View Full Version : Advice request for dealing with mice / vermin
I have recently moved from an extremely urban modern upstairs flat to a very rural old stone built single bungalow/cottage.
Vermin within a building is something I know nothing about. I noticed that a couple of large bags of oats and a large bag of pasta fusili had been apparently bitten through. I found an old snap trap in one of the cupboards here so I primed it with some cheese and put it in the cupboard with the oats etc.
I checked it this morning a mouse was trapped by the leg in it. Having actually caught a still live mouse, all sorts of issues went through my head and I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it but decided that if I were to release it it would only come back so it had to be killed.
(I checked on Google and studies have shown that mice will ignore all difficulties and even potential perfect new homes to return to their homes even from distances such as 1500 metres.)
In the end I got a very large jar and put trap and mouse into the jar and filled it with water as the least inhumane thing I could think of.
Further Googling showed that one needs to be aware of the potential deadly risk from largely untreatable Hanta virus with rodents.
Now I'm not sure whether I dare risk eating the breached packs of food. Naturally oats and pasta will be boiled in their preparation process but even then I am a bit uncertain.
I would be very grateful if anyone else who lives with the problem of vermin would kindly advise what they would do or pass on their experience and understandings to this former 'townie'!
Many thanks for reading...
Sounds an ideal place to have a couple of cats. Good "mousers" should keep down the problem and take away the responsibility of carcass disposal. A few "humane" traps in appropriate places might discourage the food thieves. Even a hundred yards is a long way for a wee mouse - lots can happen to them on their way back!! Good luck.
Sounds an ideal place to have a couple of cats. Good "mousers" should keep down the problem and take away the responsibility of carcass disposal. A few "humane" traps in appropriate places might discourage the food thieves. Even a hundred yards is a long way for a wee mouse - lots can happen to them on their way back!! Good luck.
Hi Nightowl - I was admiring the cats outside earlier and I imagine they probably contribute to this place not being overrun with mice..... unfortunately my Jack Russell Terrier doesn't get on with cats very well - having managed to corner one one time he now doesn't know whether to bark and chase or run and hide!
What would you do about the food btw ? Would you reckon it should be still ok to eat (fresh stuff would be another matter I suppose) ?
mice constantly urinate as they walk so I would be dumping it and scrubbing hard.
mice constantly urinate as they walk so I would be dumping it and scrubbing hard.
thanks for the advice - I did a bit more checking and it looks like Hanta virus is not something which appears to have made it to the UK as yet (although I don't want to be the first).
I'll probably ditch the oats but there doesn't seem to be any obvious damage to the pasta plus it gets to boil for a good 10 minutes when it cooks so I'll put it to one side and think about it for a few months!
More I read, a cat would be the ideal solution. I wonder if I could get my dog used to the idea :)
Throw it away - yeuch. Also you can use moth balls to keep mice at bay - makes your house smell like old ladies for a wee while but it does the trick. living in a rural area you cant avoid having mice. I dont mind hearing them scurry around in the roof or the walls but i destest seeing them. I draw comfort fromt he old wives take that if you have mice then you usually dont have rats - dont anyone tell me it isnt true please.
There are also sonic things you can get to keep mice away but how your Jackie would rect to them i dont know.
I used the moth balls to good effect whilst living in caithness and have just put some in my loft so hopefully they will disappoear. its getting that time of year anyway
I'm always getting stick at work for eating out of date food (biscuits and yogurts - never meat), but even I'd draw the line at eating anything a mouse had been near :lol:
Its a shame your dog isn't a good mouser!! My sisters dog has seen off as many mice in her house as a cat would.
My other sister managed to catch 14 mice in the space of a few days - probably would have been more if she'd been at home more to re-set the traps.
For the price of a packet of pasta is it worth the risk?
Throw it away - if you have a problem killing the rodents get a humane trap, then drive the captives a few miles away. try and get a busy main road between the release point and you ;)
If the problem is serious get a pest control officer in - I don't know if the Council up there provide free call outs (they do down here) but you might find the initial one or two might be gratis?
lassieinfife
18-Apr-07, 11:25
I would advise that everything be decanted from packets into storage jars (jamjars..are great for this enjoy the contents then wash and reuse them)and airtight boxes... keeps food fresh and removes foodstuff from food chain... mousies get hungry and leave for distant pastures:lol:
Thanks for the advice folks - the stuff get's the bin. I've been cleaning out the pantry and it looks like they've been mainly gorging themselves on a 25kg bag of rice :(
Gonna have to get some plastic food bins short term and have been saving my food jars recently for making up some lemon curd. Looks like the lemon curd will have to wait.
the nomad
18-Apr-07, 12:57
You can purchase reusable humane traps but you need to check these regularly. Soutars in Thurso have them. You also then have to let the damn thing out and sometimes they just come back. Don't use cheese, chocolate will get them everytime.
Plastic containers will not stop them - they can gnaw through a tupperware container in minutes. Go with glass, as suggested, or metal.
Plastic containers will not stop them - they can gnaw through a tupperware container in minutes. Go with glass, as suggested, or metal.
OK! My mum used to have a couple of old metal travel trunks which would do the trick if she still has them and doesn't want them, otherwise maybe a cleaned out non-functional fridge or freezer would probably do (it's possible I suppose that someone may have one they don't want to pay disposal fees on).
Have just bought a few more mouse traps, disinfected the cupboard and the tins and jars that were in it. Want to cure this problem once and for all if I can :)
j4bberw0ck
18-Apr-07, 15:22
Rats are very effective at controlling mice but you might not want to swap..... with rats, it's Weil's Disease you get to worry about. Still, if you have mice, you don't have rats.
I found ultrasonic rodent scarers (http://www.bizrate.co.uk/pestcontrolproducts/pest-control-types--ultrasonic-repeller/products__att358308--358573-__keyword--pest.html) very effective. When living in an old house, had mice, then rats, then mice again but after putting two scarers in the loft, nothing at all. They can't tolerate the noise and leave.
Oh, and I'm with the folk who say don't eat the food. Just don't. Mice only look cute.
I am told that if you cook bacon and let the fat harden and put some of that on the trap they find it irresistable.
i caught 33 in space of few weeks once by using a bird nut on the trap. also heard soap is good.
i have a mouse that i hear scraping every night in the walls.
I like to use a nice 30mm Gatling gun set on full fire power. Makes a heck of a racket but wow! what a buzz!:D
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/Ricco_T/gau-8-fig14.jpg
i caught 33 in space of few weeks once by using a bird nut on the trap. also heard soap is good.
i have a mouse that i hear scraping every night in the walls.
I heard one the other night in the ceiling near to the kitchen door, and a few nights before above the bed.
They're a darned nuisance. Have set a small bag of rice which has already been 'sampled' next to the fridge ticked away and a trap next to it with chocolate on and ordered 4 more traps (99p+£1 p&p) from ebay. Looks like I shall be busy - it's gonna take a long time before I can get enough mouse-proof containers for all the vulnerable food stuffs I have.
Gatling gun might be fun - but would make the place a bit draughty!
North Rhins
18-Apr-07, 20:30
I like to use a nice 30mm Gatling gun set on full fire power. Makes a heck of a racket but wow! what a buzz!:D
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/Ricco_T/gau-8-fig14.jpg
I must admit the idea of the gatling gun is very appealing, however, before checking out ebay, how long does it take you to tidy up afterwards and approximately how much polyfilla do you go through a week? Also is the ammo readily available?
danc1ngwitch
18-Apr-07, 21:40
I will lone you ma old grey cat, best small animal catcher around, i jest u not lol
We regularly have wee furry visitors... came back from our honeymoon a few years ago, to find the blighters had made a nest out of an afro wig in the airing cupboard :eek: .
get two good bricks and close them sharply with the mouse in between ,them works every time , problem is you can only exterminate one mouse at a time.
[lol] [lol]
North Rhins
18-Apr-07, 22:01
get two good bricks and close them sharply with the mouse in between ,them works every time , problem is you can only exterminate one mouse at a time.
[lol] [lol]
Please do remember to keep your thumbs out of the way, otherwise it hurts like hell!
In the end I got a very large jar and put trap and mouse into the jar and filled it with water as the least inhumane thing I could think of.
Now I'm not sure whether I dare risk eating the breached packs of food. Naturally oats and pasta will be boiled in their preparation process but even then I am a bit uncertain.
Drowning is not the best option in terms humane killing. Best option would have been a quick snap of the neck.;)
Leptospirosis is more worrying than the hanta virus. Be careful if you are using food from the same cupboard where your mouse was, because the infection is transmited through their urine. If they pee'd on a package, which you wouldn't notice, you could infect yourself through handling the packaging and then ingesting the bacteria.
I think your best option would be to get bait boxes for your kitchen, make sure that the house/kitchen/cupboards are as pest proof as possible or (and this works THE BEST!!!!!) get a cat (preferably a female: they make the best mouser's. You can, and should, get her sterilized so you don't end up with a feline pest problem).
blondscot
18-Apr-07, 22:54
You could go for an outside cat that is used to hunting and if you have somewhere that is dry and draught free for it to sleep and feed it then it shoudl stop your mouse problem. The cats protection have outside cats that make good hunters!!:)
At least you don't have the problem these guys had. Nasty!
http://www.cse.csiro.au/research/rodents/mouse_30sec_low.wmv
Ancient Mariner
19-Apr-07, 08:48
Couple of outside cats are the best bet.
My wife did not like mice so we paid my daughter to set and empty traps, 50p per mouse. Until it started getting expensive when she was just moving the one mouse from trap to trap.
Seal the kitchen as best you can, get some mouseproof containers and let the cats get to work. It will not take to long before you are clear of them.
Come winter time there will be a bit of movement again as they look for somewhere to winter.
Couple of outside cats are the best bet.
My wife did not like mice so we paid my daughter to set and empty traps, 50p per mouse. Until it started getting expensive when she was just moving the one mouse from trap to trap.
Seal the kitchen as best you can, get some mouseproof containers and let the cats get to work. It will not take to long before you are clear of them.
Come winter time there will be a bit of movement again as they look for somewhere to winter.
:lol: sounds like you have a very resourceful daughter!!!!!
In the end I got a very large jar and put trap and mouse into the jar and filled it with water as the least inhumane thing I could think of....
we used to tape a wine bottle to a bench, grease the neck, and tie a small piece of meat off the end, suspended over a bucket of water, the mice drown...voila!
In Australia outside cats are considered vermin as they have a propensity to kill our wonderful small marsupials and colourful bird life, especially the litluns, treecreepers, robins and wrens. I had some cats on the farm once, inherited when I bought the place out bush, the tiger snake took care of the kitten litter, and that was that.:eek:
If there is no vermin left, then you have to feed the cats, not good if you have a limited budget.:lol:
Heh, there's an idea - keep a python on the cupboard.
No more mice.....
Funny you should say that MadPict, indeed the python in the ceiling did take care of the rats that the cats could not get access to...
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