Catching Mice

I also vote for traps. I tried the catch and release thing but by the time you notice your mouse problem you have so many that you can't keep up with catch and release. Plus you need a good place to release that isn't near houses and isn't illegal to dump wildlife on. Meaning: such a place does not exist. Dumping them in your yard is just continuing the cycle - that same mouse passes in and out of your house all the time, so catching it and putting it outside is useless.

Any mouse trap is greatly aided by being nailed to a scrap of 2x4. It serves three purposes: it makes the mice reach up to get to the bait so they get caught by the neck every time, it makes the trap easier to handle both when setting it and when removing the dead mouse, and it makes it so the mouse can't drag the trap away if it does get caught by a leg.

I have had amazing luck with these traps:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00APWMD3A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's a 6-pack. You can close the trap on your finger it's so gentle but it's strong enough to keep the mouse from breathing. I still attach them to 2x4s. The best part is if it doesn't get the mouse, the bait is covered so it can't become a mouse feeder. I had three metal Victor traps and six of these - the metal traps were all empty but triggered (meaning, mice were well fed) and all six of these plastic ones had dead mice in them. I quickly came to trust these over the metal traps.

wearymicrobe wrote: Barncat rescue. Seriously if can deal with having a cat outside and occasionally feeding it when there are no mice this is the answer. These are Feral cats that have been neutered and who are not going to be pets. To give you an example of how much they can kill. Maine Coons, mine is a pampered indoor showcat, can kill 19-20lb of rats a week. They flat out are designed by nature and man to kill rats and mice.

Please tell me that is a child holding that cat! and even then that thing is huge! 20lbs is not much when it comes to baltimore rats! I've seen ones to where that would equal maybe 2 rats.

My old house (brand new construction in a former cow field) suffered from an absolute infestation of mice. My current house has none, I honestly don't know why it's different.

In the old house I had to pack steel wool into every nook and cranny I could find to stop the little buggers (they can't chew through steel wool). A lazy cat was a fair deterrent but I still had to use snap traps.

One day I was watching tv in the living room and saw a mouse come out from under the dish washer and truck around the kitchen along the toe kick under the cabinets. I set a trap in his path and resumed my tv time armed with a a pellet gun. Sure enough a while later I see him again poking around the bait......line up and take the shot! And set off the trap catching the little bugger by a hind leg. Did you know a mouse can scream? Yeah, me neither

In reply to KyAllroad:

I learned that mice scream while trying to see what my dogs were playing tug of war with.

It's not blood curdling like the time they found the nest of baby bunnies though. Bunnies scream like the stuff of nightmares.

I had a Norway Rat infestation in a shed once. I had a big bad of grass seed in there that they found. They set up shop in some sleeping bags and made more rats, then the next generation went and hit the seed bag and on and on. I ended up with one inside our van for a few days after hauling a load to the dump until I figured out he was in there and trapped him. Norway Rats look more like slightly larger mice than sterotypical rates.

I've heard rabbits scream, and yes.....it's a horrible sound you can't forget.

Mice though.....I usually just hear the "SNAP" of the mousetrap gate being deployed. I usually give the mice the "talk" before I set the traps---- to warn them that their time on earth is limited, and that they really should leave while they can. They usually don't listen--- surprising, as they are crafty little beasts. I hate killing them, but I'd rather not deal with disease and mouse poop where I sleep.....or wiring harnesses chewed into, where my cars sleep.

Have you guys ever heard a 'coon scream? Like when it's fighting your dog? You wanna talk blood curdling. And you mouse dumpers, I have the same problem with them city folk 'coon dumpers. We don't want them, OK?

You want the Victor modified snap traps, baited with peanut butter and pretzel sticks.

Huckleberry wrote: In reply to KyAllroad: I learned that mice scream while trying to see what my dogs were playing tug of war with. It's not blood curdling like the time they found the nest of baby bunnies though. Bunnies scream like the stuff of nightmares.

Thanks for bringing that memory back. My cat brought me a baby bunny that was so young it didn't even have fur yet. My dad told me to put it down since there was ko way it wold live. That ruined my weekend

My sweet Dixie was trying to kill a baby bunny and I tried to save it. Got blood all over my white GRM tshirt and died in my arms. That was not a fun day. But bunnies are not mice.

In reply to Rumnhammer:

That is not a child. Mine is 18-21lbs depending on the season and he is a smaller Maine Coon. He comes from a breedstock that produces cats in the 25-32lb range when they are unaltered.

They get BIG, and they can take down seriously big animals if they get pissed off. They are kind of the stoners of the cat world though. They kill things, eat them and sleep in a giant pile. Suppizingly the best mouser I have ever seen was a 14 year old 6lb tortie. She would kill mice and leave the feet lined up on the fence as a warning.

Decon. Keep putting it out until they stop taking it. It has never failed me.

I just noticed a small amount of mouse poop in my basement so this thread is very timely. I appreciate the thoughts on traps but nobody has mentioned those sonic things that are supposed to keep them away. Do they work? Does anybody have any experience with them?

In reply to jimbob_racing:

GF's parents use one of them at their summer home, over the winter. GF has the duty of checking in on the place, and previously, she'd find evidence of mice, but the past two winters of using a sonic thing has seemed to keep them away.

RealMiniParker wrote: In reply to jimbob_racing: GF's parents use one of them at their summer home, over the winter. GF has the duty of checking in on the place, and previously, she'd find evidence of mice, but the past two winters of using a sonic thing has seemed to keep them away.

Huh. Good to know; the ones that are supposed to keep moles away don't work at all.

Sonic thing and poison are both out due to our dogs.

We had a mouse in a plastic trap yesterday. I took him to the nature area that is only a block away; he'll probably make it back. But last night there was no evidence of any mice.

In most places, it is illegal to release vermin.

I have one of the sonic things in my shop. I have never seen a mouse, but I also have two outside cats that are hell of the rodent, snake, and squirrel population.

I never even considered catch and release when it comes to vermin like mice. Maybe the difference between growing up on a farm vs in the city. Kill them all I say. Cats, traps, ect. If I do catch one alive, I'll let you guys know so you can give me your address of where to drop it off.

D2W wrote: I never even considered catch and release when it comes to vermin like mice. Maybe the difference between growing up on a farm vs in the city. Kill them all I say. Cats, traps, ect. If I do catch one alive, I'll let you guys know so you can give me your address of where to drop it off.

Two things at play here:
1: My wife doesn't want to kill them. She loves all creatures great and small, as long as their not fish.
2: We like the idea of putting something back in the food chain. Lots of snakes, hawks, and owls in our neighborhood--why not give them a meal?

In reality though you're right. My big thing right now is I just don't want the thing to suffer (drown/glue trap), so I'll probably be getting the old school snap traps soon.

Find where they are getting in. Plug it.

Decon for insurance.

Haven't found evidence in years.

iceracer wrote: Find where they are getting in. Plug it. Decon for insurance. Haven't found evidence in years.

This is the thing--I cannot figure out where they're getting in. My best guess is that they came in the door when my wife left it open on a walk on accident.

Shotgun. Beware collateral damage.

1988RedT2 wrote: Shotgun. Beware collateral damage.

I'm tellin' ya, shotgun is not the right tool for this. I have experience. A single action 45 is the right tool for the job.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

.410 shotgun