Awful Awful Pests

Ok girls I need some help badly. We have a nasty nasty mouse/mice in our house and they FREAK me out like nothing else in the world. DH thinks it very funny when I have to either run outside if I hear it or god forbid even see it. I am petrified of them. I know they are just teeny tiny little things but EWWWWWW
I need to find out if those plug in pest control things work and where do you buy them from??

We have tried the regular mouse trap and the little sucker gets the bait off(peanut butter or chocolate) and it won't get into the humane traps we have around the place :wall: We can't bait it because we have a dog and a toddler so thats not an option.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!!

If you have any other suggestions that have worked for you please let me know.

we're in the same boat hun - and he's a cheeky little turd!

the noise plug ins dont work - my folks have them and still get mice...

will be watching this thread for ideas

Rat traps and get DH to adjust the spring so it's on a hair trigger.

We had mice when we moved in from all the buidling materials around the place and this is what the construction guys suggested. Worked a treat.

Spring xx

Get a cat :p

We've had a pest plugin thing for years. Doesn't work LOL. We got a mouse. We were nice tho, we used a humane trap and released it in the bush.

It was good actually, DS was starting to get scared of the elusive mouse in the kitchen. So when we caught it we put it in a big bucket so it couldn't jump out (they can jump really high!) and he could see it, and then we all went for a drive and released it.

Oh BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER girls. I was really hoping those plug in things worked :doh:

We have the humane traps and have released several mice into the bush over the years but this one is just a naughty naughty mouse who refuses to get in the darn thing.

Bron we can't have a cat as our dog isn't a fan lol.

Spring I'll try the rat trap. What did you put on it to lure the mice?

Please keep the suggestions coming though. I have ran from the house several times this arv as I can hear it EWWWW :redface:

There are those grey plastic traps that don't have the wire thingo on them, you don't have to touch the mouse to empty - they are really good - nice and sensitive. There are also ones that are black, tomcat brand that I've been told are very good too.

Use the Tomcat traps here. I find that a date squashed onto the trap works quite well, especially if it has been cooked (like in a scone), seems to make it stickier. We put it where we have seen mouse poo and they are place in a way that they have to walk through them.

We have cats, but they are part of the problem as they have a catch and release program in place :rolleyes:

Mako, I'm so sorry you have a mouse problem :hug: I agree, it's yucky and creepy when you know that there are mice scuttling around in your house.

But I just have to say, as an environmental scientist and bush regenerator, releasing vermin into bushland really is a terrible option. Bushland is not an acceptable dumping ground for our '"waste" and feral animals do immense damage to Australian ecosystems.

I have been involved, over many years, with feral animal control programs organised and operated by collaborating land management agencies. There have been some great successes in terms of the recovery of native flora and fauna species, but actions such as this (releasing vermin and ferals) are such a backward step and make our job so much harder.

So to those of you who have released mice/rats/other animals into bushland, I'm begging you - please don't. By far the most humane option in my opinion is just the traditional snap-trap - an instant kill. If you're squeamish about disposal just warp the whole thing up in newspaper, trap and the deceased, put it in a bag and put it in the bin.

I fear this post makes me sound awful, harsh and self-righteous. :redface: I'm sorry, I'm just trying to offer a perspective that some of you may not have considered before.

I wish you all the very best of luck in the management of your pest problem :goodluck:

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Get a cat :p

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That's what we did and I haven't seen a mouse in years.

The inlaws live too far away for me to release it at their house tho.. so bushland it is.. LOL.

Trouble with snap traps is it's not a humane death. Horrible horrible things they are.

Well Liz, there's nothing humane about dumping vermin in fragile ecosystems where they will kill and displace native flora and fauna, many of them endangered species. I have devoted my life and career to understanding, protecting and managing these special places and the ever pervasive attitude that bushland is just a dumping ground will always upset me. But I guess everyone doesn't have the same values for the environment that I do, and that's just life hey.

If you can't kill your prisoner then the only humane option I can see would be to keep it as a pet.

we have traps set - the little mongrel keeps taking the bait and running! i was just changing DD's nappy at the change table and he came out of hiding four or five times within metres of me! not happy!

we tried the cat - he has a catch and release philosophy - so now he protects the shed not allowed inside any more.

Thanks for the info Epacris. I personally prefer your way of doing it and in fact we've thrown many snap traps away with mice still trapped but unfortunately this little sucker keeps getting the bait off..We even super glued a m&m to a trap and it just ate the choc out ouf the middle :wall:

We set the humane traps last night with some choc and some mouse bait and the sucker didn't go anywhere near them :doh: When they are baited like that they die in the trap and DH disposes of them in the bin. :pray: we catch this one very soon.

BG I think these suckers are getting smarter :rolleyes: I hope you catch yours soon too :hug:

More goodluck :goodluck: to you mako. Sound's like you need it.

bucket of water drown them thats what we do

we have horses and mice love chaff so we have oil in drums with the lid off they fall in and drown cause they cant get out sounds mean but they are vermin we kill flies and ****roatches and spiders dont we


i agree do not relase the lil buggers into the bush as they cause more harm then good

i had one run over my boot yesterday when i was feeding a horse i kicked it and a bird swooped down and grabbed it they are prey they die end of story

I think the snap traps are the most humane option - they generally kill them instantly.
Mako, have you tried differant varieties. We got the wood ones for our mouse and it didn't work then we got a grey plastic one and it snapped him the first night.

PMSL.. wow.. I release ONE mouse into the bush and I now have little value for the environment and have succumbed to the ever pervasive attitude that the bush is a dumping ground. :dunno:

But Liz, you dump a mouse, someone else dumps one too, then someone dumps their lawn clippings, then some gardening prunings with weed propagules, then some sediment escapes off a building site, then someone uses too much detergent washing their car, and on and on and on. It's a death by a thousand cuts that I deal with EVERY DAY and it's MY life's passion, please just let me be passionate about it.

i get narky because mice and jump fences ever tried to rug a horse when its jumping about trying to kill a rodent its not fun

that and well Epacris is right we are supposed to be looking out for our enviroment and mice well they like to eat things and destroy things

same as wild dogs foxes and rabbits

The saying "you catch more bees with honey" comes to mind...

yeah, yeah, I'm having a bad day :rolleyes:

I'm actually taking on board what you've said.. but still don't want to kill them :(

Where CAN mice live? Are they not welcome anywhere?? Surely they have a place somewhere on this earth like anything else?

Liz, thanks :hug:

The house mouse is native to Asia, so as a species, their natural home is there. But thats cold comfort to you and the gazillions of individual pest house mice here though. I wish, wish, wish I could give you the answer you want but I can't. The answer is no, they are not welcome. You can't release them on your own properly, obviously because they'll just come inside again and the problem will continue. You can't release them in natural areas because they cause problems there too. The only other option I can think of is keeping it for a pet.

How do you feel about feeding a captured pest mouse to a pet snake? The snake has to eat, the mouse has to die, is that a better solution?

And just out of interest, how do you feel about invertebrate (no backbone) pests like insects and spiders? Does the life of an invertebrate have less value than the life of a vertebrate? I have often pondered this myself. The answer in terms of animal ethics is absolutely YES. The requirements for getting an experiment using vertebrates approved by an animal ethics committee is vastly different to an experiment using invertebrates because they recognise that vertebrate animals are of greater value.

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I'm actually taking on board what you've said.. but still don't want to kill them :(

Where CAN mice live? Are they not welcome anywhere?? Surely they have a place somewhere on this earth like anything else?

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Ever been on a farm with a mouse plague?

C'mon girls I really need some more tips on how to catch this damn mouse.
Its doing my head in and I'm about to loose the plot...Seriously!!!!!

Now we've tried the "humane" trap with chocolate and and sultanas also baits to no avail. We've had the "snap" trap baited with peanut butter also to no avail. Now I've just thrown out 6 snap traps and all the bait stuff and newspaper. I went to Woolies and bought 4 new black snap traps to put out tonight...what other types of "bait" should I use???? I really need this bugger gone as I'm pretty sure its nesting...ie ripping up newspaper and taking it behind t.v cabinet :wall:

Thanks for your help in my mouse hunt :redface:

take ur kids to someones house and bait ur whole house and if that dont work call in a pest extermintaor

We recently laid bait in our roof for the rats we heard scurrying around up there. I hate the idea of poisoning things but they really are highly intelligent little creatures.

Have you tried just plain old peanut butter in your humane trap?

We have a cat also and he catches them and brings them inside ALIVE. I am forever "saving" the mice from the cruel claws of my moggy and releasing them into the barn. We have a lot of snakes in the summer months in there so I figure I will let the snakes do what they need to to the mice :lol:

ib got mine in a snap trap overnight (no bait, just lucky placement after watchinf him yesterday while i was feedin DD) took the whole thing outside for DH to deal with when he gets home - and i'm sure i hear another little mongrel now, sigh

i'm with you mako - doin my head in

we bait ours but next winter won't be able to with a toddler roaming around so I am thinking of building a bucket mouse trap.

here are some instructions
Build-a-Mouse-Trap

here is a YouTube Vid to show you how one can work.

How to trap a mouse
The vid doesn't show any mice drowning or anything, just how you get them to fall into the water.