Brownstone owners- do you always encounter mice?
We are starting our house search and trying to decide between a high end condo/coop and brownstone. We are up for the general maintenance associated with a brownstone in terms of constant repairs, etc. However, one thing that keeps giving me pause is the rodent issue. So I wanted to ask those of you who…
We are starting our house search and trying to decide between a high end condo/coop and brownstone. We are up for the general maintenance associated with a brownstone in terms of constant repairs, etc. However, one thing that keeps giving me pause is the rodent issue.
So I wanted to ask those of you who have brownstones to describe what type of mouse encounters should be expected.
If we buy a house that is in great condition, is it still a guarantee that we’ll see mice annually when the weather turns cold? Or is it more just a common occurance? We live in Manhattan now in an old building and have encountered mice but it was just once and they have not turned up again after we caught them.
So I just want to understand whether I can expect this to be an ongoing problem (as in, catch mice frequently throughout the year) or whether this is typically more of an isolated incident that, if properly addressed by exterminators, etc.- can be dealt with.
I’m just trying to understand the nature and severity of the mouse situation in most brownstones. Any comments would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Before we moved in there was definite evidence of mouse infestation in our brownstone. We even promised our cat all the mice he could catch before the move. But since we moved in, we haven’t seen a single mouse. As you would expect, the cat is extremely disappointed. I think the presence of a cat must drive the mice away, assuming they have somewhere else to go. Our neighbors probably wonder where all the mice came from all of a sudden.
As for the baby smothering thing… that does sound a bit overprotective. I would be surprised of there were any documented cases of that happening. Anecdotal evidence is fairly worthless, but my parents had cats before they had me, and as I recall the cats stayed well clear of both me and my younger brother until we were old enough to recognize them as living creatures instead of toys. Infants and toddlers have a tendency toward tail-pulling that makes most cats wary.
Cat-had mice for few years. Got a cat last year have not seen any live mice only dead ones. Go Kitty!!!!
This is a pretty wild thread to jump into but here goes. The problem with mice in your house, children or not is that they gnaw and chew on everything, bags of flour, food packages, electric cords. Then they leave droppings all over the place, so that is soiling and it has a strong odor. Finally, mice carry fleas, and are the initial contact for infecting deer with with the Lyme tick (Lyme disease). So mice in the house are bad. Sealing up all crack and spaces will help cut down on their entering the space. But all they rowhouses are connected so they have the opportunity of travelling from one house to another. I don’t like having poison repeatedly applied to my living space, kids or not. I have cats and have never had any mice (or roaches for that matter). I am one of 8 children and we always had from one to three house cats. No one was ever smothered. The worst thing the cats did was sleep in the crib when baby was removed. I think I still vote for the cat solution.
UHM….I lived in Orange County in the relative rural area in an old farm house growing up. I’ve experienced more mice moving inside in the country than I’ve ever seen in Brooklyn living here 25 years. Rats are a different story.
I have a free standing Victorian frame house and I have only seen a mouse once in thirteen years. I don’t have a cat or dog because I am allergic to both but I hear that small dogs especially terriers are just as adept at catching mice and rats. I keep all holes sealed, use peppermint soap to clean the house, keep eating outside of the kitchen and dining room at a minimum. Keeping dry goods in sealed containers within your cabinets helps as well. I also do not hoard magazines, newspapers and other things that may give mice a nice nesting place. I place cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil in strategic locations throughout the house. I also grow peppermint in containers on the outside of my home. Mice hate the smell of peppermint and will avoid it. I also do not have a roach problem.
4:37
try baiting the rat zapper with peanut butter in a bottle cap. we only have had mice not rats, but they like the pb much better than the other baits.
4:35, um, ever heard of the bubonic plague. While that’s not around, rodents carry many unwanted diseases.
4:35,
mice are dirty and diseased and they poop everywhere.
All those rats living on our block and not a one would get into the rat zapper, even when it was just used as a pre-activate decoy. Seemed they might have passed on some type of lore. I’ve read that with poison sometimes one will taste for the good of the group. My Mom swears that the rats on her farmlet carried away poison so the others didn’t go near it.
What should we do?