Mice

[rouseytastic]

I have been distracted from last nights 'issues' by the realisation that there is a mouse in my house. I am prone to leaving my biscuits on the floor by the sofa and wandering off to bed.
Last night when I picked my biscuits up I noticed the chocolate on top was missing and that little bits of wrapper were shredded off. Presuming this to be a faulty biscuit and possibly my 9 month son attacking it whilst i wasnt looking I ate away. Waited until the game had finished and went to bed.

This morning I come downstairs to be treated with this:



And upon further inspection in the dining room I find this:



So I now know I have a mouse, that he likes caramel digestives, that I have been eating the biscuit he couldn't finish and I also now know where it lives.
Now I don't really want to kill it but how else can politely get him to f*ck off without having blood on my hands? A trap would obviously do the trick as he is clearly a hungry chap but are there any non lethal procedures I can follow?

 

[Hillian1]

Humane traps.

 

[rouseytastic]

Humane traps.

What are they and where can I get one?

 

[Hillian1]

What are they and where can I get one?

Traps that don't kill.

No idea.

 

[Notters]

Use the amazon link!

 

[mikeyjh]

You can mess around with a humane trap all you like, but a) They'll just come back using whatever route in to the house they used before b) Will be replaced by other mice using that route c) Mice don't live on their own and reproduce at a fair lick, you'll need to be 'humane trapping for a while.

My moderately extensive experience on the issue makes me suggest that a) you use a snap trap b) fix the grand canyon size gap in your skirting and anywhere else they're getting in the main part of your house c) Look at how they're getting in to the outer part of your house and seal up.

 

[mikeyjh]

You can mess around with a humane trap all you like, but a) They'll just come back using whatever route in to the house they used before b) Will be replaced by other mice using that route c) Mice don't live on their own and reproduce at a fair lick, you'll need to be 'humane trapping for a while.

My moderately extensive experience on the issue makes me suggest that a) you use a snap trap b) fix the grand canyon size gap in your skirting and anywhere else they're getting in the main part of your house c) Look at how they're getting in to the outer part of your house and seal up.

D) don't leave biscuits lying around.

 

[rouseytastic]

D) don't leave biscuits lying around.

All good tips and for the record I am quite partial to a caramel digestive and now (after effectively food sharing, literally, with this little git) I don't have any. So, I think they/he/it are entering via a hole behind a bush up against the dining room. I will inspect the rest of the house over the course of the day. So basically I need to wipe out the current residents? Shall I use one of partially gnawed digestives as bait?

 

[The Legend that IS Lawro]

should do the trick

 

[MissGull]

Get a cat.

 

[Brovion]

Luckily I'm an expert having seen several animated short films on the subject. You get a cat and an oversized mallet. You give the mallet to the cat and get it to stand by the mouse hole, then when the mouse comes out the cat hits it with the mallet. The films also covered eventualities in case this approach doesn't work: you'll need some dynamite, but get the cat to light a stick, put it in the mouse hole and then shut its eyes and stick its paws over its ears. IMPORTANT: If the mouse comes out of the hole and offers the cat a birthday cake with an over-large candle UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should the cat accept it.

Hope this helps.

 

[rouseytastic]

Get a cat.

Can't I just borrow one?

 

[glasfryn]

Get a cat.

you can borrow one of mine
but it won't end nicely

 

[rouseytastic]

Luckily I'm an expert having seen several animated short films on the subject. You get a cat and an oversized mallet. You give the mallet to the cat and get it to stand by the mouse hole, then when the mouse comes out the cat hits it with the mallet. The films also covered eventualities in case this approach doesn't work: you'll need some dynamite, but get the cat to light a stick, put it in the mouse hole and then shut its eyes and stick its paws over its ears. IMPORTANT: If the mouse comes out of the hole and offers the cat a birthday cake with an over-large candle UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should the cat accept it.

Hope this helps.

This is excellent advice. I have a couple of oversized saucepans in the cupboard. Perhaps once the cat captures the mouse he could start to boil it in one of my pans, sprinkle salt on it whilst licking his lips. Although I'm concerned that a larger, almost enormous, second mouse might come along and, with use of 2 frying pans, smash the cat round the head reducing his face to a grotesque wafer thin type affair. Might need to rethink

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Can't I just borrow one?

You are probably jesting, but when I had a mice problem a cat really helped. And I didn't own one, my neighbours came over three times a week for about thirty minutes. The mice stopped quickly, the scent of the cat must have got rid of them. Don't underestimate the effect of a cat on mice, it really is the best option (no killing, no mess, no need to close gaps).

 

[MissGull]

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Luckily I'm an expert having seen several animated short films on the subject. You get a cat and an oversized mallet. You give the mallet to the cat and get it to stand by the mouse hole, then when the mouse comes out the cat hits it with the mallet. The films also covered eventualities in case this approach doesn't work: you'll need some dynamite, but get the cat to light a stick, put it in the mouse hole and then shut its eyes and stick its paws over its ears. IMPORTANT: If the mouse comes out of the hole and offers the cat a birthday cake with an over-large candle UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should the cat accept it.

Hope this helps.

 

[rouseytastic]

You are probably jesting, but when I had a mice problem a cat really helped. And I didn't own one, my neighbours came over three times a week for about thirty minutes. The mice stopped quickly, the scent of the cat must have got rid of them. Don't underestimate the effect of a cat on mice, it really is the best option (no killing, no mess, no need to close gaps).

Ah ok excellent. Ill make a few calls. See if I can procure a cat. Out of interest these mice of yours never came back then?

 

[mikeyjh]

All good tips and for the record I am quite partial to a caramel digestive and now (after effectively food sharing, literally, with this little git) I don't have any. So, I think they/he/it are entering via a hole behind a bush up against the dining room. I will inspect the rest of the house over the course of the day. So basically I need to wipe out the current residents? Shall I use one of partially gnawed digestives as bait?

Good plan - Something sticky, peanut butter is good, you need something that they have to nibble at. If you use a bit of biscuit, you'll come back to find a triggered trap, no biscuit and no mouse. Or worse still, a mouse running round with a trap stuck to some part of its body, but not across its neck.

 

[Staly]

We live in an old house in the countryside, which means that we regularly get mice invasions. So from experience:

Humane traps don't work, you need to kill them.

There is very rarely just one mouse, they usually live in families of at least 3 or 4, and they breed fast.

You need to get rid of them as they can cause a lot of damage, and can chew through electricity cables etc.

The trap that we've found works consistently best is an electronic rat trap. Expensive, but the one we've got has accounted for many hundreds of mice over the years: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pest-Stop-Systems-Ltd-PSERK/dp/B000FII3YW/ref=sr_1_3?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1375865271&sr=1-3&keywords=electric+mouse+trap

Use peanut butter as bait. They can't resist the stuff...