"brooklyn1" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 14:19:52 -0500, "Mike"
wrote:


"brooklyn1" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 09:24:21 -0800 (PST), Frank
wrote:

On Dec 8, 9:11 am, "Mike" wrote:
"Ohioguy" wrote in message

...





Actually, I'm dead serious about killing mice. It seems like mice
have
moved into our 92 year old home with a vengeance. It started about 2
months ago, as it got cold outside. I was able to use traditional
mousetraps to kill a lot of them, but then that petered out as the
remaining ones seemed to keep to the walls more, and not bother with
the
traps, no matter what tempting morsels I might put in them.

About a month ago, I finished installing clear plastic panels over
the
open joists in the kitchen ceiling. I had installed tube fluorescent
lights up there. Now I notice that in just the past week, there are
probably 60 mouse droppings up there on top of the plastic, and I
can
also
see yellow where they have been taking ****. This is right up above
our
kitchen stove.

I'm wondering if our mice could be numerous because my sister, who
lives
on the other side of our duplex, is a packrat. She tends to leave
things
lay around, including food, which probably gives them a perfect
breeding
ground. They finally got into her foodstuffs so bad that she was
forced
to make some changes, though. Still, I believe they have plenty of
hiding
places in the boxes piled up over there.

Obviously, this is a serious problem. I want the mice dead. I've
been
thinking of either fumigation or poison of some kind.

Anyone have experience with this sort of thing? I'd like to get
something that I can put all over in hidden areas, which will
eradicate
these things.

I had same problem. I would go with the extermination route because
the
problem doesn't go away for good and the mice will keep coming back.
The
exterminator will place the appropriate traps both exterior and
interior
and
can get into places you can't. Mice were gone very quickly. The
exterminator comes back every 3 month to refresh the traps. Problem
solved.

Mike- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Exterminator coming back every three months is just as annoying as
mice coming back.
My neighbor is visited monthly by his exterminator for bugs. Cannot
imagine costing much less than $100 per visit.

Mice are far easier to eliminate than bugs... all Mikey
need do is to STOP feeding the mice... sure mice are looking for
warmth but 99% of them are there because Mikey and is sister have
provided a rodent restaurant.

Well, I'm not sure where you live but here in the winter, fields, woods
and
old house mean mice (and chipmunks and flying squirrels). They borough
into
any crack, crevice or hole they can find (which you should address first)
and eat wood, wires you name it. I am sure they are they are searching
for
food and water, but I suspect that any little crumb will do and
eliminating
all food isn't much of an option. I think the service cost around $300 a
year. Works for me.
Mike


I live in a very rural location surrounded by hundreds and thousands
of acres of fields, woods, and wet lands... every critter imaginable
lives here but I find very few rodents in my house because I don't
leave unsecured pet food around, and I have six cats... with their
food properly secured they very rarely catch a mouse and they patrol
constantly. As long as there is a food source critters will
congregate, remove the food source and they will move on, even humans.
And it's very easy to remove all food to sealed critter proof
containers... all one needs is to exercise reasonable hygienic living
habits... own a vacuum cleaner, a cleaning rag, a broom, and use them.
Applying poisons is a million times worse than a few mouse droppings,
don't you shit too... how'd you like to be executed for pooping.

I imaging the cats help too. I am not there that often so food isn't really
left around at all, but the house is very old with crawl spaces and is very
difficult to sealup completely. They don't spray chemicals just place traps
mostly around the perimeter and in the crawl spaces.

"Mike" wrote:


"brooklyn1" wrote:

I live in a very rural location surrounded by hundreds and thousands
of acres of fields, woods, and wet lands... every critter imaginable
lives here but I find very few rodents in my house because I don't
leave unsecured pet food around, and I have six cats... with their
food properly secured they very rarely catch a mouse and they patrol
constantly. As long as there is a food source critters will
congregate, remove the food source and they will move on, even humans.
And it's very easy to remove all food to sealed critter proof
containers... all one needs is to exercise reasonable hygienic living
habits... own a vacuum cleaner, a cleaning rag, a broom, and use them.
Applying poisons is a million times worse than a few mouse droppings,
don't you shit too... how'd you like to be executed for pooping.

I imaging the cats help too.

Cats help, but only if the cats have access to where mice are likely
to be... I leave many closet doors open, pantry and wherever
pipes/wire pass, especially at night when cats do most patroling... I
have one of those pet doors on my inside basement door too. Cats rub
up against everything to mark their territory with their scent, mice
can smell cats and stay way. Cats can smell mice too but mostly cats
have excellent hearing, much better than dogs, they can hear the high
pitched mouse sounds from a long distance... you only think a cat is
asleep, but they have their radar booted up 27/7.

I am not there that often so food isn't really
left around at all, but the house is very old with crawl spaces and is very
difficult to sealup completely. They don't spray chemicals just place traps
mostly around the perimeter and in the crawl spaces.

Baited traps will lure mice, even long after the traps are sprung and
gone mice will continue to come for food, you've trained them to
consider that a feeding station.

Do a better job of sealing up openings, there are all sorts of
materials at hardware stores, in fact hardware cloth is your best
friend, mice can't fit through a 1/4" hole. Wadded up chicken wire
works very well stuffed into oddly shaped holes (wadding it closes the
openings in the wire). Coarse grade steel wool works well too, and
it's dirt cheap... just remember to check it occasionally and replace
it as it rusts and disintergrates. Metal barriers are much better
than those expanding insulation foams and caulking compounds, mice can
chew through those, in fact they consider those food... use metal...
and then if you want fill the space around the metal with calk to keep
out draughts. There are many very old houses around here that have
laid stone foundations with many spaces between the stones, but a lot
of people have built a wood lathe frame all arond the interior and
staple on hardware cloth to keep critters out, including snakes... you
need to employ a little imagination, there is always a simple, safe,
and inexpensive solution. And it helps if your cat has access to your
crawl spaces. One good mouser is worth a thousand exterminators. I
have one cat that is so fearsome to mice that she only needs to stare
at them and they die of a coronary... she's so good that the Pentagon
wants to study her locking on mechanism for missle control.

Mice meet Mooch and die:
http://i48.tinypic.com/244w1lz.jpg

"brooklyn1" wrote in message
...
"Mike" wrote:


"brooklyn1" wrote:

I live in a very rural location surrounded by hundreds and thousands
of acres of fields, woods, and wet lands... every critter imaginable
lives here but I find very few rodents in my house because I don't
leave unsecured pet food around, and I have six cats... with their
food properly secured they very rarely catch a mouse and they patrol
constantly. As long as there is a food source critters will
congregate, remove the food source and they will move on, even humans.
And it's very easy to remove all food to sealed critter proof
containers... all one needs is to exercise reasonable hygienic living
habits... own a vacuum cleaner, a cleaning rag, a broom, and use them.
Applying poisons is a million times worse than a few mouse droppings,
don't you shit too... how'd you like to be executed for pooping.

I imaging the cats help too.

Cats help, but only if the cats have access to where mice are likely
to be... I leave many closet doors open, pantry and wherever
pipes/wire pass, especially at night when cats do most patroling... I
have one of those pet doors on my inside basement door too. Cats rub
up against everything to mark their territory with their scent, mice
can smell cats and stay way. Cats can smell mice too but mostly cats
have excellent hearing, much better than dogs, they can hear the high
pitched mouse sounds from a long distance... you only think a cat is
asleep, but they have their radar booted up 27/7.

I am not there that often so food isn't really
left around at all, but the house is very old with crawl spaces and is
very
difficult to sealup completely. They don't spray chemicals just place
traps
mostly around the perimeter and in the crawl spaces.

Baited traps will lure mice, even long after the traps are sprung and
gone mice will continue to come for food, you've trained them to
consider that a feeding station.

Do a better job of sealing up openings, there are all sorts of
materials at hardware stores, in fact hardware cloth is your best
friend, mice can't fit through a 1/4" hole. Wadded up chicken wire
works very well stuffed into oddly shaped holes (wadding it closes the
openings in the wire). Coarse grade steel wool works well too, and
it's dirt cheap... just remember to check it occasionally and replace
it as it rusts and disintergrates. Metal barriers are much better
than those expanding insulation foams and caulking compounds, mice can
chew through those, in fact they consider those food... use metal...
and then if you want fill the space around the metal with calk to keep
out draughts. There are many very old houses around here that have
laid stone foundations with many spaces between the stones, but a lot
of people have built a wood lathe frame all arond the interior and
staple on hardware cloth to keep critters out, including snakes... you
need to employ a little imagination, there is always a simple, safe,
and inexpensive solution. And it helps if your cat has access to your
crawl spaces. One good mouser is worth a thousand exterminators. I
have one cat that is so fearsome to mice that she only needs to stare
at them and they die of a coronary... she's so good that the Pentagon
wants to study her locking on mechanism for missle control.

Mice meet Mooch and die:
http://i48.tinypic.com/244w1lz.jpg
Thanks for the tips.
Mike

Mike wrote:
"brooklyn1" wrote in message
...
"Mike" wrote:

"brooklyn1" wrote:
I live in a very rural location surrounded by hundreds and thousands
of acres of fields, woods, and wet lands... every critter imaginable
lives here but I find very few rodents in my house because I don't
leave unsecured pet food around, and I have six cats... with their
food properly secured they very rarely catch a mouse and they patrol
constantly. As long as there is a food source critters will
congregate, remove the food source and they will move on, even humans.
And it's very easy to remove all food to sealed critter proof
containers... all one needs is to exercise reasonable hygienic living
habits... own a vacuum cleaner, a cleaning rag, a broom, and use them.
Applying poisons is a million times worse than a few mouse droppings,
don't you shit too... how'd you like to be executed for pooping.

I imaging the cats help too.
Cats help, but only if the cats have access to where mice are likely
to be... I leave many closet doors open, pantry and wherever
pipes/wire pass, especially at night when cats do most patroling... I
have one of those pet doors on my inside basement door too. Cats rub
up against everything to mark their territory with their scent, mice
can smell cats and stay way. Cats can smell mice too but mostly cats
have excellent hearing, much better than dogs, they can hear the high
pitched mouse sounds from a long distance... you only think a cat is
asleep, but they have their radar booted up 27/7.

I am not there that often so food isn't really
left around at all, but the house is very old with crawl spaces and is
very
difficult to sealup completely. They don't spray chemicals just place
traps
mostly around the perimeter and in the crawl spaces.
Baited traps will lure mice, even long after the traps are sprung and
gone mice will continue to come for food, you've trained them to
consider that a feeding station.

Do a better job of sealing up openings, there are all sorts of
materials at hardware stores, in fact hardware cloth is your best
friend, mice can't fit through a 1/4" hole. Wadded up chicken wire
works very well stuffed into oddly shaped holes (wadding it closes the
openings in the wire). Coarse grade steel wool works well too, and
it's dirt cheap... just remember to check it occasionally and replace
it as it rusts and disintergrates. Metal barriers are much better
than those expanding insulation foams and caulking compounds, mice can
chew through those, in fact they consider those food... use metal...
and then if you want fill the space around the metal with calk to keep
out draughts. There are many very old houses around here that have
laid stone foundations with many spaces between the stones, but a lot
of people have built a wood lathe frame all arond the interior and
staple on hardware cloth to keep critters out, including snakes... you
need to employ a little imagination, there is always a simple, safe,
and inexpensive solution. And it helps if your cat has access to your
crawl spaces. One good mouser is worth a thousand exterminators. I
have one cat that is so fearsome to mice that she only needs to stare
at them and they die of a coronary... she's so good that the Pentagon
wants to study her locking on mechanism for missle control.

Mice meet Mooch and die:
http://i48.tinypic.com/244w1lz.jpg
Thanks for the tips.
Mike


Having had cats and now having none, I'd say they make little
difference. We kept the cats in the house and out of certain areas
because of problems, e.g. a family room with a Berber carpet which the
cat raised fibers by clawing. Cat could also not get at mice in walls
and rafters. Cat would sit for hours watching wall where mouse was
scratching. In a few cases, I drilled hole in the walls and dumped in
poison.

Poison, traps and sealing entries are solution. I've recently been
stymied as to how mice are getting in a certain area of the house and
trapped a dozen but have seen none for a week. PITA but not a serious
problem.

We have quite a few birds and actually had mice living inside the big flight cage so
they were closer to the seed. I actually killed a good number by hitting them with
my fist and other hard objects. I finally got fed up and got in an extermination
company and got rid of the resident mice with "bait stations". However, the bait
stations continued to be emptied so I had them do a complete perimeter survey and
they found the entry points where the bricks had come lose in the foundation. I
hired somebody to come and go completely around the house cementing everything down
and tuckpointing. In our house in the country (the dacha) that we rent out the
renters without cats hired this same company and he went around filling in every
hole. Evidently there were 40 years of mice sliding their greasy little bodies thru
the holes and peeing everywhere in addition to the turds. We had no idea there were
so many mice running thru the house. I am hoping it is still mouse free, the current
tenants have a couple cats so that may help. So I am wondering if our house also has
the "trails" that outside mice still use to find their way in. Our exterminators
come now every 3 months and they are still finding bait stations empty. They are
still getting in somewhere. Every so often I catch a whiff of dead mouse, probably
in the basement.

I had a problem with squirrels because they ate their way into the next door house
(unoccupied while the AH across the street dawdled while trying to "flip" it.) When
the new people tore the roof off the porch (main nest) and booted the rest out the
squirrels came next door and started eating their way into our house. 4 times we put
new wood, metal sheathing and finally heavy metal barriers and they still found new
ways. I got a trap and killed 12 of them last year, 4 this next. I have killed
every single one that has any memory of eating their way into a house and there are
no further attacks. Every time I see a squirrel climb my little cornus kousa (to
jump onto the roof of our porch) I set the trap. There have been no attacks on the
house this year.

INgrid

On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:11:00 -0500, "Mike" wrote:
I had same problem. I would go with the extermination route because the
problem doesn't go away for good and the mice will keep coming back. The
exterminator will place the appropriate traps both exterior and interior and
can get into places you can't. Mice were gone very quickly. The
exterminator comes back every 3 month to refresh the traps. Problem solved.

Mike

Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan
on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago

wrote:

We have quite a few birds and actually had mice living inside the big flight cage so
they were closer to the seed. I actually killed a good number by hitting them with
my fist and other hard objects. I finally got fed up and got in an extermination
company and got rid of the resident mice with "bait stations". However, the bait
stations continued to be emptied so I had them do a complete perimeter survey and
they found the entry points where the bricks had come lose in the foundation. I
hired somebody to come and go completely around the house cementing everything down
and tuckpointing.

Obviously you have mice because of the bird food... If you were
feeding your birds NYC bagels with cream cheese and lox this mouse
would be in your bird cages too. C'mon, who ya kiddin'.

I'm apprehensive if our mice could be abundant because my sister, who lives on the added ancillary of our duplex, is a packrat. She tends to leave things lay around, including food, which apparently gives them a perfect breeding ground.