Caught some more mice

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
In my (hardly) never fail humane tilt trap - one last week and one overnight. Winter makes it awkward in knowing what to do with them. I took them out to a rural area and upended the canister. The last I saw, both scurried across the snow into a ditch. I hope they can find shelter. I felt bad because it is so cold here now, but I am not buying mice plane tickets to Florida. I know mice are resourceful. I just wanted them out and away from my house.
 

debodun said:
In my (hardly) never fail humane tilt trap - one last week and one overnight. Winter makes it awkward in knowing what to do with them. I took them out to a rural area and upended the canister. The last I saw, both scurried across the snow into a ditch. I hope they can find shelter. I felt bad because it is so cold here now, but I am not buying mice plane tickets to Florida. I know mice are resourceful. I just wanted them out and away from my house.
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Don’t feel bad Deb. They aren’t personal pets and if you don’t take them far enough away, they will just return back to your house. They will find another place for shelter.
 
Llynn said:
I'm from an earlier more elemental time. I use lethal traps and have no problem dumping the bodies out in the field for the hawks.
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Me too. They've done hundreds of dollars of damage to our cars over the years. They find nice warm spots in the garage, and often nest in one of the cars and chew the insulation off the wires. I got lucky just last year. They nested inside the firewall and got into the fan that is used for cold/heat inside the car. The dealership fixed it for free knowing that it was not a warranty item. Would have been $250 to fix.
 
retiredtraveler said:
Me too. They've done hundreds of dollars of damage to our cars over the years. They find nice warm spots in the garage, and often nest in one of the cars and chew the insulation off the wires. I got lucky just last year. They nested inside the firewall and got into the fan that is used for cold/heat inside the car. The dealership fixed it for free knowing that it was not a warranty item. Would have been $250 to fix.
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I live in the boonies and despite having two good cats, there are still a few mice around. I have a Corvette that sleeps in the barn over the winter and the last thing I need is mice around/in it. I used to have traps all over which work well, but are messy affairs.

A few winters ago I got the idea of putting bright lights around the car, knowing that rodents avoid light. It's worked very well, although I do have a bucket trap next to the car and get the occasional rodent in it.

The bucket is filled partly with water (brine in sub-freezing weather) with sunflower seeds sprinkled on top, and a ramp going up to it.

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I also learned to keep the hood up during the winter, so the engine compartment is exposed to the cats (I also have a light right above it). With the hood down the mice would have a grand old time, messing and destroying everything, not being exposed to the cat threat.

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I haven't seen a mouse or rat since I started caring for wild cats. I wonder where they all went. :D
HAHA. I know where they went. I've walked outside & seen 1/2 of a rat left by the cats as a "Thank You."
Sometimes, they just leave the head....... Yuk.....cleanup is much stickier in the summertime.
 
win231 said:
I haven't seen a mouse or rat since I started caring for wild cats. I wonder where they all went. :D
HAHA. I know where they went. I've walked outside & seen 1/2 of a rat left by the cats as a "Thank You."
Sometimes, they just leave the head....... Yuk.....cleanup is much stickier in the summertime.
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Haha, in the summertime I often find rodent body parts on my porch in the morning. I've learned to look very carefully before I step outside.

My cats seem to eat less catfood in the summer, not sure why that is.
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A mouse family moved into our house last spring. They get in the suspended ceiling and are bold enough to run across the light panels. They are dumb country mice and are easy to catch in traps. I cleaned out a nest in my fabric drawer, complete with some lentils they moved there. We caught 7 mice in traps. We threw them into the woods, where there are so many hungry critters.
 
Best thing to do, for yourself and for the mice, is to find out where/how they come into your house and fix it. Find a long term solution rather than have to continually catch them and release them, or as many have suggested, destroy them. 😿 I love mice but would NOT want wild mice inside my house.
 
debodun said:
I know they poop - that's what gives away that I have some unwanted guests. Then I have to Chlorox the kitchen counters.
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They go inside the cabinets too. They don't just stay on the countertop. They get into the walls, run across floors..... they chew their way through a house more than you may think. They pee on your rugs and on everything.

They may get in via multiple entries, then breed inside.
 
RadishRose said:
They go inside the cabinets too. They don't just stay on the countertop. They get into the walls, run across floors..... they chew their way through a house more than you may think. They pee on your rugs and on everything.

They may get in via multiple entries, then breed inside.
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All true!

Also: It's nearly impossible to keep them out especially with an older house. They can squeeze through the tiniest crack.

They will always gravitate to wherever there is a food source, and a warm place in the fall. Having a cat around is the easiest deterrent; also keep the grass/weeds around the house foundation clipped low.

I've lived here in the woods for 38 years and always had at least one cat except for a three-year period. Never again! It just got worse and worse every year.
 
@debodun = I'm really curious, did your mice problem start after Gus got sick and died? If it's true like some posters said that it's hard to keep mice out of older homes, maybe you do NEED to get a young cat to help you catch those mice. Only as long as you're willing to treat it good and love it, though.

I remember you complaining that cats walk in front of you and could make you trip. I have a young black and white one, Juliet (her blond brother I named Romeo), she loves to criss-cross in front of me when I'm walking. I just keep an eye on her, she doesn't do it all the time, anyway.
 
RadishRose said:
They go inside the cabinets too. They don't just stay on the countertop. They get into the walls, run across floors..... they chew their way through a house more than you may think. They pee on your rugs and on everything.

They may get in via multiple entries, then breed inside.
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Completely agree. Once mice are in your house, they breed then eat pee & poop on everything. It’s incredibly unsanitary.
Catlady said:
LOL, well I have 14 cats inside and two ferals outside that I feed and water, so I should be mouse free, eh?
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I’d hope so. Lol 😂
 
Keesha said:
Completely agree. Once mice are in your house, they breed then eat pee & poop on everything. It’s incredibly unsanitary.

I’d hope so. Lol 😂
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Well, mice are pretty small, so their bladder must be very small, so how much could they pee? 😁
 
Enough to spread disease. You'd be surprised how much poop they produce. I know I have a "guest" when the stove top is covered in what looks like black rice grains. I am keeping the Chlorox company in business!

Probably why my oven isn't working - could be a mouse nest in the igniter.
 
Catlady said:
Thank you for not killing them. They're like us, looking for ways to survive.
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Of course everything is looking for ways to survive.

However, I'm not going to let a mosquito infect me with malaria so I'm going to kill it.

It's the same with mice and rats. They harbor disease. The plague that wiped out thousands in Europe.

If they are invading your home you have to get rid of them.
 
I stopped using "humane" traps after a few tries. The poor mice were trapped overnight in a dark little box, and pooped all over the inside. They looked frazzled and sweaty when I let them out. It's kinder and quicker to use snap traps.
 

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