[skybluepink02]

So we recently moved into a new house that had been vacant for a while. Or, vacant of people, anyways. Turns out we have visitors in the night, of the mouse variety.<br><br>
I need to get them out of my house. I'm terrified of using poison around my toddlers, and kind of scared of them getting hurt by traps too. I'll put them behind baby locks, of course, but I'm still worried.<br><br>
What is the best way of getting these creatures out of my house in the safest way for my family?

 

[Llyra]

Is it possible for you to borrow a cat? Or even several cats, for a week or two? That would be my first choice. The cat catches them, yes, but the cat's scent in the house is also a very good deterrent. In your position, I'd probably look into getting my own cat, actually, if there are no issues with allergies in the family. All my neighbors have mice. I live in connected housing, and mice are almost unavoidable in complexes like ours, and yet because of my cats, I am the only one in the row who has no mice at all ever.<br><br>
Other than a cat, the first thing I'd do would be to take a careful look at the outside of the house, and try and figure out how they are getting/got in, so that you can block that off. Then I'd look into traps. There are a number of different kinds of traps that you can get that are less hazardous around little ones. My mom used to have ones that had a little door that closed and trapped the mice alive; I don't know what they're called. Personally, I wouldn't do poison around little children, unless you're able to leave the house completely and stay someplace else while the mice are being got rid of, and then you clean the house thoroughly before bringing the kids back in. I had a puppy once who ate poison put out for mice, in the neighbor's garage, and he died in an agonizing way. There's just too much chance that something might happen, even if you're careful with the poison.<br><br>
So barring a cat, which would be my favorite solution, I'd look into blocking off entrances, and then trapping.

 

[iowaorganic]

Vitamin D and peanut butter and a whole lot of traps. Also the scent of cat works like magic!

 

[Peacemamalove]

Get some peppermint oil and put in on some cotton balls works every time <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[skybluepink02]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>iowaorganic</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15399091"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Vitamin D and peanut butter</div>
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What does the vitamin D do?

 

[skybluepink02]

Unfortunately we can't get a cat. We've got very severe cat allergies in our house. I've seen fox urine crystals to sprinkle outside. Does that work?

 

[mamallama]

I use snap traps & put them out of reach of my kids. It's unpleasant for me to empty them, but at least I know the little suckers had a quick, humane end. Dh just bought a new kind for me (checking the traps is my chore) It works kind of like a clothes pin. It's easy to set, easy to empty, easy (and not gross) to re-use.<br><br>
Even if I could keep my kids out of it, I wouldn't want to put poison into the environment--and I imagine it's a painful death.