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
Just seconding what a lot of people are saying here, but trying to include your wife’s desire… I really really hate mice, and understand that she wants a solution.
I would hire someone like the fellow listed above who will go seal up your house, because the only real problem is that mice are getting in.
FWIW, we had a really terrible mouse infestation when we started renovating, because we pulled the house apart quite a bit. But the sealing and tightening work we did in the basement and garden floors solved the problem.
If you decide to try fixing this yourself, keep in mind that mice can get really small. You want to plug anything you can put a pencil into, and plug it with something mice can’t chew, like cement or tightly-packed steel wool.
You guys are the best! Thanks for these great suggestions. I think I might try the rat zapper first just to see if there is an immediate effect. Then if that doesn’t work I will go the plug the holes and get a cat route.
I Haz–where have you been hiding yourself?
Bodegas don’t keep cats because they are cute!!!
On the other hand, once it gets warm the mice will bolt. They are a seasonal nuisance.
I don’t actually consider them a nuisance as long as they are only in the basement. The steel wool will keep them from coming into the kitchen which typically is the only room they can get into…usually from behind the range.
My previous co-op used a guy named Dennis who spent a day just finding holes and plugging them (sometimes with concrete). He then offers a 6 month guarantee or something and will come back for free if any mice/droppings are spotted. He puts down gluetraps but no bait/poison. And traps are put out of children’s way (like under the stove or whatever). We had good results with him. Number is 917-459-0692. Good luck!
I had a similar problem in late fall when it started getting cold outside….mice in the kitchen, the smell of their urine under the fridge was gagging. I have two dogs so I didn’t want snap traps or poison and glue traps didn’t work and are inhumane the way the mouse squirms forever. The solution, thanks to many brownstoners posts I looked up, was The Rat Zapper. Within 20 MINUTES of bringing it home, baiting it with dog food and turning it on I caught the first of many mice. It electrocutes the mouse and it is all contained neatly inside the housing so your wife won’t even have to see the mouse should she not wish to. The best $50 I’ve ever spent. You can order online or go to a few places in the city that sell them. http://theratzapper.com/
Good Luck!
Hi Wasder. I can second the opinion about tuxedo cats. We have one now and I have had them before, and they all seem to have the same utterly adorable, mischievous personality and a hearty bloodlust for critters. Also, sweet as sugar with kids (the guy we have now does this thing we call “the hotdog” whenever someone in the house is sad, and when the baby would cry he would literally come on the run). Petfinder.com is a great place to look, and Animal Haven here in NYC is a humane, no-kill shelter where they know the personalities of their animals very well (I see some cuties: http://support.animalhavenshelter.org/site/PageServer?pagename=all_cats). Tell ’em you want a mouser who’ll be sweet with kids. Just be prepared — cats like to bring their owners the dead mice as “gifts” and you are sort of beholden to tell them what a good cat they are. Also, tell your wife I am a die-hard dog lover, but these tuxedo cats won me over. 😉
Honestly I would take the first steps in plugging every little hole with steel wool – so behind the stove, fridge, where radiator pipes meet the floor
then I would get a cat.
Also – get those electronic “Mice be gone” things you plug into the walls.
We had a mouse about 3 years ago – we did the electronic plug-in and steel wool and never saw him or anymore ever again….
Hope this helps
I always heard that mice won’t come anywhere near the house if it smells like cat. Certainly, I have never had any mice and I’ve always had cats. Cat lore is that tuxedos (black and white) are the best hunters, and that has actually proved true in my experience. Rescue a nice street kitten (both my current ones were once street cats) and you know they are gonna be able to f#$% some meeces up. There are lots of nice feral cat rescuers who could hook you up!
DIBS–I hear you. This is much more a “satisfy my wife” sort of inquiry. I have tried explaining to her that there is no magic “Mouse Be Gone Forever” exterminator but she wants phone numbers and prices before she succumbs to my cat plan.
Northslope–hard to tell exactly how many mice there are. I would guess 3-5 very small grey field mice. For the most part they come out at night. We have had to lock down all dry goods and make other annoying lifestyle changes since they raided the pantry a few night ago. I have put out a bunch of glue traps and haven’t caught them yet, though I have watched them eat the bait off the traps!
Mopar—wish I knew who your landlord called…