Last week my wife discovered a mouse in our basement of our three year old home in a rural area. Since then between traps and glue pads, I have trapped about 7 mice over a period of four days and it has me stressed to the max. I'm having the carpenter who built our home to come out and check it for leaks. I'm also going to have a pest control service come out and sign me up for their service. Other than this, what else can I do? Without thinking my wife had stored some birdseed in the store room to feed the birds. I got rid of that and also put the dogfood in the garage in a chew proof container. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm stressing out to the max!
Mice!
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dave1949
Super Star Member
In years with high mice populations, they come in waves just about this time of year. 
It's nothing to stress-out about but it does require your attention.
You have to find their entry point(s), they can squeeze through very small openings or chew their way in even.
Keep trapping, get a cat? or rat terrier?
It's nothing to stress-out about but it does require your attention.You have to find their entry point(s), they can squeeze through very small openings or chew their way in even.
Keep trapping, get a cat? or rat terrier?
yelbike
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I landscaped around my house with at least two feet (wide) of gravel on all side. When first moved here there was a huge mouse problem in the yard, only a very few inside the house. After the gravel was done I have maybe one or two per year which could come in from open doors from kids and the such.
breadtrk
Platinum Member
Cats, left to their own outside either become good mousers and other small critters exterminators or not. We have Barn cats and no mice in the house, no moles, no chipmunks and very smart birds.
And squirrels, lots of them, they mock the cats.
And squirrels, lots of them, they mock the cats.
oosik
Epic Contributor
I've lived out here in the pucker weeds for 32 years and never had a single mouse in the house. One of the answers to this is keep all food in mouse proof containers. No food - no reason for them to attempt entry. Another answer is barn cats. I know my cats will catch, play their games with and kill at least 4-6 mice per day per cat when there is no snow on the ground. I've seen them lay next to a pocket gopher hole/mound all day and finally get them also. During the winter the cats move their mousing activities into my out buildings.
I've set mouse traps but its like trying to empty the ocean with a tea spoon. There is a never ending supply of mice, chipmunks and pocket gophers out here.
The only down side to barn cats is they will catch and kill anything and everything. Mice, quail, chipmunks, small birds, pocket gophers etc. Two of my cats learned the hard way that trying to take on a turkey was not a good idea.
Its certainly nothing to stress out about - it just requires attention to storage techniques and BARN CATS!!!
I've set mouse traps but its like trying to empty the ocean with a tea spoon. There is a never ending supply of mice, chipmunks and pocket gophers out here.
The only down side to barn cats is they will catch and kill anything and everything. Mice, quail, chipmunks, small birds, pocket gophers etc. Two of my cats learned the hard way that trying to take on a turkey was not a good idea.
Its certainly nothing to stress out about - it just requires attention to storage techniques and BARN CATS!!!
Clint S
Veteran Member
They can squeeze in the smallest of cracks and holes. Any hole the diameter of a dime is an entrance point. I usually get 8 or 10 in the fall. Put out a bunch of traps and poison, then I get no more.
Wooddust
Silver Member
I use bait stations outdoors in 6 places around the foundation of the house. Poison them outdoors and they won't make it indoors. Doityourself pest control sells the baits and bait stations
pmsmechanic
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We have no barn cats at all. We used to but they disappeared when the owls showed up. The owls have been the best mousers we have ever had. Maybe one or two mice a year in the house and a lot less in the rest of the yard. Two great horned and a family of screech owls.
henryswe
Member
We had a bout with mice so I used poison in the crawl space under the house. I suddenly found my foundation getting damp so I called a plumber. He crawled under the house and found the mice had chewed through the pex plumbing causing leaks. If you have pex water lines under your house, and use a poison, be careful which poisons you use as the poisons that make the mice thirsty can cause them to damage your water line if they're pex. Plumbing bill cost $500.00 and I have splices in my lines,