What to do about rats and mice?

[terra]

OH! How cute!
I absolutely love the mice that are in our house! We live in a very old building and we have a family living in our walls! It's so cute hearing them prepare for winter.

We have a cat though. And she loves to listen to the mice scurry around above her head! She does hunt them, which is fine with me. as soon as she brings the mice to us, we take them to a field or near an old run-down building far away.
She's a very good mouser, but is extremely gentle with them. It's adorable.

I would suggest that you get a live mouse trap if you really want the little guy out.
Watch out for mouse poo. If you find any, wash the area very well.

That's all I can really suggest.

[Artichoke47]

I don't have suggestions for the mouse, but to block out noise (from a cat crying at my br door all night), I turn on a fan and face it towards the wall by the door.

[Cherry]

Oh no! You don't think it's settling in for the whole Winter!?? I'm already feeling the effects of disturbed sleep.

Yes, I'm going to borrow my mum's humane mouse trap, although I'm not sure it's actually getting into the flat or if it's just in the walls. It doesn't seem to have been in the upstairs part, where the kitchen is, as I left it a little pile of pumpkin seeds and they haven't been eaten. Maybe it just isn't a fan.

Speaking of fans, thanks for the suggestion Artichoke, but I'm not sure that would work as the fan would keep me awake too. It's also getting rather cold at night here so that sounds a little chilly Couldn't you just let the cat in?

[terra]

ps.

when we let the mice go in a field, I have to say that I am very hesitant.
It takes my boyfriend a while to convince me that the little guy will be okay.

[terra]

hmmmmmm...cherry -

you're in a tough position!

could you maybe investigate outside to see where he could have come in... and then leave some food. Maybe the smell will lead him outdoors and he can be free to find another spot...?

[Kumem]

Get some earplugs. My neighbours baby cries constantly, so I wouldn't be without them

[Cherry]

Not bad ideas. Let's just hope the landlady doesn't spot me patrolling outside with a bag of mouse food! (Actually, I think it may be coming from her bit of the house). Failing that, I may well try the ear plugs. Have never used those before.

[LittleNellColumbia]

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[thecatspajamas1]

She's a very good mouser, but is extremely gentle with them. It's adorable.

Wow, I wish my cats were like that. I didn't know that some cats "moused" without hurting the mouse. My cats eat them if they catch them.
So, does she just carry them in her mouth like a kitten and bring them to you??

[terra]

Hey CatsPJ's -

Ya, pretty much!
She runs into the room that we'll be sitting in and then runs around all excited with it still in her mouth!
Then she sets it down and watches it for a while! When it runs away, she'll corner it and gently put it back into her mouth and bring it back to the middle of the room. You can tell that if she's biting too hard, she'll let it go and get a more gentle hold on it.

It's funny because she kicks the crap out of this big stuffed toy mouse that I made for her... but not the real ones. Lucky little guys!

She just wants a friend, I think!

She would watch our goldfish while drinking out of his bowl. But she never attempted to hurt him in any way. She's just very curious!

[terra]

by the way CatsPJ's... your profile picture is funny! Was that your halloween costume?

[Kevster]

I reckon mice are easier to catch than rats, i still haven't managed to catch the ones in our house, and it may be time to bring in a cat, to at least act as a deterrent. Things could get out of hand with numbers. I think currently there are about three, (as were spotted last night on our work surface.) If only people would clean up properly, it's almost impossible. Rats are very determined creatures, and have been in and out of a trap a couple of times without triggering it, the other trap i have is one where rats go in through a trap door and can't get out again, there is no self trapping springing door mechanism, just a plate that they step on attached to a hinge which opens when weight is placed upon it.

The rats are no longer in my room though, after all food removed, and i've just blocked the remaining holes (i think) and removed the trap to spend some time in the kitchen, the other one is in the basement.

As regard to the cat, our other house has a few down the road, though i'm not enthused by bringing one or two of the cats out of their home environment, i think it may need to be done.

[Cherry]

Happycow - yeh, it's one of those traps that I was going to borrow from my mum. They really do work - I used to have a mouse/mice in my bedroom when I was a teenager and I managed to relocate quite a few. Or maybe it was the same one!?

The only trouble is, I don't think the mouse is actually getting into my flat! I left several little treats in all the places it might get in (pre-trap research!)and it hasn't touched any of them.

Terra - your cat does sound quite remarkable. My sister has 5 cats and she is always feeling terrible about getting there too late to rescue all the little mice/birds/frogs. Occasionally she'll find one alive that has been abandoned. There was a large frog sitting in the cats' water bowl once!

Kevster - I'm starting to feel very lucky that it's just one little mouse. (At least - I'm assuming it's a mouse!) I hope your larger problem is sorted out.
The mouse was late today and didn't wake me until 25 to 7, so maybe it has decided to be more considerate. I've heard that rats hate change, and that moving things around (like flowerpots) scares them...it sounds as though these Leeds rats are a little more hardcore!

[Barley]

Get some earplugs. My neighbours baby cries constantly, so I wouldn't be without them

Kumen.... a bit off subject but POOR YOU... you have my heartfelt sympathy...

[Kevster]

it sounds as though these Leeds rats are a little more hardcore!

Yeah, tough rats up here in Leeds.

[Cherry]

Just in case anyone's wondering (although I'm sure you have better things to think about) my mouse seems to have left.

The landlady had been away for 4 days and it hasn't visited since she got back. I think it must have detected anti-mouse vibes and done a runner!

Thanks for the suggestions though

[terra]

That's Great news for you Cherry!

I hope the little guy finds a good, warm home!

[thecatspajamas1]

by the way CatsPJ's... your profile picture is funny! Was that your halloween costume?

haha no I had to dress up as a monster for my anthropology class, so I dressed as a dragon.

[terra]

hhaha!

awesome job on the make-up!

[Cherry]

"I hope the little guy finds a good, warm home!"

Thanks Terra. Me too.

Yup - nice dragon

[Kevster]

Hey caught a rat last night! At last, it's taken a while and a fairly thorough approach to keeping food items well stored. They've been in the open trap in the basement taking food and not springing the trap, but the one in the kitchen is a different kettle of fish , a rat would walk in and the trap door would flip closed, and hey presto. That's what happened. Previously the rats had put their paws through the wire mesh in order to pull the lid full of peanut butter to the edge, and then scraped at the food. Hmmmmmm.

Anyhow, it was a cute little rat, healthy looking and i took rat to a woods a decent distance away, and then released the back door. The rat then skipped away, i also left the remaining trap food in case rat needed food later. That's one anyway.

[Cherry]

Oh my! Only just read this. Congratulations. I'm glad that the rat seemed happy enough with the arrangement and that you got him/her out of your house!

What happened to your orangutan?

[Kevster]

The little scurrying fleet of rats are properly keeping me awake at the moment, i just don't seem to be able to tune out of their scampering around the kitchen. It isn't that noisy tho....? (and fortunately just for a few hours? Hard to tell in the middle of the night, conventional time doesn't exist).

When i was up this morning they were under the floor boards on the first floor, i've no idea what they're up to there, don't anyone say making a nest.

[Cherry]

When i was up this morning they were under the floor boards on the first floor, i've no idea what they're up to there, don't anyone say making a nest.

LOL. They'll be looking for their friend, who is currently wandering around some woods wondering where all the peanut butter has gone.

No really, poor you. I hope you manage to catch the rest.

[Kevster]

Well looks like the rat days may be numbered now. I'm actually pretty irritated by it, as there's only been a piecemeal piece of s*it effort about doing anything about the issue. This kind of final solution approach (suggested at the beginning) and now again, isn't there anything inbetween? How determined are we? NOT VERY is the answer.

So do i object to killing the rats? No, perhaps better to kill them now than later when there'll be more, who didn't think that would happen? If they weren't properly dealt with near the beginning, or even, and get this, BEFORE the beginning. It's a collective attitude, including my own that is the root cause of this. Make no mistake, this like so many things lays at the feet of humans, their behaviour and actions, the rats have done no wrong, they're just living their lives. More freely and naturally than most of us ever will.

[snivelingchild]

I need help. We have either rats or mice (I can't tell) living in the attic. I don't know how to get to them (they are in the parts you can't seem to get to) and I can't locate any direct food source. The problem is the big cat likes to hunt them, and I keep finding poor deceased mice/rats around the house. This morning I found an arm.

One day there was one climbing along the ceiling in our sunroom (we knew because Goblin was following him) and as we tried to safely catch him he fell down to the floor and scurried outside. I am ordering traps anyway, but I don't think they will work as I can't put them where they live, and if I put them throughout the house, they will probably be caught by Goblin before even getting near the trap.

I also can't figure out where I would put them. If I just put them outside around here, they would be killed by the neighbors cat before they had time to get back inside the house. I do know this very nice park that no one goes to that's not near anything, but I know for a fact that it's inhabited by owls.

Any ideas??

[Cherry]

Your post stirs up a lot of thoughts and feelings Kevster. Not exactly sure what to say, but if you have no choice, you have no choice.

It seems to make sense to put the traps where the mice are living Sniv. Could you maybe find a room that it quite 'mousey', put the traps in there, and keep Goblin in another part of the house?

I think that the park sounds like a good plan. It would be practically impossible to release your mouse somewhere where there are NO natural predators. Besides, if there are owls then there must be lots of other small furry creatures. They can stick together and be thankful that they are no longer being persued by Goblin, who sounds like a merciless mouser!

[Kevster]

Aye, definitely the park, if it's rats i think three miles is about right, otherwise they'll be back. You could try putting traps in rooms and then keeping doors shut so that Goblin can't get in, i suspect the rats/mice (probably mice i reckon) have their own runs where they can get about.

By the way temporary reprieve for the rats in our house (though haven't heard them for a couple of days since some stirling work was done by two of my housemates.)
Just people waking me up now... Anyhow, one of my housemates can't stand the idea of killing them, and is going to stand up for the little fluffies, i'll watch from the sidelines, but was in favour of the weeks wait.

[Kevster]

Interesting that rats have returned at work, and they've been climbing trees to get into the roof of the building, however, a little way through Joan Dunayers book on animal equality, language and liberation, and it was interesting to hear that 'the rat was back' this of course is untrue there are 'rats' and also the previous rats are dead, so they are not back at all.

Further to this, 'someone was coming in to take care of them' what? Are we making them a nest, giving them water, and leaving out some food?????

[dreama]

I keep free roaming domesticated rats. I love them and I feel sad at the thought of them getting hurt. I'm against killing rats so if I did have any wild ones here I would just have to break the law I suppose. Another way to deal with a mouse/rat problem is to give something that will stop them reproducing. Debie Duncon has the info somewhere.

This might sound like I'm contradicting myself now but I'm aware cats kill mice/rats and I think death by cat is probably a good deal less cruel then death by glue trap or death by slow acting poison.

Sniv: Its great of you to care about your mice's welfare. However, mice and rats have a very sad lot in life being right at the bottom of the food chain so death by Goblin is probably no less cruel then death by any other means. Plus you are there at hand if Goblin ever does a messy job. You could get gas from the local vet which is the best end, I've heard for a dying rodent. Although I'm not sure how its administered. Its not permitted in Britain.

[catmogg]

Ok. I have a rat. My dog knows its there and hes pretty miffed cos it ate his sack of food. My house is actually very clean but i do feel a little minging that it decided to move in. I've ordered a humane trap but what should i do to make sure im not going to catch anything nasty. I've disinfected everything but cant locate a nest.....

[Hemlock]

My house is full of mice, the cats bring them in and let them go in the house. I've got catching them down to a fine art now. Put bread down. wait until the mouse comes out, grab it and put in garden. They are not very bright!!!
You have to be careful though they do bite so I don't pick them up by the tail!

[Kevster]

Ok. I have a rat. My dog knows its there and hes pretty miffed cos it ate his sack of food. My house is actually very clean but i do feel a little minging that it decided to move in. I've ordered a humane trap but what should i do to make sure im not going to catch anything nasty. I've disinfected everything but cant locate a nest.....

I reckon you'll get away with catching one or two in a humane trap before they get wise, having a dog about may deter them?

Rats are OK generally, as a rule don't leave standing water about, saying that we do, and we all seem to be alright........................................... ...........

[tabitha]

Arent rats and mice incontinent so they pee as they are running all over your work surfaces and in your food cupboards.....think vegan thoughts now

[Tiggerwoo]

Yep have heard the poor little mites don't have a bladder.

[tabitha]

No bladders? Someone up there was having a laugh then. Poor little sods.

[Tiggerwoo]

LOL, I remember my old gerbils used to occasionally wee on me when I picked them up. I thought it was cos they were frightened, but was told that the pressure caused from picking them up causes them to spontaneously "release" so to speak!

[tabitha]

my friend - the one who made me the vegan cakes, breeds rats and shows them. She has loads of rosettes and the rats have long fancy names. I had to look after them once when she went away. I fell in love with a little one who had been savagely attacked by its mother. It was so gorgeous. It only had one eye and of course that reminded me of Abbey but my husband wouldnt let me keep it

[Tiggerwoo]

Aww bless...... Abbey only had one eye too? Thats really wierd, Potty has both but is blind in one eye or mostly as it was damaged or attacked before I got her.

They say that rats can be as affectionate and intelligent as dogs.

[tabitha]

Ah poor little thing. Is that Tigger in the photo? I must try and get a teenager to help me change my avatar. I would also like a profile picture. However, teenager not talking - only opening mouth to eat pizza

[Tiggerwoo]

Yep, thats Tigger when I first got him from the RSPCA a couple of years ago so he was only about 6 months old. OK to change your avatar go to your user cp, click edit avatar, then you have the option of entering a pic as long as its small enough from a webpage you like or right-clicking and scrolling through "my pictures" till you find the one you like, click that place it there and then I think you press upload or save or something. Probably completely confused you with my gobeldeegook explanation...lol

[tabitha]

Thanks I will try it when hub gets off phone. He is on the phone to Australia - he only talks to countries, not people. Hes THAT important

[Tiggerwoo]

LOL, hopefully he's earning the money of a president then, hehe!

[tabitha]

Well if he is, hes not sharing.....lol

[GreenEnvy]

Hey,

Does anyone know how to dissolve the glue used in rat and mouse traps without hurting the caught animal?

My mum found a field mouse caught in a glue rat trap at her work place, but they had to euthanase it because they couldn't pull it off the trap without ripping its skin off.
She threw away all of the traps but thinks that her boss will probably put more down.

[Tiggerwoo]

Pass on that one Green Envy, they should be banned. I noticed my work used those sort of traps once and when I saw they had been put down, I threw them all away, sadly one mouse got stuck to one before I had had a chance and was squealing away. We tried to get it unstuck but I'm sure it had broken its legs in the struggle, so sadly to stop it having a several day struggle in pain while he starved to death, one of my colleagues put it out of its misery.

[catmogg]

Oh dear. My house and garden is now infested with rats!!! I have set a humane trap but yesterday i saw four rats in my garden and there's plenty of evidence they are settling into my kitchen. I've figured out that the reason they've arrived is that they've been displaced; there has been a major clearance of tipped rubbish in a public space behind my garden. What am i gonna do? One humane trap is not going to sort this problem... I am getting pressure to call in the council....HELP!!!!!!

[Kiran]

You may need many of these..

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/pro...roducts_id=694

Alternatively, for a higher price you can buy a electronic Mouse repeller from them. Check out the product descriptions and make sure you buy the ethical ones. The repellers use some ultrasonic frequency or some shit like that which rodents don't like. So that might be good... I rekon.

Good luck..

If you are still unsuccessful... digging a moat around your house filled with water, will keep them away.
.

[Kevster]

Catmogg, i don't know, i've heard stories about displaced rats. The ultrasonic rat repellers don't really work with our rats, they just ignore them.

We've still got some somewhere.... but saw a rat in our garden yesterday visiting our compost heap, great to see one outside of our house!

But i'd say, go and find how they might be getting in, and get some foam filler or pieces of mesh and tin and just hammer it down over the hole with some nails, they'll hopefully move on elsewhere to find a new home.....

[Jane M]

We used to plant mint around the corn silo. Seems mice don't care for the scent of it. Don't know how it would work if they had nowhere else to go for feed though. Might give it a try though.