Time for the Mice to Move Back Indoors
Like clockwork, the one night of colder temps we had last week brought back our unwanted housemates—the mice. So we’ll gear up for the usual one-two-three punch of steel wool, poison and traps, but aren’t feeling too optimistic. (Mrs. B is allergic to cats.) One neighbor of ours is in the process of pumping his…
Like clockwork, the one night of colder temps we had last week brought back our unwanted housemates—the mice. So we’ll gear up for the usual one-two-three punch of steel wool, poison and traps, but aren’t feeling too optimistic. (Mrs. B is allergic to cats.) One neighbor of ours is in the process of pumping his walls full of cellulose insulation, which apparently contains mouse-repelling boric acid—maybe we should try that.This got us thinking about the preferences (and ethics) of readers: Glue traps or old-school snap traps?
Photo by shadphotos
My husband got a rat zapper type thing at the hardware store and it never worked for us. We tried snap traps and the only person who got snapped was my 3 yo daughter so I said f*ck it, let’s go for the glue traps. We caught 2 mice in one night (my husband killed them). But admittedly, that was gross. Do you think the rat zapper knock off we got was just lame? Maybe we should try the real deal.
I tired of snap traps after I watched a mouse get its tail snapped in one, and then it making pitiful sounds while it chewed its tail off to get away. Gross.
Turned to poison – I’d come home a find a drunk looking mouse walking in circles in my kitchen, put a coffee can over it, with a book on top, and wait til it suffocated. Not fun. Didn’t noticably cut down on the mouse population, either.
Will try rat zapper next time I see some. They apparently work for most, though not all posters – wonder how many they DON’T work for.
I find filling holes doesn’t work – in my last place, the critters rapidly (and noisily) chewed new holes right next to the carefully filled ones – they chew through wood, push away the steel wool covered with plastic wood, chew through grout as hard as cement, sheetrock-no problem to mouse teeth…would get a cat if I wasn’t allergic. Have to try this peppermint idea.
Peppermint oil definitely works. I put it on cottonballs and placed them in strategic locations throughout my home.
Plug up all your holes & drizzle a bit of peppermint oil near the holes & other areas you think mice will crawl out of. They seriously HATE the smell of the stuff! In five years, I’ve only seen 2 mice (both of which were caught & relocated to a the park – if they moved into someone else’s home … oh well)
I’VE SEEN MICE AT 2 OF THE 5-6 PLACES I’VE LIVED IN IN MANHATTAN AND BK OVER 35 YEARS.
ROACHES OR WATERBUGS IN ALL (AT LEAST ONE NOW AND THEN).
The mice population in a Brownstone is much harder to control than in a detatched house because you will most likely have houses attached to yours on both sides. Also Brownstones are in the older neighborhoods where homes and buildings were not designed to store the piles of garbage that we manage to accumulate these days. Additionally, with trash pick up only two times a week in most Brownstone neighborhoods, you are keeping the trash longer. Previous poster stated that keeping a clean house and protecting foods stored in cabinets worked in her DETATCHED home. I am sure if you heed those cleaning and storage tips that you can make an impact on the number of mice in your home even if it is attached to a not so tidy neighbors house.
Do ALL brownstones have mice? Is there any way to avoid this? We are potential brownstone buyers and I can deal with 99% of the quirks of an old home. But mice… that thought just does me in. (And yes, I’m a female, but my husband is not much better on the topic).
That is soooooo gross Vermont skier. You all need to clean you nasty ass houses clean. That will help!
For less work per mouse catch try the “Farmer’s Mouse Trap”. It’s easy to set up and maintain. Line the inside of a a bucket with peanut butter about two inches or so below the rim. Fill the bucket with enough water to drown the mouse. Set up a ramp for the mouse to access the rim. The mice strech down the inside to feed and eventually lose their grip, fall in and drown. The advantage is that multiple mice can be caught without having to empty the trap. Mine (5 gallon) often has several victims. Low tech but very effective.
Vermont skier