Humane ways to catch a mouse.

[Gritt23]

C'mon good guys and gals, what's my best way of catching a field mouse that is running round the house driving Mrs Gritt into hysterics? Without getting a cat or a mousetrap.

We're getting proper cartoon leaping-up-on-chair moments, quickly followed by slapstick running-across-the-room-with-a-broom moments.

Personally, I don't want to live with Micky, but I'm not all that bothered by him either. Obviously, in the World of the Woman, that resulted in me being laid into for being "TOO CALM!" (and yes, capitals were the least requirement there to try to transport you into the moment).

Last night she was frantic as the poor terrified little thing hid under some furnture in the lounge. While I simply popped a couple of bits of bread down in the conservatory, with the door open, and waited .... the GLW decided to turn the room upside down in a frantic search. The plan being, I suppose, to scare it out of it's hiding place, and erm, well see it run into another one. I didn't get it, said so, and I won't be saying that again.

Eventually, I got the room straight again, and put the curtain back up (honestly!), only to spot my little plan had worked and it was running around in the conservatory. Bingo, lock the door, leave the conservatory open, and let nature encourage him out.


Then today. Just made a careful little phone call to explain I'm out at the cricket tomorrow, will be home late, drunk and sunburnt etc, only to find tears again, as another field mouse appears to have got in, and is hiding under the fridge. She apoplectic, and I can't face another repeat of last night. You chaps and chapesses are clever people, how do I get a mouse out, or was last nights plan the best way to go, and I just need to repeat that?

Btw, it's damn fast, so when it runs out I have more chance of finding Mylene Klass tucked up in my bed, than I have of catching little Micky II.

 

[Robot Chicken]

Get a cat??

 

[The Grockle]

I caught my family of mice, I assumed they were related anyway but maybe the same little bugger kept coming back.

The humane trap i got was from Pet city or whatever they are called now, I think it cost £7.99.

 

[Gritt23]

Get a cat??

That's a big "long-term", I really need to get them out this evening, ideally by 9pm, so that I can spend some of the evening relaxing, rather than rebuilding the house.

 

[Gritt23]

The humane trap i got was from Pet city or whatever they are called now, I think it cost £7.99.

Effective then? How long did it take? If I put that down this evening (leaving it a bit late now) will it catch the little fella by the morning?

 

[26-10-02]

Effective then? How long did it take? If I put that down this evening (leaving it a bit late now) will it catch the little fella by the morning?

Put peanut butter in the trap.Cheese doesn't work.

 

[Ned]

Chocolate works best of all. No peace for you, though. If you've got one, you've got a family.

 

[Gritt23]

Chocolate works best of all. No peace for you, though. If you've got one, you've got a family.

Maybe, maybe not. Because there has been a little fella bobbing along in the garden taking the bread thrown for the birds, and the little fella has been carrying it through the fence and off into next doors garden somewhere. We thought he'd just snuck in the back door (oohh-errr) the other day. However, it does seem to be at least two now though.

Sounds stupid, but how far away do you need to take the mouse after it's been caught to stop it just coming back in to join it's family?

 

[beorhthelm]

why worry about "humane", will the mouse worry about that as its shitting in your kitchen cupboards? most effective is what you want.

 

[The Grockle]

Effective then? How long did it take? If I put that down this evening (leaving it a bit late now) will it catch the little fella by the morning?

I didn't catch anything the first night but I caught 4 in just over a week, probably about 20 over a month or so, after that they just stopped coming! I must admit I sort of missed them!

One other thing mice f**king LOVE chocolate and will go to some length to get at it, I strongly recommend it as a bait. At work a mouse managed to climb into my colleague's second draw and have a go t a stray chunk of chocolate (picture attached) it must have been the Indiana Jones of the mouse world as it was a good foot off the ground with only a keyboard cable to get itself up there.

Edit If you look carefully at the chocolate you an see a groove made by the gap in his teeth!

 

[KneeOn]

I didn't catch anything the first night but I caught 4 in just over a week, probably about 20 over a month or so, after that they just stopped coming! I must admit I sort of missed them!

One other thing mice f**king LOVE chocolate and will go to some length to get at it, I strongly recommend it as a bait. At work a mouse managed to climb into my colleague's second draw and have a go t a stray chunk of chocolate (picture attached) it must have been the Indiana Jones of the mouse world as it was a good foot off the ground with only a keyboard cable to get itself up there.

Edit If you look carefully at the chocolate you an see a groove made by the gap in his teeth!

JESUS CHRIST thats a TANK of a mouse.

 

[jevs]

I find peanut butter slightly has the edge on chocolate if you're using traditional traps

 

[warlingham seagull]

If you already have two you know what they get up to....
Trap or poison (they go back to their nest so they 'disappear')
not a time to be squeamish I'm afraid

 

[Billy the Fish]

Get a bird of prey.

 

[Mackenzie]

1. Locate the mouse.
2. Use books, cardboard boxes, video cases etc to create a run from where the little blighter is hiding to the front/back door.
3. Scare the mouse down the run.
4. Proper job.

 

[clapham_gull]

I moved into a new place after Christmas and have a big mouse problem.

I tried everything "humane", sonic devices, peppermint and clove oil - simply everything.

I finally seem to have got rid of them and the only way is to simply stop them coming in and eventually they will go away.

I bought rolls and rolls of gaffer tape from the local one pound shop, combined with wire wool for the bigger holes and I've been mouse free for about a month.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Simples!

 

[Gully]

I saw a rat in my garden on Tuesday afternoon, bold as brass out in daylight, threw a large plant pot at it but missed by a mile. This afternoon the dog next door caught a rat, not sure if it was the same one, which was surprising as he is a spaniel...I had been offered the services of a Jack Russell, don't think I will be taking that up now. Not sure how good a cat would be against a rat, though I would put money on one in a head to head with a mouse.

 

[Gritt23]

I didn't catch anything the first night but I caught 4 in just over a week, probably about 20 over a month or so, after that they just stopped coming! I must admit I sort of missed them!

20!!!!! Bloody hell, how big does a mouse family get?

I won't tell Mrs Gritt that.

Right, we have a trap. I've spared no expense and spent a whole £3.99, so if that won't solve the problem, money isn't the answer. It's primed with peanut butter, and all I can do now is wait.

 

[The Mole]

We use a humane mouse trap which works well if you know where the mouse is hiding. We often get mice because our cat likes to bring them in, play with them until they run away and hide. Then he loses interest.

One thing to do is to release them a long way from your house as mice have a good homing instinct.