Mouse!

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s'nic

s'nic

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My attic has been invaded!
I had a carpenter scope out a job here on wednesday and he had a quick look in the attic. I stood at the top of the ladder talking to him - saw a movement, looked quickly and a darn mouse was hightailing it to the back of the attic

I bought traps and poison yesterday so I just put 2 lots of poison down, and 6 traps baited with peanut butter. I'm hoping the traps get them as it's a faster death and no hidden bodies.
I didn't see any droppings or anything, and I was up in the attic a few weeks ago, so it's not totally ignored and abandoned except in midwinter (My quite longstanding project is to sort out stuff up there and dispose of a lot of it).

uggh, that moment when you like small cute rodents, but only when they are not running riot indoors. I'd prefer not to hurt them, but they just gotta go :(
 
You can get humane traps @s’nic I bought one that worked well. Over a few days I caught three mice and released them into a field nearby (they were Field Mice). The trap I had was like a little tunnel with a door that clicked down when the mouse entered to get the food. It was then held safe until the morning when I could release it.

Those mice were in my kitchen so weren’t welcome for hygiene reasons. I’m sure they were happier in the field after I’d relocated them 🙂
 
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We moved some years ago and there was an infestation of rats in the communal bin area. Single pawledly our cat exterminated the whole lot. It was amazing to believe that the gentle animal purring on your lap was the ultimate Natural Born Killer! Get a cat!
 
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Peanut butter in trap would do job adequately, no need for poison.

Had mice in attic years ago, caught them using peanut butter, you have to be careful as they can chew through electric cables & plastic piping.

Had a rat under shed last year, dog was going ballistic trying to catch it & kill it, had to get council out to put poison down under shed, must have worked as not seen it since & dog is no longer sniffing around it.
 
@Inka Thanks I didn't think of the humane traps - had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction of the 'gotta get em out before they become established' variety
We have one of those stores near, and they do a multi-catch live-catch box so I think I'll try for that one tomorrow.

@MikeyBikey - I can't, I'm super allergic to cats! I'd need to borrow both a cat and a cat handler, or get a hazmat suit 😱

@nonethewiser yeah I know they can chew through anything, hence the knee-jerk 'get em out NOW'
In the attic is bad enough, I'd freak if they got into the main house
 
We caught a mouse. We first spotted it when it ran out from behind the TV.
We set up our own trap - a plate with biscuit crumbs and cheese under a box held up by a ruler with a piece of string attached to it.
The mouse was a curious creature provided we remained pretty still. When he eventually found the mouse, the string was pulled and he was caught and transferred into the field opposite. Like Inka’s he was a field mouse so he had to go in a field.
I know they can reek havoc (another one took out our broadband) but the field mice look sooooooo cute.
Can’t say the same about rats though.
 
@s’nic There’s a humane trap that’s called something to do with Cheese. Don’t buy that one because it’s rubbish! I bought that one first and the mice simply opened the door, but the second one I bought was fantastic. I’d put it down last thing at night and get up in good time to check it so that any caught mouse didn’t get overheated. You can tell it’s caught a mouse by the weight. Even setting the mouse free was easy. I highly recommend them. I got mine in my local hardware store.
 
Inka said:
@s’nic There’s a humane trap that’s called something to do with Cheese. Don’t buy that one because it’s rubbish! I bought that one first and the mice simply opened the door, but the second one I bought was fantastic. I’d put it down last thing at night and get up in good time to check it so that any caught mouse didn’t get overheated. You can tell it’s caught a mouse by the weight. Even setting the mouse free was easy. I highly recommend them. I got mine in my local hardware store.
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was it the one I linked in my last post
people seemed 50/50 on it, but mainly just said it took a while for them to trust the seesaw bit
EDIT: hmm, took a more detailed look at reviews, seems most failed to catch anything cos the mice just didn't trust it
 
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s'nic said:
was it the one I linked in my last post
people seemed 50/50 on it, but mainly just said it took a while for them to trust the seesaw bit
EDIT: hmm, took a more detailed look at reviews, seems most failed to catch anything cos the mice just didn't trust it
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That was the brand but it was a slightly different design. I chucked it because it was rubbish but if I remember correctly it was white plastic with some red and/or yellow on it. It was a few pounds cheaper than the one I ended up buying, which was why I went for it, but it was rubbish and I should have just gone for the better one first time.
 
Yeah seems best to skip it, which is a shame - the multi-catch aspect would be good.
The smaller trap you linked - a lot of the negative reviews for that say the mouse ate the bait and left, or that it chewed it's way out of the trap so hmm :confused:
 
s'nic said:
@MikeyBikey - I can't, I'm super allergic to cats! I'd need to borrow both a cat and a cat handler, or get a hazmat suit 😱
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You need a Sphynx cat as they are hairless. Being hairless they are susceptible to the cold and sunburn so very much indoors cats. I like black smooth haired cats! (black cat emoji)
 
Go to a local store and give them a try. The one I linked to wasn’t the exact one I got, but is a similar design 🙂
 
MikeyBikey said:
You need a Sphynx cat as they are hairless. Being hairless they are susceptible to the cold and sunburn so very much indoors cats. I like black smooth haired cats! (black cat emoji)
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The primary allergen in a cat is actually it's saliva.
In a dog it's the dander (I'm allergic to dogs too).
Rodents are quite different - the allergen there is in their urine.
Not sure on horses, but they are my kryptonite - I can't even walk downwind of a horse. Last time I got too close to a horse I ended up with bloodshot, swollen eyeballs. That was painful.
 
I have rats in my loft so I feel your pain. Currently waiting on the results of another drain survey and how much it’s going to cost to fix the problem this time. This will be the 4th company I’ve had and the bloody things are still rampant :(
 
Deb_l said:
I have rats in my loft so I feel your pain. Currently waiting on the results of another drain survey and how much it’s going to cost to fix the problem this time. This will be the 4th company I’ve had and the bloody things are still rampant :(
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A couple of years ago we had rats in the garden, one was so big it's head wouldn't go into the bait box we had put out. The bait seemed totally ineffective so we called the pest control of the council and they did come out but said that unless they were in the house they did not recommend putting poison out as the poisoned dead rats were a danger to birds and domestic cats if they ate them.
Luckily we have not had any recently though I have captured mice feeding from the birdfeeders on the wildlife camera.
We used to have a cat that kindly brought in her catch to show it off but often let it go, not much help.
 
Deb_l said:
I have rats in my loft so I feel your pain. Currently waiting on the results of another drain survey and how much it’s going to cost to fix the problem this time. This will be the 4th company I’ve had and the bloody things are still rampant :(
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When I was looking at traps I saw some rat items. If the drain was the problem have you tried rat blockers ?
 
I know the feeling I used to live in a house that would get mice all the time. I once found one in my shoe(I think it was trying to hide from me)
 
Deb_l said:
I have rats in my loft so I feel your pain. Currently waiting on the results of another drain survey and how much it’s going to cost to fix the problem this time. This will be the 4th company I’ve had and the bloody things are still rampant :(
Click to expand...
We are horrible people in this house and will not tolerate vermin at home.

My OH owned a restaurant, as one of his businesses, and clearly hygiene was front and centre of their activities. We have this paid in our loft at all times, swapped out for fresh from time to time.

When we did have visitors a few years ago, an spoon of peanut butter under the bait got them.

This particular stuff is taken back to the nest, where they (allegedly) expire amongst their kith and kin.

 
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