill it and (you can't have a cat for long if you don't know this) present said "kill" to its owner ...

Also mice don't live in bags of rice they gnaw them open and eat the rice/bring it back to their nest they definitely don't jump at people's faces looking to eat their tasty, tasty eyeballs with the entire clan in tow.

Hmmm there was a slight bit of exagerration involved in my OP, I also realize they don't live in bags of rice, but thanks for the heads up anyway!

bazza1

Sack the cat!

Banjo String

Serious answer.

If you've a mouse, I dare say you've mice.

If killing them freaks you out, I ssuggest setting a trap like in my attachment below.
This is a trap that catches the mouse live, it basically is on a small axis, mini see saw if you like. Once the mouse walks in so far, the see saw goes in one direction and the lid closes, the mouse is unharmed and you can release it (or humanely dispose of it.

I had one in my shed for a few weeks. Caught a few mice and a pygmy shrew. :eek:

I found peanut butter the most effective bait.

Dfmnoc

Have the cat put down for a start, you can get plug in pest control unit in most electrical stores to deter pest from entering the home you'll have to get rid of the mouse that are there first as I don't think it will clear them if there already there only deter new ones from entering.

mathie

gg2 wrote: »

What did it sound like?

The hooker from The Man with Two Brains.
High pitched and extremely annoying.

mud

Budawanny wrote: »

not a good idea. they will crawl off to some unaccesible hole and die and your house will stink of death for months.
you will spend all your waking hours trying to find the last wire clothes hanger to hoke it out of its death hole.
to find the missus threw out all the wire ones and replaced them with useless ones from Ikea. and a packet of candles.


not for use inside...ever.

My personal experience has taught me otherwise.

Then again, I live in a really old house full of holes.

The mice all disappeared, off to find some water.

I was happy.

Lyaiera

*squee*

Baby mice are so cute and tiny. One came into my room and climbed into a waste paper basket and couldn't get out. I put a book over it and brought it out to the field and set it free.

If they could combine the cuteness of mice and the intelligence and friendliness of rats I'd have a pair as pets in an instant. (Rats are cute too but their tails are unfortunate, and they need a lot of space when kept as pets.)

CardBordWindow

danniemcq wrote: »

If you have mice you don't have rats.

So thats something at least.

Other than that get one of those humane traps that don't harm the ickle thing and then release it somewhere else

I've seen rats and mice eating from the same spot!
Granted, it wasn't in a house though.

gg2

mathie wrote: »

The hooker from The Man with Two Brains.
High pitched and extremely annoying.

I think i'd have peed my pants with fright

kiffer

Gee_G wrote: »

Unfortunately for those of you that don't want to hurt the mouse (?) I find the only thing that works is poison....lots if poison!!

I think many people thay don't want to hurt the mouse would count poisoning it as harming it...

The cat will kill the mouse eventually.
First it will cripple it... then it will push it around a bit...
Eventually the mouse will die of internal injuries or just plain old fear and panic.

My cat would treat them like kittens for ages... if they got stuck somewhere she couldn't reach then she would leave them there and go and bring another one in from out side... then there would be two live and mostly uninjured mice in the house... I would have to find them, catch them and release them back into the wild.

Then over a few months she got less and less careful with them. She'd do a lot more damage and they would die slowly and you'd find them in the hall in the morning, dead.

But then one day things changed...
She brought in a mouse and started calling out until I came to check on her... then as I stood watching her in the hall she meowed one more time, made eye contact with me and slowly and deliberately while keeping eye contact bit it's head off... and maintaining eye contact ate the whole mouse.

Yeah... cats are so nice...

WoollyRedHat

Lyaiera wrote: »

*squee*

Baby mice are so cute and tiny. One came into my room and climbed into a waste paper basket and couldn't get out. I put a book over it and brought it out to the field and set it free.

If they could combine the cuteness of mice and the intelligence and friendliness of rats I'd have a pair as pets in an instant. (Rats are cute too but their tails are unfortunate, and they need a lot of space when kept as pets.)

You're crazy! I hope you're never put in a position of combining animals, that's one thing I don't want to see.. whatever about mice, but rats?! eughhh


What I don't understand is how they got into the house in the first place, thought all holes had been covered up, and there was a lot. Also why is the cat not a deterrent to them? She didn't bring it in with her or anything.

What can I use as a temporary thing to catch the thing so I can lift it outside and then figure something out with potential others later on?
I don't want to be scurrying around my house all day.

byronbay2

God Almighty - what's the problem OP? You have some mice (it's the time of year for them to come indoors, looking for warmth and food) so kill the little blighters. Your cat has already caught one and will dispatch it in due course. As for the others, get some old-fashioned snap traps and bait them with Nutella - jobsagoodun!

fishy fishy

cats will play with mice before they decide they are bored and kill them. They will watch them run away before giving chase and pinning them down, they will throw them in the air and catch them. Once they get bored they will kill them and present them to you as a present.

A cat will know when a mouse is in the house and will sit for hours stalking the area where the prey is.

Everyone should have a cat.

Gee_G

kiffer wrote: »

I think many people thay don't want to hurt the mouse would count poisoning it as harming it...

The cat will kill the mouse eventually.
First it will cripple it... then it will push it around a bit...
Eventually the mouse will die of internal injuries or just plain old fear and panioc.

My cat would treat them like kittens for ages... if they got stuck somewhere she couldn't reach then she would leave them there and go and bring another one in from out side... then there would be two live and mostly uninjured mice in the house... I would have to find them, catch them and release them back into the wild.

Then over a few months she got less and less careful with them. She'd do a lot more damage and they would die slowly and you'd find them in the hall in the morning, dead.

But then one day things changed...
She brought in a mouse and started calling out until I came to check on her... then as I stood watching her in the hall she meowed one more time, made eye contact with me and slowly and deliberately while keeping eye contact bit it's head off... and maintaining eye contact ate the whole mouse.

Yeah... cats are so nice...

Yep and that's why I said "unfortunately" for those of you that don't want to harm the mouse ;-)

gramar

Get a traditonal mouse trap. Bait it with a small piece of bread smothered in Nutella. Yes, Nutella. They love it. I set it at 12 one night and I got up at 6 and there he was, as dead as could be. Instant death. Instant results.

I don't care about the mice themselves being in the house but wait till they start chewing wires behind the oven or fridge or boiler and think of the cost.

WoollyRedHat

What's the best shop for traps? Somewhere like Woodies?

byronbay2

fishy fishy wrote: »

Everyone should have a cat.

Eeugh! I'd prefer a mouse!

CrazyRabbit

The cat is just playing with its prey. It'll kill it eventually.

Get a snake. No messing around...it'll have baby mouse for dinner within seconds.

kneemos

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

What's the best shop for traps? Somewhere like Woodies?

The Mouse Trap shop of course.

gobnaitolunacy

Mice like chocolate, they only like cheese in cartoons.

WoollyRedHat

Ok update, mouse has now disappeared. Either the cat has swallowed him whole, or he has escaped. I'm hoping the former.

Hitchens

http://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

this will work perfectly, and it will get them all eventually

B0jangles

Hitchens wrote: »

http://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

this will work perfectly, and it will get them all eventually

Was just about to post something similar - I caught 5 mice in one afternoon with a very similar set up; I had a tallish bucket with a long ramp leading up to the rim, and then I balanced a kitchen roll tube on the bucket's edge with a dab of peanut butter in it at the far end.

Mouse climbs ramp, goes into tube to get peanut butter, overbalances, lands in bucket.

Repeat as necessary.

kneemos

Hitchens wrote: »

http://fivegallonideas.com/bucket-mouse-trap/

this will work perfectly, and it will get them all eventually

Brilliant idea.

danniemcq

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Silver linings and all that I guess, where can I buy these?

DIY shops should stock them or hardware stores, granted I live in Donegal so they are a lot more common up here but it shouldn't be hard to find, Kill traps are easier to get and usually cheaper so its up to you which you choose

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Will I turn the heat off? There's **** all food in the house. I was looking forward to breakfast this morning What are rodent boxes

Ah no, won't make a difference. and it'll just make it worse for you.

CardBordWindow wrote: »

I've seen rats and mice eating from the same spot!
Granted, it wasn't in a house though.

Yeah sorry should have explained more in my post, they never share the same space to live. If there is plenty of food yes maybe they will or like you said they are eating, like in Africa lions etc sharing watering holes or hyenas/lions sharing large kills

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Ok update, mouse has now disappeared. Either the cat has swallowed him whole, or he has escaped. I'm hoping the former.

Sorry to say but ummmm no it'll still be there.

petrolcan

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Ok update, mouse has now disappeared. Either the cat has swallowed him whole, or he has escaped. I'm hoping the former.

One down, about 11 more to go. Mice breed faster than rabbits.

MonstaMash

http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Cats/Hunter.htm

fathead82

You can get multi catch live traps in woodies,its a small box with a clear lid so you can see if there is a mouse in it or not,I think they can catch up to 10 mice. Better than poison cos you wont have dead mice in the walls & better than break back traps cos theres no danger of your cat getting its paw stuck in them.
http://www.maceoinltd.com/vermin-control-traps-snares/mouse-master-live-multi-catch-mouse-trap/
Peanut butter or nutella is the best bait.
Also,tell you cat to cop on,our cat had 7 shrews left on the doorstep on morning a few weeks ago.

kneemos

fathead82 wrote: »

You can get multi catch live traps in woodies,its a small box with a clear lid so you can see if there is a mouse in it or not,I think they can catch up to 10 mice. Better than poison cos you wont have dead mice in the walls & better than break back traps cos theres no danger of your cat getting its paw stuck in them.
http://www.maceoinltd.com/vermin-control-traps-snares/mouse-master-live-multi-catch-mouse-trap/
Peanut butter or nutella is the best bait.
Also,tell you cat to cop on,our cat had 7 shrews left on the doorstep on morning a few weeks ago.

The cat has a conscience.Leave it be.

WoollyRedHat

fathead82 wrote: »

You can get multi catch live traps in woodies,its a small box with a clear lid so you can see if there is a mouse in it or not,I think they can catch up to 10 mice. Better than poison cos you wont have dead mice in the walls & better than break back traps cos theres no danger of your cat getting its paw stuck in them.
http://www.maceoinltd.com/vermin-control-traps-snares/mouse-master-live-multi-catch-mouse-trap/
Peanut butter or nutella is the best bait.
Also,tell you cat to cop on,our cat had 7 shrews left on the doorstep on morning a few weeks ago.

Something like this sounds good, but what do I do afterwords like, just let them out the front? I live in the suburbs, don't want to litter the place with up to 10 mice out the door at once.

I know, I've had a sit down with the cat and gave her a stern talking to and what is expected of her as a cat. To use another Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference, it would be like Buffy just allowing vampires free roam of Sunnydale to wreck havoc and not actually slaying them. My cat is like Buffy to Angel.

fathead82

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Something like this sounds good, but what do I do afterwords like, just let them out the front? I live in the suburbs, don't want to litter the place with up to 10 mice out the door at once.

Chances are,you wont catch 10 at a time.most Iv ever caught is 2 or 3 in a night.Just bring them off away from your house,open the lid & off they go. Or if you have a neighbour you dont like,shove them in their letter box.

Hitchens

If the plural of mouse is mice, why isn't the plural of house hice?
They'd be called hice mice, then :P

Vision of Disorder

I would second a vote for a plug in pest control unit, never had a problem since I started using one.

kneemos

Hitchens wrote: »

If the plural of mouse is mice, why isn't the plural of house hice?
They'd be called hice mice, then :P

Louse is lice.
Makes sense.

Canis Lupus

Last time I had a cat it was responsible for more mice IN the house than it was removing them. It'd grab a mouse from outside then bring it inside to play with then lose the bloody thing under the sofa or somewhere similar.