%@$& Ninja Mice!

[RedShoes]

Seeking opinions/help everywhere I can get it. Perhaps some of you have dealt with this and can give Blue and I some tips.

We've got mice in our basement. We've not actually had one scurry across the floor with us down there yet, but we've seen plenty of evidence to know they're there: we've heard them in our walls and have seen wee little mouse poo in the cat's bulk food. Unfortunately our cat is not helping at all... she doesn't even hunt bugs, and clearly the mice have figured out she's not a predator. The kitty also adds the added complication that every method of getting rid of the mice has to be safe for her.

We sealed up the cat food in an airtight container so they can't get in and set some old fashioned snap traps baited with peanut butter behind closed doors where kitty couldn't get hurt. In not much more than 24 hours, three traps have been foiled. The first two were set off and had the bait licked clean without catching anything. The third had the bait licked clean, yet *didn't even snap*. They're ninja mice!

Any other tips? We've cleaned up and sealed all food sources, and will do a look around the house today to try to seal up any entry points - but in a 90+ year old house, I'm not too hopeful of finding them all.

Do humane traps work better at catching them? The reason we didn't go with humane traps to begin with is that I've read that if you catch and release they'll find their way back, even if you release them far away from your house. Anyone else had experience with this?

Help!

[always dancing]

How about a Ninja kitty

[johnfoyle]

http://www.msglobaldirect.com/html/pest ... r_faq.html

'Electronic Pest Control Repeller ' - worked wonders in my shop when we had a similar problem a few years ago. Instant results - the little feckers just disappeared. They are readily available in hardware stores here so I daresay the same applies in Canada.

[RedShoes]

Thanks - we might pick up something like that today....

[spooky girlfriend]

http://www.victorpest.com/store/rodent-control/M142

These were a sure thing for us just a few months ago.

[RedShoes]

Thanks, Spooky. We may try those. We just got the basic snaptrap - that one looks extra fancy Maybe it would do the job better... we've had no luck in the past 24 hours or so.

We didn't buy the electronic noise thing yet for fear that it's going to adversely effect our kitty... *sigh*

[spooky girlfriend]

These are very sensitive and react to the slightest pressure put on the food point. They are the only ones that have really ever worked. We only tried them a few months ago and couldn't believe the instant results. It even has a release lever where you don't have to touch the rodent after capture and you don't have to throw the whole trap away either. They're pretty awesome. We got ours at Home Depot, I think, so they should be pretty available.

Good luck! Little bastards can be tough sometimes.

[johnfoyle]

We didn't buy the electronic noise thing yet for fear that it's going to adversely effect our kitty... *sigh*

From the earlier link

The patented DX610, for rodent control, mouse control, mice control, utilizes advanced state of the art technology that works by transmitting a powerful range of ultrasonic sound waves in the 45,000 Hz range.Humans can only hear sound up to 20,000 HZ, and your pet, (dog or cat), can only hear frequencies up to 27,000 HZ.

We used plug in fittings - no wiring etc.

Something like this -

http://www.arbico-organics.com/1255003.html

[miss buenos aires]

I know this kind of defeats the point of humane traps, but you could use humane traps and then drown the mice in a bucket. I wouldn't do it, but it is another idea.

[RedShoes]

From the earlier link

The patented DX610, for rodent control, mouse control, mice control, utilizes advanced state of the art technology that works by transmitting a powerful range of ultrasonic sound waves in the 45,000 Hz range.Humans can only hear sound up to 20,000 HZ, and your pet, (dog or cat), can only hear frequencies up to 27,000 HZ.

We used plug in fittings - no wiring etc.

Something like this -

http://www.arbico-organics.com/1255003.html

Wonderful - thanks! I guess I didn't read the whole page. Some of the other versions I'd looked into before didn't mention that, and I'd found a few reviews that it did bug cats & dogs, so it's good to know that mouse-frequencies don't have to interact with cat-frequencies!

I know this kind of defeats the point of humane traps, but you could use humane traps and then drown the mice in a bucket. I wouldn't do it, but it is another idea.

Yeah, I'd kinda/sorta thought of that myself, but I just don't think I could do it! I don't even know that I'll be able to clean them up, personally. Blue's promised to do all of the dead-mouse handling. I'm such a wimp!


I appreciate everyone's help. Hopefully we'll get it sorted out... they've at least quieted down in the walls in the past few days, so that's something.

[spooky girlfriend]

I totally understand, Red. I would stake out the most likely spots, help set the traps, clean up anything afterwards, but just PLEASE don't make me do the one thing of getting rid of the dead mouse. Doc handled that.

[mood swung]

You need to put your cat's food away. No food for kitty until kitty learns to do her job...

I know this kind of defeats the point of humane traps, but you could use humane traps and then drown the mice in a bucket. I wouldn't do it, but it is another idea.

girl, you scare me.