Mice

[boigrrrlwonder]

I'm completely and utterly freaking out. I found evidence of mice all in our cabinets today. We have mice. I'm literally days away from my EDD. I have a lot of doubts about whether it's a good idea to give birth in a place with a mouse problem (I mean, I'd be bringing the baby home at a day old to a home with a mouse problem anyway...), but I don't know what I'd do since I'm SO close and my midwife doesn't have hospital privileges anywhere. We have traps out. We have all food in mouse-proof containers. Everything is super clean. We live in an apartment building and have talked to the landlord about hiring an exterminator (he doesn't want to do so, but he said he come over and take a look and talk about it tomorrow). Should I be looking last minute to changing care so I can birth in a hospital setting (I live in a state with no birthing centers)? WWYD?

[Bia]

omg, I'd be in a panic over what is used to kill the mice, not the mice themselves! you want to have a newborn in a home right after an exterminator was there? maybe you should do some research on modern day mice carried disease rates vs. the dangers of mice killing poisons.

[boigrrrlwonder]

You know, I don't know exactly what exterminators do in mice cases. I have read strong arguments against using poison, since mice can die in places not accessible to humans and cause a smell issue, but all the poisons I've seen talked about were things that the mice would eat, not a spray, so I'm not sure why it would pose a risk to my newborn assuming I wasn't feeding it to him/her.

[gardenmommy]

I would just keep the traps out, clean everything really well, esp. kitchen and bathroom surfaces. I wouldn't change where you are going to birth, I mean, are the mice in your bedroom or living room? More than likely, you won't be birthing in your kitchen, so that shouldn't be an issue. Before we moved, we lived in a big old farmhouse, and we had mice on a regular basis. We kept the problem under control (read: one or two mice per winter instead of a huge infestation), cleaned thoroughly, and didn't worry about it. Don't get me wrong, I *dislike* mice with a passion; I just don't think it's a reason for changing your birth plans. (If you said you were waking up with a mouse running across your face, well, I would certainly have a different opinion! No way in heck would I birth in that situation!) And, no the poison for mice is something they eat, not a spray, so it wouldn't affect your baby.

[Astraia]

I totally wouldn't worry about it.

It'd be one thing if you were planning on having your baby in the back of your cupboard where the mice like to hide out, but other wise... yeah, so not a big deal.

I grew up in a big farmhouse (no farm, but near a lot of them) and there was always mice in the house- no matter how careful we were about mouse proofing, no matter how many cats we had, they existed. I know the people who lived there before us had their babies at home. I know the people who bought the place when we moved out had their babies at home. I bet they never got rid of the mice entirely, either.

Yes they're gross and full of diseases, but unless you're bitten by one or playing with mouse droppings while giving birth I really don't think it's a big deal.

[Bia]

Rodent poisons are very dangerous to humans and pets, including the kind the mice eat. And if you set traps, you then are dealing with handling/disposing of dead rodents.
Unless you have severe asthma and are sensitive to the mouse allergen, or live in one of the few areas with a high occurrence of the hantavirus, the mice are not a danger.

eta: also, it is more important to find their entry into your home and seal it than to kill the ones that are there right now... more will just come in later.

[RiverSky]

Perhaps you could foster an adult cat? The cat might catch a mouse or two, or the smell of the cat might just scare the mice away.

[gardenmommy]

Yes, the poisons are toxic to pets and people, but it is highly unlikely that the OP is going to be handling the dead rodents extensively, and you should always wash your hands, obviously. Her DH can take them out (mine always did for me, except when he traveled), and you don't have to touch the poisons. You just open a box and set it out, no touch involved; you can even wear gloves so you don't have to have skin to box. We had problems with them coming in the basement, so we just put the poison in the basement where we knew that people and pets wouldn't come in contact with it. As for the mice not being a danger, that is correct, but who wants to open their cupboards and find mice droppings all over their stuff, or open the pantry and find the mice have been at their food? Having BTDT, it totally stinks, and I don't blame the OP one bit for wanting to be rid of the mice.

And I *totally* agree that you MUST find where they are coming in and plug the hole with something like steel wool. Otherwise, you will never be truly rid of them. Oh, and getting a cat sounds like a good idea, too.

[hillymum]

If you're in an apatment building you are never going to get rid of the mice. They will be in the main walls so untouchable unless someone poisons all of them. Unlikely!
I would see if your dh hcan seal all holes going into your apartment (around pipes under sinks etc) and put out the old fashioned mice traps with peanut butter on them. Mice arent harmful, but you really want to eat food they have deficated on?

[Youngfrankenstein]

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this right now! Almost everyone I know has had a mouse problem. It didn't matter how clean or dirty or country or city....I've been lucky.

I'd set the traps and not worry about it. Someone else can handle it. Let's face it, there are so many germs about any way in life. Keep your birth space as clean as you can and let it go.

[Little Shepherds]

Go buy some peppermint oil lots of it, soak cotton balls with it and place them in the mouse hole and area where you have seen signs of them it work great and is safe. It makes the mice go away and find a new home. You will have to replace the balls every few days but it works!

[Comtessa]

I used to live in a house so infested with mice that I could sit in the dining room and listen to them scampering around in the ceiling and it almost sounded like my housemates were dancing upstairs!

Having BTDT, I would totally not worry about birthing in a house that has mice. Unless they're tap-dancing on the ceiling tiles, you probably won't notice them while you're in labor, and as long as all your food is in mouse-proof containers you really don't have to worry about the ick-factor of them getting into the vittles.

I second what the PP said about poison - they eat it, then crawl into the walls and die, and the smell is horrific. When you're in labor, you're going to have a really sensitive sense of smell - you will definitely NOT want to have that odor around your house. Plus, I've always hated having to handle a dead mouse that's full of poison - so many toxins! (I can't bear to just throw the poor creature away, I want to at least give it a decent burial in the garden, but nobody really wants high-potency poisons leaching into their garden soil, so...ugh. Anyway.)

IMO, I'd ignore the mice or set a few traps to catch them, and go ahead with your homebirth. Your new baby won't mind a few extra animals in the house. (They say that Jesus was born surrounded by animals... maybe there were mice in the stable, too! )

[Mama Mko]

I would totally not worry about giving birth in a house that has mice.

[almadianna]

I live in an old ranch house and we have rats once in a while, I wish we had mice sometimes!!

That said, I gave birth in my house and it was no problem. Rodents just come and go sometimes it doesnt mean you house is dirty and it doesnt mean that you will get sick just by being around the house. PLEASE dont use any poisons and they are awful for you and what they say about them dying in awful places is true. We had to cut holes in our walls at our old home because of this. ICK ICK ICK.

Mice are annoying and icky but they should not ruin your homebirth dreams.

[cchrissyy]

ick! good luck getting them gone but definately don't upset your birth plans and make last minute changes over this.

[MidwifeErika]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even hospitals and birth centers get the occasional mouse.