We are moved in - we have mice
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive August 2006:
We are moved in - we have mice
The good news... we got moved in on Thursday. The movers did a great job. I got the boy's rooms, gameroom, family room and kitchen already unpacked, just need to work on our bedroom today. We LOVE the house. However, I wasn't too happy with the builder. He was suppose to have it cleaned before we moved in, but we definitley have different definitions of clean. So, I had to clean some, which is sad considering it is a new home. Our neighbors are GREAT! We have already met most of the people around us. Two of the neighbors brought us dinner our first 2 nights, which was so nice after eating out a lot. Our neighbors right next door, have 2 boys, one the same age as my youngest, and one a year younger. My boys are thrilled to have someone to play with. They came over with their Dad, and invited dh and the boys to swim at the pool, while I did some unpacking. Everyone is just really nice and friendly. So, we are really happy here!
The boys met their teachers. I really like both of them. They start school on Monday. I signed up to help in the library, and to help both teachers in their classrooms. My youngest is nervous about starting all day school. I am sure he will be fine once he gets used to it. My oldest, who is more of an introvert, is actually really excited about school starting. His teacher seems very outgoing, so I think she will be good for him.
Now, the problem...we have mice! YUCK. Our neighbor said that field mice are a problem because of all the woods around us....love the trees, hate the mice! The day after I cleaned, I found a trail of droppings from the utility room into the kitchen. I think they are coming in from the dryer vent. Dh is going to call an exterminatior to put mesh covers over all our vents and little holes to the outside. But, how do we get rid of the ones we have?? Do we have to set up traps, if so, which are best? Dh is going to go later and get something. Yikes!! Gosh, I wish I had a cat! JK.
I hope everyone is doing okay. I am going to try and read some this morning, and catch up....just wanted to post a little update about us.
I prefer the plain old fashioned wooden traps with the metal bar that comes down - SPLAT - on top of the mouse. Yes, you then have to dispose of the dead mouse, but the traps are really cheap, so I just dispose of trap, mouse and all.
Some prefer the glue traps that are little boxes with open ends, because you have no risk of touching the mouse. BUT, the problem with glue traps is they don't kill the mouse, just trap it, so you have a trap with a live mouse in it, and have to dispose of it. I had that problem and one time the mouse managed to escape as I was trying to drop it and the trap into my outside trash barrel - better than escaping inside the house, but still...
Whichever kind of trap you use, the best baits are a very thin layer of either peanut butter or bacon grease - really, really thin, so the mouse can't nibble it off without setting off the trap. Put the traps near a wall, or, if you put them in cabinets, near the cabinet wall. Under the washer, dryer, and other appliances is also good. Do be careful to put the traps where you can get at them or anchor the trap with string so you can pull it out when you want to check it. And be aware that when the weather starts getting colder, mice will seek warmer quarters, i.e., your house. Does it sound like I have experience - yes. Did the cat catch the mice - no.
Because you have children, put the traps where the children won't be. And yes, have the exterminator put screening over all outside openings. If the exterminator talks about bait, you have to be sure the bait is safe for both children and local animals - pets and birds, in particular.
The house sounds great, otherwise, as does the community and the school. I'm really happy things have worked out so well.
I am a fan of poison. If you go to a feed store, they poison they have is supposed to make them leave the house before they die. They go looking for water. On occassion they do die in the house, which smells, but they are small, they dry up soon 
Congrats on the house...i am so glad this has gone so well. It is really nice to move in and have things go so well, especially after the added craziness you have had. It is like reassurance that you made the right choice!
I liked the glue traps. We lived in a condo at one point near open fields where mice were a problem and I used the glue traps. Unfortunately they were coming in through the laundy room (same thing - dryer vent) and when doing laundry I dropped a new sweater I'd bought for Jules and guess where it landed - yep, you got it, in the glue and it was history. You have to decide what method you want to use to get rid of them.
Great to hear that everything else is is going well. I'm so happy to hear you like the house and everything else.
We'd love to see pics of your new digs!
I'm with Ginny. Snap their little necks. A smear of peanut butter on the trap gets them every time.
If you have a bulkhead, make sure you have some kind of door at the base of the stairs. Mice can get through an opening the size of a dime, rat's, the size of a quarter (yuck - but we had a demonstration of this at the library last week).
Dh wants to use the glue traps. I told him he was completely in charge of it! Kaye, I think we might get some poison to put in the attic. I don't want it in the house because of the dks.
Karen, I will take pics. Will you post them if I email them to you?
Debbie - I'm so HAPPY for you!! Everything sounds wonderful, and meant to be.
On the mouse issue; since your house is new, the mice probably are used to living in that area. We had a problem with snakes for the same reason when we first moved into our home (but not IN the house, thank goodness).
Aren't there "live" traps that you can use? I just get so upset at the thought of killing ANYTHING. Obviously, you couldn't release them in the woods because they'd come right back. However, you could "relocate" them. LOL!
I don't know. It's just a thought. Traps just seem so cruel. They either get their necks broken, or they are trapped on a gluey substance and die of starvation and thirst.
Be careful of poisons, even in your attic. A friend of mine lost her cat because she ate a mouse that had gotten into poison. The cat died a terrible death. The poison is warfarin which is the same chemical that the drug Coumadin is made from. It is a blood thinner. The concentration of it that is in D-Con, etc. is so strong that it turns the animal's blood to water. It removes all of the hemoglobin and platelets from the animal. That's why they go seeking water.
I know I'm nuts when it comes to animals. My family and friends call me "St. Francis". They even bought me a lawn statue of him as a joke.
In any event, I wish you much happiness in your new home.
You want to hire Jasmine? LOL! She took care of a mouse, for us, the other day! Killed it just as quickly as a trap would have! What a good dog! (Who knew?)
We have had 3 in the house, and I've seen 2 dead ones, out on the lawn.
I'm glad you like your new house, otherwise. Contractors are men. 'nuff said. I'm sure what they think is clean, wouldn't be our definition of clean!
Congrats on getting moved in. Sorry to hear about the rodents.
Hol explained very well why I don't like to use bait/poisons. Yes, warfarin is a blood thinner. Yes, if a cat eats a poisoned mouse, the cat can be made ill or die. Not to mention that kids can get into anything, anywhere, and will put stuff in their mouths so fast you don't have time to blink.
Definitely Debbie - Just put Momsview in the subject line so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. LOL
kay luvs sun at a o l d o t c o m
Remember there are two *s*'s in it........I think that's why I don't get a lot of intended mail...people just put one *s*....
We used traps when we lived with a field behind us. We also had a dog that loved to hunt them in the field. maybe a cat or dog that likes to hunt. That really cut down on our mice problem. Before we knew to think of mice it was pretty bad in the kitchen and stuff. Also if you have a basement then you can set traps and poison in the basement because that it where they usually come from.
Karen, I took some pictures this afternoon. I will download them and email them to you tomorrow after I take the boys to school.
Well, dh bought the glue traps. He put them in the laundry room and kitchen, where we found the droppings. He is going to check them each morning. I am so squimish(sp?) when it comes to stuff like this. I just hope I don't have to deal with one. EWWWWWWWWWW. I really think they are coming in the dryer vent in the laundry room.
We had a rabbit slide down our dryer vent, and die! It took us a while to discover what was causing the horrible odor. Have your DH put mesh on the dryer vents, sooner than later! I'm so glad DH cleaned up that mess!
You can get these dryer vent kits (anywhere...Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Menard's) that have louvers on then. When the dryer is running, the louvers open fully to let the moist, hot air out. When it is off, the louvers are closed. We live in the woods, and ours works very well. We have had no "visitors". Of course, we also have three cats!
Be careful of mesh because lint could build up on it and cause a fire.
We have the louvered kind! It works great!
Debbie, did you email them?
No, Karen. I can't find the cable to download my pics to my computer. I am unpacking the study and all that stuff tomorrow, then I will send them to you.
Mice? Hate to say this, Debbie, but it could be worse! We had a snake come through the dryer vent in a rental in Maryland once. I found it on the laundry room floor. Actually the dog found it. Poor dog couldn't figure out what the moving rope was! lol We also had a bird come in our dryer vent in Montana. It couldn't go anwhere and just flapped around in the vent. We had to detach it from the dryer and help the bird make it's way out. Then we covered it with mesh. No more critters in our vent! Good luck, enjoy the new house and I can't wait to see pictures!
Yikes Cat, I don't think I could handle a snake.
Well, last night I saw one of our little critters. I was in the study and it stopped at the door, looked at me, and then ran past. YUCK! Then, to top it off, I was out of the house all morning. When I came back, there was mouse droppings on my desk in the study!! I guess he was letting me know, I took over his space! Another big YUCK. The exterminator is coming tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get rid of them. Dh set up traps, and not one of them has been caught in them.
Haven't read all of the responses. We live in the middle of woods and corn fields and when we moved in it was the exact same thing. Mouse droppings everywhere. My dog actually caught two in a spare room!
We are BIG fans of poison. DH puts new boxes of poison in the attic, crawl space, and out of the way places in the garage about every 6mths. for the last 7 years. We find an occasional dead or dying one in the driveway or in the garage, but other than that, nothing. Same for spiders...we use Home Defense about every 3mths. around the perimeter of the house, and our spider population is nothing now. Look for those, too, because the fields bring BIG ones.
We tried traps when we first moved in and didn't catch anything. D-Con is the best, IMO, and you don't have anything to mess with once you set out the poison. They dry up when they die and never smell.
The joys of country living...my Jack caught another snake yesterday afternoon. I'm glad he did, but then I have to find both halves of it and dispose of them. Yuck! And if you ever see a RAT, you'll just die! Riff (my Jack) caught a rat once just outside our crawl space cover. I freaked out! It was a cute rat...brown and blonde, not your traditional "movie" rat, but still. We've never seen another one, but with the fields, they come out, too!
Good luck!
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