Mice!

[PapaPerk]

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!

Get some old fashion victor mouse traps, put cheese on them. This kills them dead. Also a good cat will kill the rest. But a cat is a big commitment. Also check for obvious entry points.

Don't stress... It's not the end of the world. All houses get mice.

 

[photogman]

The local Orkin guy wants about $588.00 for a years worth of treatment. Any thoughts?

 

[MH8675309]

A boa constrictor would probably discourage mice form coming into your house. Try not to stress too much about it. Most of us have mice at one time or other and it don't mean you're dirty.

 

[oosik]

The Orkin man's price kind of depends - - Are you & your wife going to feel good with what you are able to do? Will having a professional exterminator make you both feel better?

My take on all this - maybe living in the country just isn't you & wife's "cup of tea". If a few mice are going to cause this level of stress - - it could be a lot more pleasant in a more urban environment. Just my thoughts.

 

[jerrybob]

I agree with many.....we have two barn cats.......they kill several mice, shrews daily. Never had a critter in the house....... Get a couple of cats!!!!

 

[photogman]

Oosik, I've lived in the country before...my wife was born and raised on a farm. This is the second acreage I've lived on. We both cut wood every fall and work daily on our virgin prairie remnant, but we've both worked two jobs for over ten years so that we could afford this home and be the only occupants of our home instead of sharing it with a bunch of fur coats.

I haven't identified the type of mice yet, but if they are deer mice, the Hantavirus is serious business and I likewise consider a few mice pretty darn important. The Ebola virus doesn't make you any "more dead" than the Hantavirus.

I'm soon to be a new grandparent and so I don't have more responsibilities, I would love to not have to acquire a cat, as I'm sure they are very effective, unless of course we would either foster a cat or rent a cat. My brother rented a herd of goats in California to eat underbrush reducing the chance of fire. Then the owner would round up the goats and move them to another customer's property to do the same thing. Sounds intriguing. Thanks for the feedback fellas.

 

[dave1949]

If you care enough about the environment to appreciate a remnant of virgin prairie, then you should understand the dangers of anti-coagulant rodent poisons:
Poisons Used to Kill Rodents Have Safer Alternatives | Audubon Magazine

 

[photogman]

Don't use them and never have Dave1949. Also, I'm keenly aware of chemicals, having eaten organically since 2003. I'm a member of several different environmental organizations with The Nature Conservancy and The Iowa Heritage Foundation being my favorites. I'm also a member of The Loess Hills Audubon Society.

Thanks for pointing that out just the same. A particularly horrible example of chemical poisoning is the "dead zone" where the Mississippi pours into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[bigtiller]

I use a "Victor Tin Cat Mouse Trap" from my nearest farm store, Orschlen. I put it outside by the garage doors. It is advertised to catch 30 at a time. I seldom catch one at a time because after the first one goes in his friends go in to see what all the excitement is. I never use any kind of bait but you can if you want to. Put it in a bucket of water to drown them.

 

[Pixguy]

You mentioned the bucket trap and I agree that it will kill any that get into your home but you still need to find the entry point.

Nice profession btw.