A Question for the Deep Animal Lovers

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
I'm asking this of other gentle souls otherwise I know how most would answer. I really feel uncomfortable killing virtually any creature. Spiders are icky but they eat bugs so if the web is high and out of sight I just might leave them alone. Centipedes and they get smashed to bits, same with husband's brother;)

But everything else and I could be Gandhi. Even a lowly earthworm and I'll try to get it safely to some dirt instead of stuck on the sidewalk. So with all that in mind I wish I could think of a mouse repellant. Having a houseful of large predators doesn't seem to be doing it. If the food bowls are full, why would they mess with something they'd have to catch?

Today I took a half loaf of bread out of the cupboard for breakfast toast. Not quite awake yet but I thought it a bit odd that the middle had been picked out. My daughter used to do that, eat the middle and leave the crust. But this was straight through the loaf...with an exit at the end of the bag...guess who? Little bastards. I don't get my honey toast and they're fat and happy somewhere.

I don't want to kill them. I just want to make our house less inviting. Especially with winter coming on.
 

The flies and gnats made us crazy this year. Fortunately Sophie eats them.

Mint oil on cotton balls in small holes, etc.

Oooh and it makes the house smell nice too, there's something to try!
 
I agree with BW, peppermint oil, heard it really offended them. Might try it myself some day for my outdoor storage shed.
 
This story is absolutely true. Believe it..or not-

I am terrified of mice. I also have a very high pitched scream. I have killed 2 mice from jumping up on a chair and screaming. My father saw it happen both times. They just dropped dead with a heart attack. My father loves to tell that story.
 
I love spiders, they are such fascinating creatures, and I don't mind mice in the countryside as they provide food for raptors.
It's a different story if mice want to come into my house. I'll use any means to get rid of them.
 
That must be some set of pipes ya got there BW:playful:

My best buddy has always loved spiders. He had pet tarantulas and if he saw any spider that needed moving he would pick it up by hand. I love rodents, but I also want my toast in the morning. I'm getting peppermint oil and cotton balls at the store today.
 
I HATE spiders, and mice, too. I was invaded by mice a couple years ago and it was horrible. I use whatever means I need to to get rid of them, including old fashioned snap traps. The worst part about mice is they contaminate everything they touch. I even had them get into my oven, of all places.
 
Our oven broke down awhile ago. Now we use a microwave convection on the counter. The oven in the broken stove is where we store the bread. I need to find a more secure hiding place now. It all started a few years ago. My daughter has pet rats in her room. Unfortunately she was a bit sloppy feeding them.

One day she dropped a bag of seeds and didn't mention it for maybe a week. There were teeny pieces of millet, sunflower seeds, corn...spread far and wide in her room and deep into the carpet fibers. I'm sure that attracted the first generation. Now we probably have whole colonies, this is a big old house.
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Aunt Addy's catch-and-release mousetrap; Drop some nibbly bits into a tall glass container...should be at least a foot tall with perfectly straight smooth sides. They'll lower themselves in but can't get a claw-hold to climb out.

She released them in a field about a half-mile from her house.
 
When mice invaded I got a live trap and put a cracker in it and they got caught. Then I took them to the woods and released them. I love all critters and creatures, too. :)
 
We have lived in the country before and mice love to come inside when it gets cooler. I learned to pack steel wool around all pipes that came into the house (like under your sinks). You gotta find the places they are getting inside and take care of it. They are unhealthy.
 
Yes, they are very unhealthy and they poop everywhere, constantly. Not to mention that here we still have the occasional case of bubonic plague (carried by fleas on mice and other rodents), and the deadly Hanta virus is carried by certain mice here, as well, and left in their droppings.

Zero tolerance for mice in my home.

Fur, my bug guy says that mice don't necessarily come in for food; they more likely come in looking for warmth as it gets colder on in the fall. If you have food they can get, they think it's dandy, and they multiply like wildfire.
 
Yes, the Hantavirus is a concern. I have no problem setting traps to catch them. They do come in this time of year, and they can be quite distructive too.
 
they can be quite distructive too.

Quite true, quite true, my daughter is also messy with putting away clothes. I'll pull laundry out from under her bed and find holes. Somebody was looking for nesting material I suppose.
 

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