Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
julie_va

home repair brought many mice, HELP!!

julie_va
15 years ago

I am not sure which forum to post this so I am posting it to a couple. Please forgive me if you see it elsewhere. I am just in tears now.

We need help. We had some work done during the summer and think a pregnant mouse may have gotten in then. In the past 3 weeks, as of this morning, we have caught 34. They are very small. The first group were babies, but this past couple weeks are much smaller, so I am thinking the babies had babies. We have torn the place apart looking for them and see no sign of nests. Hubby has closed up holes over the years to keep them from coming in and has made another hunt around the outside of the house looking for any other tiny holes that may need closing up. We have looked under refrigerator, washer and dryer, etc. There is no sign in the finished basement nor the upstairs, just the first floor.

We thought of calling an exterminator, but I think they only use poison. We don't want to use poison because we do have pets, and also if they can't get back outside, I don't want them dying in the walls and stinking.

One of my main concerns is them chewing on wires in the walls and causing fires, which I read can happen.

Can anyone help, please???? Thank you.

Comments (4)

  • sheilajoyce_gw
    15 years ago

    Well, I would be sure that no food is anywhere that they can get into, not even crumbs. I found that they liked to run under the kitchen cupboards behind the baseboard. So I took the bottom drawer out and placed a mouse trap there. That usually did the trick. (But then you seem to be catching them well.) I suggest you see if you have a bottom kitchen drawer that exposes the under area of your kitchen cupboards. Then be sure that no petfood or anything else is available to them. They can chew through sacks.

  • julie_va
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks, All the food is closed up. We are having the kitchen redone and so all the drawers and cabinets aren't even back on yet so they have been easy to look at. They haven't even gotten into the pantry yet (knock on wood) I am just so afraid that we will be so overrun soon. We are planning on going away in a few weeks and I have this image of coming home to the floors just covered in millions of them. Or using d con or something and having dead mouse stench. oh dear, sigh

  • bobismyuncle
    15 years ago

    I do some work for a hotel and get in the back maintenance rooms and housekeeping rooms a lot. There are a number of these "tin cats" with a "brand name exterminator" label on them. Watch the movie.

    They don't require frequent emptying, will catch many on one setting and you have a choice, thumbs up or thumbs down, so to speak.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tin Cat

  • brusso
    15 years ago

    We had a problem with squirrels, even had the 'Squirrel Man' out to our home to get rid of them . Not very successsful. Then , we found a contraption from HD that emits a sound, a pitch that is very offensive to Squirrels, rats , mice and other rodents but is not offensive to pets. It cost about $30. Just plug it in and voila. No more critters. It also has a setting that emits a pitch that is offensive to insects.

Sponsored
EA Home Design
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars69 Reviews
Loudoun County's Trusted Kitchen & Bath Designers | Best of Houzz