how do i keep mice away??

in less than a month, we have had 4 mice in our house!! YUCK!

i am no longer terrified of them, i was hysterical when i saw the first one, today i just shook my head and set two traps either side of the computer desk that i just watched another mouse run under.

im so grossed out, i just moved my couch and can see mouse poo on the tiles.... yuck

we are sure they're coming in from the door that goes out to the garage. we have traps set up in the garage, and i have *tried* to block up the botto of the door, but i think i need like a solid piece of wood or something, so that there is no sneaking past it.

is there anything i can do? im sick of having to check all the traps everyday. i feel so sorry for dd, she constantly asks 'is mousey all gone??' before she will walk out of her bedroom in the mornings. its not fair, how am i supposed to have a newborn baby on a blanket on the floor with mice? should i contact the landlord and ask if they can do anything?

arghhhhhhhhhh

when we lived on the farm, we had well over 15 in 2 months!!
Peppermint oil is supposed to keep them away.
If I were going to try to block the door I'd use steel wool as they're unlikley to want to chew through that, but that could be a pain depending how often you use that door.

get a cat!

we live in the sticks and used to get mice here a fair bit (and their bigger cousins! yukko!!) - we have cats now, and even though we haven't seen one that has been caught by the cats in ages (i had to knock one on the head probably 3 months back cos the cat had played with it for ages), we just don't see them very often at all

if you have gaps, the steelwool is best to fill it as they won't chew through it

maybe try those mouse repelling plug in things - don't know that they work, but some of my family think they do


i think having other animals makes them less likely to come in - they are scared away to a degree by the noise. our cats go clean out the sheds fairly often for us which helps...

We had mice twice last year, whole little families, dirty suckers that they are, they usually come in looking for food I have found.
So we have had to store all foods in either plastic or glass, glass is better cause they have chewed through a couple plastic containers in the past.
and not leave any food lying around for them, I found this hard as I am sure more food ends up on the floor than in DD's mouth at dinner.
Meant I had to vacuum everyday until they were gone.

By foods I mean anything that doesnt come in a can or jar etc goes into a glass container or plastic if I have no glasses ones free.


Havent had any since we moved all the foods into the containers

LOL I have heard snake poo is the best way to keep rats away and I assume it would work just as well for mice! You can just go to a petshop that sells snakes and ask for some apparently.

I got this info from the Shannon Lush book "Spotless" which is sold in ABC shops.

Ooooh, they are tough buggers to get rid of!
I have no idea. Our last place we lived in had a vacant block next door and they just came over from there. We set up traps, but they only get one at a time, of course. Chocolate was good for the traps.
I'd also recommend putting all food in containers, and preferably in the fridge. They used to get at my fruit bowl until I started storing the fruit in the fridge.

ETA: Goodness, Curly! I'd never have thought of that one!!!

peanut butter is fantastic on traps too - it doesnt come off at all

jelly beans were a winner at mum's place....

we use peanut butter or melted chocolate that then sets and they cant get it off.

depending on where you live, having mice can attract snakes, so there another vote for getting a cat :)

Okay I went and had a look at the Spotless book. If you are thinking about the snake poo option, apparently it is a small pellet that doesn't smell and it should last about 12 months. You scatter it under the house or in the ceiling, it says.

There is also a mention of naphthalene flakes used to deter a rat...I believe this is the same stuff mothballs are made out of... but to counteract the smell it says you can sprinkle some lemon thyme along with the naphthalene.

thanks girls, ill give some of these ideas a go!!

getting a cat isn't an option unfortunately.. dp HATES them, i actualy have a cat, but she lives with mum!

Rach are you allowed pets on your lease? We have a cat for keeping mice at bay and now we have a dog for keeping Cane Toads at bay (he doesnt touch them, they just don't like dogs!!) If you can get a cat then do so, if you can't then do put everything in containers and use the steel wool at the same time. If you have a box air conditioner they do get in through them too. Try a combination of all the suggestions peole have posted, and they should disappear.

ETA: Rach if you can have pets on your lease, ask DP what he prefers, a cat or mice ;)

We had some last year. FIL suggested to put rat bates in the garage and it worked. The rat bates are just little boxes pellets they eat. Havent had a mouse since Make sure you get the rat ones and not the mice ones. Mice ones kill them and youll be left with stinky bodies somewhere, whereas the rat ones make them thirsty and they leave looking for water.

Hmmm, just thinking with the baits and the napthalene - you'll want to be careful when you've got kids crawling about. Probably not a good idea to have poisons around crawling babies :)

Can you get an Owl? Only joking!

I had one make himself at home on my antenna last year. I had mice in the garage at one point and now they are gone, gone, gone.
Mr Owl also brought his baby here for mice catching training...it was great to watch!

Snacks.. thats why we put them in the garage. My kids arent allowed in the garage alone, theres a lock on the door.

Yeah, sorry Kell, didn't mean to offend at all - I should probably not state the obvious. Just that mothballs are pretty common and yet also pretty highly poisonous... But it probably goes without saying.
WOW, Lulu - that's awesome. Do you remember what the owl looked like? (Bird-nerd-wife allert. I am quite taken with owls ;) )
Reminds me of a story some friends told about how they rescued a small mouse-like marsuipial from the road, nursed him back to health and had a ceremonial release in their (large, bushy) backyard... And as soon as they let it go an owl swooped down and caught it, LOL! :doh:

YES! It is a 'powerful owl' - there is a sign at the local park all about them.
He's a BIG bugger too!

ooh I'm a fan of the owl too - there used to be one that nested in one of our outbuildings on the farm. I was so sad when it left.