MICE?!?!?!?! - Page 4

[BlessedOne]

Thank you Jen for coming to my defense.

In regards to moving.....yes we are looking to move. But obviously things like that take money. With a family my size, it is not like we can move just anywhere. Plus if we move, who is to say that place wouldn't have mice. I know so many people that never had mice issues until this year ....I guess there must have been a major over population in the are or something.

We are actually looking to build. And when we do it will be ICF and steel....not the traditional stick built home. But again...that all takes money. =S

[coffeegirl]

You're right BlessedOne, some people here have been jumping on every single thing you've said. Personally? I could care less if your kids stomp on bugs or if you are or aren't OCD or if you clean a lot. Really, I don't think any bad things about you because of those things or the mice. I just really want you to call an exterminator. Even saying there are "probably 20 or so" mice in your house does show that you maybe don't understand about infestations. They're in your walls, hon. And your roof. And possibly hiding outside as well.

If you have mice for a period of time like you have, and if they are letting themselves be seen, you have a mouse problem. That is all some of us are saying. I know that you are agreeing with that in some posts. But then in others you talk about not wanting to use traps and wanting to try all the other natural remedies you can think of and are kind of going back and forth about the exterminator. That's where some of the sharp tones are coming from, I think.

It's only frustration. this is a public forum. You came for advice about a family safety question. We're not talking just to hear ourselves talk, you know what I mean? This is advice from people who've been where you are and have dealt with the problem. Please don't focus on feeling defensive. Get an exterminator!

[BlessedOne]

Originally Posted by Maedze 

It got ugly when it was clear what sort of a breeding ground of infection and filth you were living in, while plugging your eyes and ears and saying, "La la la la I can't HEAAAR you."   

For pete's sake, lady, these are your children, your newborn infant, we're talking about.  People have lost their kids to foster care for this kind of thing.  Wake up and smell the mouse poison.  

yes....the horrible filth of my house that I daily sanitize *rolls eyes*
Just can't win with you.

And if I didn't plan on doing something, do you really think I would have started this thread? Heck, I HAVE been doing things to try to get rid of them....all be it not the traditional way.....but I have never been known as "Traditional".

I am not one to naively believe that putting out snap traps will get rid of every one or that having an exterminator come will get rid of every one.  I am one that believes firmly in prevention over correction. Now yes, both are needed....but correcting without figuring out means of future prevention is well...un-intelligent.
 

[coffeegirl]

Ok just saw the thread about talking with your landlord. I've had landlords like that. It might be that he just doesn't want to pay for an exterminator. In which case....Well, I'd go ahead and try the snap traps and poison for a little while and see if it doesn't get better. Tell your kids they can't play in the greenery outside your house, or keep watch on them.

If it gets better, yay! If it it DOESN'T get better, I'd seriously consider calling an exterminator on your own, whether your landlord agrees or not. You should probably tell him that the traps and poison haven't worked, etc. first, to be fair. He may volunteer at that point. If not, call one. You could even get the health dept. to force him to pay for it, although I know that seems drastic.

[Imakcerka]

Aren't landlords only responsible for original move in infestations?  Like if she moved in and they were there but not if they showed up while she's been living there? 

I don't really care to pick at anything you say, but if someone else is having the same problem this should be a good starting point for what you don't do if you have an infestation.

We were told not to vacuum with our own vacuum unless we wanted to throw it away.  Also they sprayed all the poop first before picking it up with bleach.  The thing with mice is they're relentless and while we had a few mice we also ended up getting rats in our garage.  BIG AZZ RATS.  Quite a few people in our neighborhood dealt with this problem after our HOA went on a feral cat spree removal.  We now have a cat who lives outside 95% of the time.  He's a good mouser, that works great for me.  Though after you get rid of them successfully you will need to keep it up, by keeping out traps or poison whatever you're comfortable with. 

Just know that when you clean it up with your vacuum cleaner you're really just pushing dust around and all that bacteria stays.  Also you can google to your hearts content... but just like anything not all the crap you'll find is even true. 

[coffeegirl]

Hm, I don't know about the landlord thing. I was under the impression that they're responsible, period. It's still their property. But my experience has mostly been with apartments and duplexes, so the tenants around the infested place are affected as well if the infestation isn't treated. Might be something to look into.

[Imakcerka]

I think it has to do with whether or not you're the cause.  Like anything really.  You know you put rocks in the washing machine and get pissed when the landlord doesn't fix it after you destroyed it.  My grandparents always had some interesting tenants.  He once gave one of his tenants  20 thousand (old family friend) to redo the roof, the guy was a roofer.  Three years later my grandparents came back to get the house ready to sell and half the roof was missing so was all the carpet.  (family friend died a few month prior to their wanting to sell).

[coffeegirl]

Yeah, I've never had a landlord even question who the cause might be, at least not in regards to getting the problem fixed. They just send the exterminator out. I think most tenants aren't going to admit to being responsible for mice or roaches or whatever is infesting their house.

[HappyMommy2]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne 

ok again....let me set some things straight here.........because again some of you guys are jumping to some serious false conclusions.

Just because my kids stomp bugs does not mean they will turn out bad......seriously I think that is a bit overboard. And I never condone them stomping bugs, I actually tell them not to. Yes, my kids do not like most living things. My guess is that they get that from their dad. I have always been a nature person and been against animal cruelty and the like. My husband is not for animal cruelty (he doesn't even hunt or fish) but he doesn't like animals. Now no he is not going to go kill something just because, but he does not prefer to be around animals. And my kids have picked up on that. If they don't want to LIKE animals, then I am not going to force them. I will of course not condone the killing of innocent creatures. And again......it is not like they are running around with a BB  gun shooting birds just for the fun of it. They stomp on bugs......oh my.......*rolls eyes*

 I never said I believed I had just one mouse. But I still do not think there are thousands of them. I have seen less than 20 mouse turds.....if I had thousands, there would be a lot more than that.

 Again the mice are being seen because now they have to actually work for their food. All of their easy to go to supply has been depleted. My guess is that most people don't see mice because they don't go to the extreme of cleaning every inch of their house....causing the mice to have to actually look for food.

Also, I am not dumb enough to think a closed door keeps mice out. I guess I forgot to tell you guys that once the initial mouse was found in the utility room, I put a hard plastic door sweep on the bottom of the door (overlapping both sides...so there are no gaps and completely to the floor) on the bottom of the door. That was just so I could try to keep them contained and deal with them in the utility room....as opposed to the rest of the house. That is when I started using the live capture traps. Then I think they started going through the vents to get out of the utility room. Then I screened off the vents. Then is no time...guess what I smelled a dead mouse in the utility room. Of course there was more than what was in the utility room, but that was the one place I knew that they had been (in the beginning), so I was dealing with that area directly.

I find it funny that you guys were all freaking that my kids are in such unsanitized conditions and then when I explained all of the things I do to sanitize, you suddenly jump the fence and start saying I need help because of being so OCD. Man there is no winning with some of you. I guess I definitely won't go into complete detail of how extreme I really am about cleanliness....you might try to put me in lock down!  And just so you know, I have very good reason not to let my kids run around barefoot outside. You can get all kinds of parasites that way.....such as hook worms and the like. And of course that is not even taken into consideration the risk of cutting their feet. I live in a very rocky area...and no I don't mean nice smooth rock.

Also, I do tell my kids to wash their hands after going potty. And I have hand sanitizer in various places around the house....including on the bathroom counter right next to the door. If I don't hear them wash their hands (which they are required to for sure if they go poo...preferably after peeing too), then I tell them to at least put hand sanitizer on.

Also the value of repetitive cleaning is that 1. it keeps any bacteria that might be brought in with these mice under control. And two it helps deter mice. I know all of you keep saying that cleaning doesn't get rid of mice.....and I understand what you are saying but it does help deter them. And if (like someone said previously) it does get to where they go outside to get food and bring it back in, then hopefully they will meet my new 5ft long black friend that likes to eat mice......aka the black snake spotted outside our house yesterday. I generally don't allow snakes to hang out around the house, but I think I might let this guy hang around if he helps control the population. I just hope he doesn't cause more to come in 0_o. Although with talking to my landlord today about the situation he declares that all holes are plugged and there is no way anything can come in now.......but of course he is about like talking to a brick wall at times (not that I would know anything about being a brick wall....lol).





If anyone is still reading this thread and trying to get tips and not be bashed. I have found that leaving the lights on at night helps keep them from being so active. No, I did not say it got rid of the mice. But I have done it three days now and they have not been on the counters or running around at night as much. I have not seen any when the lights are left on at night and I haven't heard them like before and haven't found any mouse poo or any other evidence of them being active. During all of my research, I had found that apparently they don't like bright lights. Which of course makes sense given that they are nocturnal. 

THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!!!!  I'm not sure why you think it is true. 

And seriously, recommending to others to leave the lights on at night as a mouse deterent is just .... whack. And that is putting it nicely. 

The responses here are pretty unanimous. Perhaps you could step back from feeling defensive, and rethink your situation.  You are not using good judgment.  Good grief woman, please just go to the store and buy about 50 snap traps.

WHY WON'T YOU BUY THE SNAP TRAPS???

Also, ask your landlord where the poison is so that you can keep your kids away from it.
 

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by coffeegirl 

Yeah, I've never had a landlord even question who the cause might be, at least not in regards to getting the problem fixed. They just send the exterminator out. I think most tenants aren't going to admit to being responsible for mice or roaches or whatever is infesting their house.

We had a rat in our garage and our landlord sent out an exterminator ASAP to deal with it. 

It's definitely worth Googling what your rights as a tenant are in your state, and ask your landlord right away.  There is no sense not asking because you don't think he'll pay for it.

[Imakcerka]

Yeah but there is a point when waiting for someone else to do something is not worth it.  Even if the landlord is responsible and he probably is he doesn't seem to be taking proper action.  Putting stuff outside the house when the problem is inside the house screams IDIOT!
 

Originally Posted by Bokonon 

We had a rat in our garage and our landlord sent out an exterminator ASAP to deal with it. 

It's definitely worth Googling what your rights as a tenant are in your state, and ask your landlord right away.  There is no sense not asking because you don't think he'll pay for it.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by Imakcerka 

Yeah but there is a point when waiting for someone else to do something is not worth it.  Even if the landlord is responsible and he probably is he doesn't seem to be taking proper action.  Putting stuff outside the house when the problem is inside the house screams IDIOT!
 

Totally agree.

[mamadebug]

The laws governing who the responsible party is (landlord or tenant) vary by state. You can look them up. You may be within your rights as a tenant to go ahead and pay for the exterminator and then withhold that amount of money from your next months rent (and provide documentation for it). Again, you can google the laws for your state online.

Not sure what your hesitation on calling an exterminator is - financial or not wanting poison around. If it is concern about poisons, the exterminator we had didn't use any poison and was able to wipe out the mouse population (although we didn't have many).

[lovingmommyhood]

Been reading...finally posting...

So, um...why won't you buy the snaptraps? I'd cover my floors/counters with them and smile from my bed with each SNAP.

It's not embarrassing to have mice, happens to everyone. It IS embarrassing to not do anything about it when you have children living in the home. Cleaning doesn't get rid of mice.

Good luck.

[juggalette]

Seriously, if your landlord won't hire an exterminator, I'd call the city/county code enforcer.

[mamalisa]

I would rather take the small risk of having my house sprayed (or whatever it is they do for mice) than to spend hours and hours cleaning my house, constantly washing and not letting my children run free and play in their home.  This is ridiculous and just gross.

[Emma Bryan Fuller]

WOW.....this got ugly...fast!

[Imakcerka]

Nope it took three weeks to get frustrated.  You either do something or you don't.   But don't get mad at everyone for reading your dilemma and getting annoyed that you won't listen.  I'm pretty sure that's straight forward where ever you go. 
 

Originally Posted by Emma Bryan Fuller 

WOW.....this got ugly...fast!

[~Boudicca~]

Originally Posted by Imakcerka 

Nope it took three weeks to get frustrated.  You either do something or you don't.   But don't get mad at everyone for reading your dilemma and getting annoyed that you won't listen.  I'm pretty sure that's straight forward where ever you go. 
 

[MariesMama]

Um.  WTF.  I understand that cleaning and prevention are great, but this is kind of like closing the barn door after the horse is ten miles away.  You can't prevent something that's already happened.