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kerryla_gw

Help!!.baby mouse found in laundry room, laundry now piling up:)

kerryla
14 years ago

I recently moved and was relieved when I moved in that there were no signs of mice anywhere. Well this morning I found a baby mouse slowely making its way accross the laundry room floor. It was only about an inch long and its eyes were still closed. Not sure if it was having problems walking because it was so young or if it had fallen. My problem is mice freak me out!! I am a single mom with young boys so i am tackling this problem on my own. Obviously there is a mom and pop around somewhere that I guess I will have to try and catch with traps but what do I do about the babies because I am sure there are more nearby. I have yet to step foot in the laundry room since this morning (I'm still freaked) and do not even want to start looking for the nest. i'm not even sure where to look. Should I try and battle my fears and try to cope with this on my own or do I hire an exterminator?

Comments (4)

  • izzie
    14 years ago

    Check for openings around your dryer vent. I had a very small space where one got in once. As for getting rid of them I can only stand to use live traps and let them go. Maybe get a cat.

  • sunnyca_gw
    14 years ago

    Get some sticky traps & hope they get in them & do you have a shovel, then you can pick up filled trap & dispose of. Not very humane but I hate mice & really freak out. Snakes & lizards OK!! I have checked every square in. of my house & have not had 1 for many yrs & that was in the garage. Another area you want to check well is around the place water goes out of washer, the hose may go into a wider pipe & they can crawl up that so you might need some caulking-bathroom caulk or very small mesh chicken wire to wrap around hose pipe & wire it on. Are there cabinets out there? Open & see if they are in there. Look for holes. I'd be standing on a chair while doing this, with a broom in 1 hand. Where does dirty water go, if just outside on ground they could even be coming up the drainage hose & into washing machine. Good luck!!

  • weed30 St. Louis
    14 years ago

    If you are that freaked out by mice and can afford it, hire an exterminator. If you can't afford it, set some humane traps. NOT A STICKY TRAP. The sticky traps are horrible. They severely torture the trapped mice, and also torture the human that put them out, via guilt. No matter how much you hate mice, if you have never seen a mouse or other creature on a sticky trap, believe me, you don't want to. They are stuck to the glue, and are absolutely frantic, trying to escape. They end up tearing their own skin off and breaking bones in the process, adding to the agony. They finally give up out of exhaustion, dehydration, and injury, and death comes slowly and painfully. I hate rodents, and certainly would FREAK if they were inside my house, but I would never subject any creature to a death like that.

    By humane traps, I mean one of two options: A snap trap that will kill them quickly, or a trap that will allow them to crawl inside but not be able to escape. Then you have to take them somewhere and release them. Probably not high on your list ;) An exterminator will do this for you. But again, there is a cost associated.

    The advice given about finding the spots where they are entering is very good. Mice can get inside via a hole as little as 1/2" wide.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Google: glue trap death

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    A mouse that young would not be out and about on it's own.....likely the momma was very near.
    I am all about preventing....and poison...deCon. I have it hidden in all sorts ofs ecret places....like on the sill ledge in the basement and behind the drawers in the kitchen.
    Then I look for places to get in....around sill cocks is a favorite! I plug them with kids modeling clay until I can get the hole properly caulked...or bits of steel wool shoved into the crack help.
    Snap traps and poison......do you really want to hear a mouse shrieking in agony for hours???
    Linda C