Mouse in the House

[annuin]

We still have mice. Or rather, we have mice again.

I already knew several weeks ago that we had some re-visitation, as I found mouse poo and caught one. But then it was quiet for a while, until I recently noticed more mouse poo. I tried making the big-ass hole behind the cooker inaccessible by coating cardboard with ductape, sticking steelwool on one side (the side to face the inside of the hole) and then to ductape it securely. I had put some cottonwool soaked in mouthwash inside the hole, as I'd read online somewhere that they hate spearmint oil, and that was a component.

As I was cooking dinner a mouse ran out from under the cooker and nearly collided with my foot, after which it ran across the kitchen and hid somewhere in the vicinity of the bin/some boxes with sewing stuff. So I guess that didn't work.

Not happy. I don't want to go through weeks of this stuff again. I think tomorrow I might need to go to the hardware store for some mesh or something to that effect to plug up this hole. Or I should just tell my landlords and get them to deal with it (and the cost). They were nice enough last time to give us traps etc. and it's their house too, being as they're upstairs. And it's also a substantial hole. Someone cut like a 1x1 foot square to install the gas pipes for the cooker, and didn't bother to close it off. Which also explains why it would be drafty around the cooker.

I'm partly pissed off about the fact that I told them before that I could hear mice in our ceilings/their floors (and have been hearing this on and off for months, as well as a year and a half ago with the mouse infestation), but they never did anything. Plus we never had these issues until they got rid of their cat.

So back to trapping I think. Gah! And lots of kitchen cleaning, double gah!

Comments

[funeralnight.livejournal.com]

but.. mice are cute! they are like mini-squirrels!

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, tell me that after you've had a mouse infestation in your kitchen, where they poo and pee all over the counter and you get to clean everything everyday before you use it...

They're cute, as long as they are not in my place.

[captainflux.livejournal.com]

The pitter-patter of entirely the wrong sort of tiny feet, hmm? It's a shame kittycats present risks to wee bairns, or I'd suggest the feline approach to pest control.

I have always had success baiting my traps with pumpkin seeds. Give 'em a little soak in some warm water to soften them and make them smell more pumpkin-like. Pumpkin seeds straight out of the pumpkin are the best. There's no way known to get one of those suckers off a spike without setting off the trap, and mice dig them. Or at least the mice I had dug them, until a spring-loaded steel bar crushed their tiny spines.

[catdraco.livejournal.com]

Peanut butter is always a winner. It's not actually possible for them to pull it off the trap.

*snap!*

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

It's possible for them to lick it off though.

The traps I had last time had a slot rather than a spike, and I filled it with pb, and they liked it clean! And these were traps so sensitive that I could blow on them and they'd go off. It was ridiculous.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

How are kittycats a risk?

Trust me, I'd love a cat. But seeing as we plan on going back to AU permanently in about 2 years, we've not gotten any, as we don't want to put any pets through longhaul flights and 6-month quarantine.

Yeah, spring traps have been pretty much the most successful traps I've had. Though the glue pads also worked well, as I can easily shove those under the cooker attached to a string. Bit harder with sensitive snaptraps.

Peanut butter worked for me, with a tough bit of breadcrust. Breadcrust to make it hard to remove from the trap (the ones I had didn't use spikes, rather some slot to shove stuff in) and pb to make it attractive.

[captainflux.livejournal.com]

Kittycats can carry toxoplasma gondii, which is a single-celled parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis. Not generally really dangerous, unless you catch it during the first trimester in particular and pass it on to your child, or if the child catches it when young, or if their immune system is weakened.

[tks.livejournal.com]

Cats are a small risk to women through Toxoplasmosis (sp). If you have owned a cat before and cleaned litter trays, then you should be fine with being previously exposed to it. You can have a blood test to see if you are resistant.

Just get prez to clean the litter trays, and wash hands after patting kitty cattie.



and a way to get a cat is to foster one :) You get temporary pet. cat gets rid of temporary mice.

And when good home comes around for foster kitty - you can rehome it without thinking about quarentine etc :)

[vgnwtch.livejournal.com]

I think I'd point out that having mice urinate and defecate all over the place around a pregnant person is not a good idea, and that they need to pay for the Gaping Hole to be properly filled and the whole place properly dealt with at their cost. Not in a nasty, confrontational way, but it's obviously their responsibility.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

*Nod*

They've always been good about fixing stuff, so I don't forsee a problem.

We haven't told them I'm pregnant yet, I doubt they'd need that kind of leverage, but I can throw it in if they give us any trouble, which I doubt. We really are lucky enough to have nice landlords.

Now I just need to tidy this place up before I get them to come in :P You always want to make a good impression on the landlords after all. I know the mice aren't here because of anything we did, as I'm pretty clean with foodstuff in the house (thanks to ants), but I don't want to give them any excuses.

[ippagoggy.livejournal.com]

I say put the mousetraps INSIDE the cooker.
and WAHLA! instant mouse dinner.