Getting Rid of Mice in the Kitchen

[annabelle]

I'm with you Martin. I think those "Gluey Louie" traps are cruel. The poor mouse gets stuck and then sets himself to screeching behind the stove or the refrigerator. At least that was my experience with them. The Victor snap traps are quick, loud enough that you can hear them release the bar and cheap enough to throw away, mouse and all.

When I was a little girl, we lived adjacent to a very large commercial cornfield---hundreds of acres of field corn. One year after it was harvested, the mice decided to move into our house. My mother, although she is a farm girl, doesn't like mice at all. One morning, I heard screaming for my father around the time she was usually fixing our oatmeal and rushed out into the kitchen to find her standing on the table in her robe and slippers and brandishing a broom at a mouse that was trying to get the heck out of there.

My dad came to her rescue and dispatched the mouse and got Mom off the table.

[Martin Fisher]

My grandfather woke up one morning with a mouse on his forehead! LOL

[Shel_B]

We had a problem with mice about a year ago, and all the tricks and suggestions noted above were ones we tried. Finally, we called the vector control office at the county. and they sent a guy out to assess our situation. The assessment included a thorough examination of the house and surrounding area, and we got a report on what to do to eliminate the problem. Since then, no more mice ... try calling your county vector control office. It may be called something else in NYC, like pest abatement ... or?

I'm a big fan of calling in a reputable pest control company to deal with mice problems, too.

Sorry, we didn't call a pest control company, we called the county's pest abatement arm, Vector Control. They did nothing to kill the mice, rather, the fellow who came out examined the house and the environment, and showed us ways to prevent the mice from getting into the house. In our case that involved brush removal, trimming trees, putting appropriate screens over potential entrances, filling cracks in the foundation, and so on. We used no poisons to eliminate the problem, rather, we prevented the problem by making repairs and adjustments to the environment.

[heidih]

Sorry, we didn't call a pest control company, we called the county's pest abatement arm, Vector Control. They did nothing to kill the mice, rather, the fellow who came out examined the house and the environment, and showed us ways to prevent the mice from getting into the house. In our case that involved brush removal, trimming trees, putting appropriate screens over potential entrances, filling cracks in the foundation, and so on. We used no poisons to eliminate the problem, rather, we prevented the problem by making repairs and adjustments to the environment.

That is an admirable goal and a nice sentiment but not realistic in many settings. Mice can squeeze through amazingly small openings, doors get left open for short periods as you haul in groceries or let the dog out for a last sniff before bedtime, wall openings exist that we are not aware of and can not readily see - the list goes on. Rats are bigger so the barrier method is more effective. I have been in the trenches. You also need to get them out (well dead) in conjunction with the barrier methods. They nest in the oddest places that you may not be aware of; effectively trapping them inside - with you.

[Shel_B]

That is an admirable goal and a nice sentiment but not realistic in many settings. Mice can squeeze through amazingly small openings, doors get left open for short periods as you haul in groceries or let the dog out for a last sniff before bedtime, wall openings exist that we are not aware of and can not readily see - the list goes on. Rats are bigger so the barrier method is more effective. I have been in the trenches. You also need to get them out (well dead) in conjunction with the barrier methods. They nest in the oddest places that you may not be aware of; effectively trapping them inside - with you.

Well, I can only tell you our experience. Yes, mice can squeeze through small openings, that's why we used appropriately-sized grates over openings, and, of course, made sure they were well secured. I'm sure you're correct about the points you make - I certainly agree with just about all of them, yet following Vector Control's suggestions, our rodent problem was eliminated. It's entirely possible some mice starved to death having been caught in the crawl space under the house, yet upon examining that area three or four times, we found no dead rodents. <shrug>

Edited November 26, 2013 by heidih
Fix poster's quote tags (log)

[mukki]

Glue traps are horrid. My cat brought home a mouse attached to a glue trap. I made an attempt to remove the mouse from the glue... ended up drowning the poor thing in the toilet to stop its suffering. Cat came back later that afternoon with a second glue trap (no mouse this time) stuck to his fur which required some delicate fur trimming. Wonder what the neighbors thought happened to the missing glue traps...

[annabelle]

Mukki, I also tried removing the terrified mouse since I felt sorry for it. It bit me for my troubles so I took it outside and put it in the garbage can that was set out for pick up in the morning. It was about 19 degrees, so I figure it didn't suffer long. I'd rather snap their little necks and have them not know what hit them.

Heidi, when I lived in San Diego I had the same problem as you with the magic mice appearing. If you have trees or live next to a canyon (which iirc you do) you get critters. I had a possum on my back porch eating the cat food one night when I came home.

[Beebs]

Glue traps are indeed awful - it's terrible seeing a mouse freaking out in them. I personally prefer snap traps that kill mice right away. But glue traps are effective, if they're placed in the right spots. When tenants are howling down at you to get rid of the mice, you gotta do what ever you can and do it asap, or risk getting in trouble with various local agencies. Sometimes this means glue traps.

When I first started in working in property management, I had a conversation with the PC guy about humane traps and whether we can use them. He said that there are no such things as humane traps that will solve a mice infestation permanently. With humane traps, the point is to release them outside, but mice will come back in again, especially as the weather gets cool. It's not the same as trapping & releasing skunks and raccoons. He said the only permanent solution is to kill the mice as quickly as possible. I'm not a cold-hearted person, I hate seeing critters killed. Unfortunately, mice are pests and they should not be in your home.

I agree with Shel_b, though - prevention is the best long-term solution. Sealing up cracks & holes, securing foodstuffs, properly disposing of garbage, etc. It's a little more difficult and complicated in dense urban areas, though, when apartment buildings are rubbing shoulders with restaurants & supermarkets, there's an alley in the back with garbage all over the place, and the empty lot next door is over-run with tall grass and nice hidy-holes for critters. You could be doing everything right for pest control and prevention in your own apartment or building, but the guy down the hall or the building next door isn't doing a darn thing. Our PC folks have reported things like, "Yeah, your tenant has a mouse problem because there are open bags of oatmeal and cat food on the floor and there's a big hole in the screen that they hadn't bothered telling you about....".

[judiu]

If a cat doesn't do it for you for whatever reason, get a daschund. They're bred to hunt burrowing critters, and death by doxie is quick; they flip a mouse in the air and it comes down dead, with a broken neck.

[annabelle]

I thought of them, too judiu. A dachshund or a little rat terrier would do the trick. They are speedy little boogers.

[dcarch]

"----In our lease we cannot have pets unless agreed with the landlady. ----"

​Dogs are especially difficult to get approval.

dcarch

[Franci]

Well guys, thanks so much for all the advices. I'll try to put them into practice. Hopefully the landlady is going to agree for a cat. Meanwhile I have a bleach solution in a spray bottle and spray all the counter tops in the kitchen first thing in the morning.

[Mjx]

Putting all food items curently in your cabinets/drawers into containers will make your home far less attractive to mice (and cockroaches).

I once had next-door-neighbours who routinely left food scattered all over in the hallway, and the occasional glimpse of their flat (they sometimes left their door open) revealed that this was also the state of their home, which explained the reason that my previously pest-free home was suddenly invaded by roaches and a few mice.

My landlord made it clear that getting a pet would mean instant eviction for me, and clearly felt that my strong reservations regarding poisons and glue traps (the same ones discussed by others, upthread) merely confirmed the insanity already suggested by my protesting the food strewn about the hallway.

Putting everything in the kitchen cabinets and drawers into glass or plastic containers, and vacuuming up any loose particles (e.g. the random escaped bean or spill of flour) made a huge difference in the presence of pests in the kitchen.

By the way, many cats love to eat cockroaches, so if you do get a cat, keep this in mind when considering putting down roach baits.

[Martin Fisher]

Try this! 

Approximately 2/3 Tootsie roll and 1/3 peanut butter.

Microwave for a few seconds then stir, repeat until the deadly—BWAHahahahaha!—mixture bubbles.

Let cool enough so it can be kneaded into a ball around the snap trap trigger—dab a tiny amount of plain peanut butter on top of the ball.

Works VERY well in my experience! 

 

[GlorifiedRice]

I have an electric Victor brand mousetrap. bait it with nut butter then it electrocutes em.

The tray holds 5-6 dead mice.Batteries are still going 4 yrs later.

[weinoo]

32 minutes ago, GlorifiedRice said:

I have an electric Victor brand mousetrap. bait it with nut butter then it electrocutes em.

The tray holds 5-6 dead mice.Batteries are still going 4 yrs later.

This is what a friend of mine uses at his upstate NY house.

 

Around our buildings, there is a ton of construction going on. This drives rats to go to places where there isn't construction currently - so our complex has a bit of a rat problem.  Our 4 buildings occupy 13 acres of land, with a fair amount of open space for NYC, and the rats love our lawns and love all the people who contribute to the rat problem by feeding the squirrels and pigeons. We have the fattest squirrels you have ever seen. Here's one, eating a slice of pizza...

 

When the exterminators are dealing with the rat problem, they use giant snap traps - baited with slim jims.  

 

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by weinoo (log)

[kayb]

Y'all need a good barn cat.

[Martin Fisher]

We have 2 cats.

They don't have access to the crawl space, the enclosed porch and some other places in the house.

[Tri2Cook]

I get mice when winter sets in some years. They usually don't last long. We have cats and the mice can't seem to resist going after the crunchy cat food in the bowls in the kitchen so they rarely last long once the cats notice the activity. We have 2 ball pythons that would probably be happy to assist but I don't let them free roam and don't feed them live animals so they don't get to help with the mice. I have some regular old fashioned snap traps just in case the cats go on strike but so far I haven't needed to use them.

[chromedome]

I live in a neighbourhood of old houses and lots of green space, so mice are a year-round thing but spike at this time of year when they begin looking for indoor nesting sites. 

 

I don't mind, because they pose endless entertainment for our three resident kitties and the two frequent visitors (my daughter's cat, and my GF's daughter's cat). Our younger two are still just youngsters and I actually got to watch "mouse school" in session when the GF's daughter's cat was here to visit. He came trotting up with a very unhappy mouse in his mouth, spat it out - pah! - on the floor between them, and then sat back and watched. Our two dabbed at it gingerly with their paws, for all the world like adolescent girls facing a plate with offal or tentacles on it, much to my amusement. Periodically the mouse, with laudable determination, would spot a gap in the felinity and make a break for freedom, but Marshmallow, the older cat, would chase it down and bring it back. 

 

All the while my elderly Willow kitty, a fearsome hunter in her younger years, was watching them with a hilarious expression of incredulity. Cats can't roll their eyes, but her eyes were the only part of her that wasn't an eye-roll (if you know what I mean). She was for all the world like a pensioner volubly despairing over "kids these days" and their inferiority to the sensible, hard-working cats of her youth. 

[Martin Fisher]

I can hear a mouse messing about in the wall right now!!! 

[helenjp]

If you can't have a cat, you can always ask friends for used kitty litter from time to time and put it in a box where you hear/see mice...

Actually, I just remembered that one day many decades ago as I was pointlessly releasing a field mouse that I had caught in my apartment into the garden at the back of the building, a long-term tenant apologized for not keeping up to date with her voodoo. She said that she usually got a chicken and voodooed around the property once every few years to discourage rodents and underwear thieves, but that she felt that her voodoo didn't "stick" quite as effectively as her mother's used to. So that's another option!

Edited November 13, 2017 by helenjp (log)

[quiet1]

3 hours ago, helenjp said:

If you can't have a cat, you can always ask friends for used kitty litter from time to time and put it in a box where you hear/see mice...

Actually, I just remembered that one day many decades ago as I was pointlessly releasing a field mouse that I had caught in my apartment into the garden at the back of the building, a long-term tenant apologized for not keeping up to date with her voodoo. She said that she usually got a chicken and voodooed around the property once every few years to discourage rodents and underwear thieves, but that she felt that her voodoo didn't "stick" quite as effectively as her mother's used to. So that's another option!

 

 

Used rat litter also works, if you have friends with pet rats. (Excellent pets, actually.) Rats will attack and kill mice in the wild, so if it smells like a rat has set up shop the mice prefer elsewhere.

[dcarch]

Mice can bring in Lyme ticks.

Get rid of them.

 

dcarch

[ChocoMom]

If you have some Bounce dryer sheets handy, lay them around the area where the mice are frequenting. They HATE those dryer sheets.  Or, those super-sticky trays do wonders at trapping the little buggers. 

Although.....we placed a few trays out in the barn, and one of them just disappeared. Not sure what stepped into it, but it must have been big!