Mouse Exterminator Recommendation

Our tenant is experiencing a mouse problem, and we’d like to fix it quickly. Can anyone recommend a good, reliable, affordable exterminator specifically for a mouse infestation? I’ve searched the Brownstoner, and surprisingly did not find much.   TIA

walester

in Exterminator 12 years and 5 months ago

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brokelin | 12 years and 5 months ago

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What has worked in a building I lived in (that one was out of NY, so no reference for you) was getting a new exterminator who brought in some sort of gel packs with poison – I never saw these for sale to the general public.  It was different stuff – the mice left and did not die in the apartments or in the walls, like they always did with the blue pellets of poison I could buy. The exterminators would only put it in areas where pets or children could not access it – holes under baseboards, under stoves or fridges, or furniture so low you coudn’t reach under it.  It worked.  Holes to my apartment were still there  Whether they plugged up holes to the building at basement level, I don’t know, I wasn’t the one who hired them.  I think that’s more essential than plugging holes internally between floors – at least my more recent experience with the gel poison tells me that.  People recommend Kingsway on here, but my coop in Brooklyn used them for years and never made a dent in the problem at all.  Of course, my coop also was too dysfunctional to close up the obvious holes to the outside at the basement level, so that may  have been the problem, not the exterminator.  In any case, ask if they use the gel packs of poison (sometimes blue, sometimes green) when checking out exterminators.  And I’m not sure all exterminators will fill your holes to the exterior – you may need to hire someone to do that separately. The mice in my places always managed to push the steel wool I’d place under my shoe molding and around radiator pipes away, even when I used that wood filler stuff on it to hold it in place.  They are crafty critters.  I’ve also seen them chew through cement-type filler and floor grout.

mousta | 12 years and 5 months ago

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We used a combo of what grandarmy listed and also called in metropest. They are pretty responsive and include a followup visit and treatment. We had a few mice and were able to catch one but what they did took care of the rest. We also went inside and outside of the house and blocked as many possible entrances as we could find with steel wool.

Sweet-Action | 12 years and 5 months ago

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We’ve had great results with Alternative Pest Control. Family owned business, super knowledgeable, and very professional. They were very considerate of our kids and dog when considering treatment. They stopped a relentless mouse problem in our house, and found lots of holes we overlooked. Best thing to do is have them come quarterly to check on things, and always keep it under control. http://www.altpest.com/ 718-444-1784

NeoGrec | 12 years and 5 months ago

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OK, then try Empire Pest Control on Court St in Cobble Hill. Call 718-237-0989 and ask for Ed.

walester | 12 years and 5 months ago

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Thanks, grandarmyredux. I was hoping to have a professional do it, rather than myself. I just don’t feel comfortable baiting traps or figuring out where the critters are coming from. Hope I can get some suggestions on a licensed exterminator.

NeoGrec | 12 years and 5 months ago

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There’s not much an exterminator can do that you can’t do for yourself. Except perhaps use very toxic chemicals which isn’t an option for many. We had a mouse in our tenant’s (garden floor) apartment last summer. I checked all possible entrances into the house and blocked them up with steel wool. Then I packed steel wool into any gaps around pipes coming up from the cellar. I cleaned behind the stove in the tenant’s kitchen with bleach and closed up all the spaces I found back there. Finally we baited the apartment and the cellar with glue traps. The best kind are the very inexpensive ones without a plastic frame or lip. Mice tend to avoid the latter, perhaps because they are too physically obtrusive. We also used the self-contained poison baits (mouse walks in, snacks on poison and leaves but there’s no human access to the poison). After 3 weeks, we caught the little b*gger on a glue trap. It wasn’t a quick solution but I’m not sure I’d believe an exterimnator who claims they could do better.