Rats in Brooklyn. Who woulda thunk it?? And all you did was leave the door wide open day and night. Really? I co-managed a supermarket in Flushing one summer 41 years ago. We didn't dare go into the basement food storage area after 4PM, as that was when the rats came out. The owners didn't care to spend money on exterminators--until the Health Department closed the store down one morning. (You'd think they take a little something to look the other way. This was the Rotten Apple.) If what you saw was so small you couldn't ID it, it was likely a mouse. Standard neck-snapping rat traps won't work well, as they won't trigger with the light weight of a mouse. So close up all entries to the cellar. Especially the doors. If it's rats, you have a wide choice of inanimate elimination methods--poison, neck snappers, live trapping, glue boards and electrocution. When we lived in rural Ohio, we had a rat terrier. In downtown Toronto, a brace of cats were good for the occasional mice. Reminds me, time to check the garage traps for last night's stray Mickies. This post was edited by worthy on Sun, Jun 2, 13 at 11:00

This is a situation with which I have had much experience and the solution is easy if you are diligent and properly motivated. There is no need for a professional exterminating service. Mice often nest in the ground just outside of your foundation, especially if the foundation wall is of old stonework. Cold weather will reduce their food supply and drive them into your house and so will construction excavation. I'm surprised the local building department didn't require a rodent control plan for earthwork next to a townhouse. Its unlikely that they are rats so assume they are mice for now. The mice will enter through the basement and look for food. If the food in the basement is accessible they will go no further. If it is not accessible, they will head for the kitchen and open pet food. The only way to get rid of mice safely and without odors is to trap them. The only effective poison is sold in huge containers and you don't want it in your house. Traps are also the quickest way and you are racing against the next birth cycle and it's short. I've used every mouse trap sold and I discovered that only one is effective: ORTHO HOME DEFENSE MAX "PRESS 'N SET" It is easy to bait and set and will kill mice as soon as the house gets quiet and not stop until they are all gone. Use a dozen traps and place them with the jaws near a straight fun of wall and not in direct sight of humans. The best place is the kitchen counter against the backsplash behind bottles and stuff if possible; that is their highway. Use peanut butter from small disposable "lunch" packets to avoid contaminating a jar of it. Since this trap will not allow them to eat the bait you might not have to rebait the trap for a month. Expect to catch 10 or 20 them in a month before you are done. Don't remove the traps just because you haven't caught one for a few days; the babies may be on the way. If you have trouble doing this give the task to someone else; you can't let the mice take over your house. Happy hunting Here is a link that might be useful: Ortho Press N Set

I have your answer. I have seen it all and every mouse trap gimic made. This is what works fool proof. You need a old fashioned wooden based mouse trap with the spring loaded bar. You need the trap also that has the small brass or steel catch that curls upward in the front of the catch plate. Now take a piece of Nacho Cheese Dorito chip and break off a piece the size of a nickle and wedge it under the curl of the catch plate keeping as much intact as possable and not hampering the trip of the trap so the mouse needs to tug on the chip to get it loose. The point then is to feed them where you want them to go. They cannot resist the smell of the chip. I recently fired up my trap again and cought 5 mice in 2 days. I have 1 trap the has 16 kills marked on it and another that has 7. Be sure to check about every 3 hours and rebait as needed.

I suppose there could be an interference problem. I don't know the frequency band that your mouse uses, but did the problem start after you added a piece of electronic gear that uses electromagnetic waves, say a new cell phone, a portable house phone with base station, or a new server for internet use? Maybe a nearby neighbor has added a boost to his modem/server. Perchance do you have blue-tooth equipment running? Check your mouse instructions pamphlet. Does it have a choice of frequencies on which to operate? If so, try changing channels.