MICE!! Aghghghghghghg

[timneh_mom]

Got any suggestions? I set some traps, the cats are NO help! : We usually don't have a problem but they left their signatures (read: poo) on my kitchen counter!

I won't use D-con because I did use it years ago and the poor thing bled to death all over my kitchen...

It's about impossible to keep everything completely clean because of the 3 year old and 11 month old who live here and tend to get food everywhere... I can try the best I can but I know I'll miss spots.

[earthgirl]

Pull out your major appliances and stuff any cracks or holes w/ steel wool. Really, check every spot in your house and plug up the holes. Even radiator openings, if you have them. Check your cabinets good, too. We actually had mice chew a hole in one of our cabinets to get behind the dishwasher. I would use traps wherever you find their poop. We have had mice in 2 homes and they can get out of hand in no time.

[WeasleyMum]

I'm sorry. We have been battling the same problem. The only thing that has helped so far is to really concentrate on sealing up the house.

I read an interesting, very plausible theory, that as long as your house is a hospitable place for mice (warmer than outside, with food available) then mice will keep moving in, regardless of how many you kill with traps, etc. And, that by killing the least-smart mice (the ones that get caught in the traps or by the cat) you're also increasing the general intelligence of the local mice population, making the rest even harder to kill by default. It made sense to me, anyway.

My DH spent two days plugging every and any hole into our house with steel wool and caulk; around the dryer hose, where water pipes came through the floor, in closets, everywhere. He had to pull the fridge and stove away from the wall to get behind them, and ended up practically ripping up the (very old and crumbly) bottom to the kitchen sink cabinet, to get to the spaces beneath and behind them where pipes entered through an exterior wall.

Meanwhile I went through and tried to make our food supply as hard to get to as possible, by storing more of it in the fridge, moving a lot into a cabinet that closes tightly, and emptying bags and boxes of things into sealable tupperwares. Also, I'm making a concerted effort to clean up the mess left after making dinner and do the dishes every night. That one is a work in progress, for me.