Exterminating Mice?
I posted this on the open thread and got lots of useful advice about cats that I am definitely taking into consideration. But I really want to do my due diligence and get some quotes from professional exterminators as well. Does anyone have recommendations to pass my way? I have two little kids so that…
I posted this on the open thread and got lots of useful advice about cats that I am definitely taking into consideration. But I really want to do my due diligence and get some quotes from professional exterminators as well. Does anyone have recommendations to pass my way? I have two little kids so that has to be taken into consideration with the methods used. I may well get a cat anyway, but my wife is requesting that I give her options. Thanks in advance! wasder
Vanburenproud, everyone in the building sealed all cracks from the inside. Maybe the exterminators put the poison in the walls. The exterminators said the mice would run outside to die so we wouldn’t have dead stinking mice in the walls. The mice were definitely gone after that. There was some kind of guarantee — maybe six months or a year? We moved a few months later.
Not that I don’t think it would be nice of you to adopt a kitty who needs a home, I wouldn’t rely too much on a cat to get rid of your mice, and it’s an old wives tail that a mouse won’t come into a house where cats live. Since it’s nearly impossible to plug up every hole in an old house, especially when you have radiators, conduits, etc., and the problem with poison is that you never know where they will go to die. Also, if you have children, poison may not be the best idea. I recommend the d-Con “No View, No Touch” traps. They’re little round traps that have a little door, and are spring loaded to kill the mice once they enter. More humane than glue traps, less dangerous for humans and pets than poison.
http://www.d-conproducts.com/traps/nvnt.html
With our big, shabby frame house, mice are a perennial seasonal problem. Over the years, we’ve had half a dozen cats. Two have been ace mousers, one was terrified of them, and one–the magnanimous Hodge–would capture them and gently bathe them like his “babies.” He would look so sad when he released them and they ran away; he had a genius for holding them in his mouth with just enough pressure to restrain them without puncturing them. We worked out a system whereby we’d carry Hodge to the curb, mouse in mouth, and give him a firm clap on the flanks–a kitty Heimlich–so that he’d expel the mouse onto the gutter. There, it usually ran a few feet before expiring of sheer post-traumatic stress.
So…no guarantee with cats, although they are very useful for other seasonal chores like warming your feet on the bed at night.
Um, hate to be an asshole, but if you seal up the cracks and *then* put down poison, then don’t expect the mice to run outside to die. They can’t because you sealed up the cracks. This is a myth.
Expect to dispose of dead mice.
Don’t let this go. Seal up the cracks. Mice leave pee and other hormones and your house will reek and you will never get rid of the smell. This is no joke. It’s a very serious problem.
Seal up the cracks, put down poison, keep food in metal containers permanently, be on the lookout for droppings, rinse, repeat.
Get a cat if you want one but don’t expect that to solve the problem.
we had mice in our ground floor ceiling because of neighbors’ construction — so i couldn’t get to all the holes that opened up.
where and when did the mice problem start? that’ll help you figure out where they’re coming from, and where to focus your attention. that being said, also be sure to check your sewer pipes – make sure they’re capped. 1/8″ wire mesh works against mice, too (1/4″ for rats).
i unscrewed my ceiling lights and was able to put poison through the hole directly into the ceiling. you may be able to do the same through wall outlets or fixtures. you can buy poison directly from home depot, etc., small green squares that are the same that an exterminator will use.
lastly, for a recommendation, use Ed Defrietas from Empire Pest Control on Court Street. He’s a rat & mouse expert. Well, he’s an all-pest expert, moderately priced and very thorough.
http://www.empirepestcontrol.com/contactinformation.nxg
718-237-0989
i had a mouse problem and got two four month old cats and the mice were dead within the week. Now the cats are all grown up and I havent had any mice since.
Agree with mopar. Do this:
(1) seal every crack with steel wool
(2) then put some poison … The mice eat it, get thirsty, ran outside looking for water, die, and never come back.
Get the Rat Zapper at Pintchik’s hardware in the Slope. Pintchik himself gave me a unsolicited money back guarantee. I gave it to my tenants and it’s been working.