Life has a way of handing you things that you never expected. The past few months we spent away from home. And though I got used to "camping out" I really looked forward to coming home once again. We had given our houseplants to a friend to care for while we were gone, so when I stepped into the kitchen I was happy to see the one plant we had forgotten about had thrived on not being cared for over the past several months and even had a few welcome home blooms.
I had been afraid of that since we live in a very old farmhouse and it's November that there would be a lot of mice looking for a nice place to spend the winter. I was getting a drink of water when I heard the unmistakable pitter patter of tiny feet. I froze and then quickly told my husband to check to see what is under the counter. He opened the door and there it was. A fat little field mouse enjoying the last remnants of a bag of cornmeal. It scurried toward the back of the lazy susan and sat down to see what we were going to do.
My husband got a trap baited it and put it next to the cornmeal while the brave little mouse watched with gleeful curiosity. Closing the door we waited for a few seconds and heard the trap spring. I didn't want to see a dead mouse and went into the next room and closed the door. Hearing my husband chuckle I asked whats so funny because even he doesn't think dead mice are all that funny.
He informed me the mouse is getting the last laugh since it cleverly sprung the trap without getting caught. Sunbeam thinks it's so cute but I don't share her sentiments and won't be able to rest well until we have outwitted our courageous little unwelcome house guest.
Any advice?
You might try putting peanut butter on the trap. That usually gets the mice as they can't carry it away.
ReplyDeleteMy husband ties a string around the part where you put the bait and then smooshes peanut butter into it. That way, the mouse has to work at it to get the peanut butter and is more likely to get snapped in the trap.
ReplyDeleteI hate setting the traps, but it is usually me who has to take care of the carcasses once caught. I've also caught a few live mice in the house.
IF the spring trap fails to work, try a sticky trap. We have problems with field mice getting into our garage. We use sticky traps and they just cannot get free once stuck. It is sad to see them there especially if struggling, but it is effective.
ReplyDeleteUnder the kitchen sink I invest in the more expensive enclosed traps that shut a door over the mouse when it takes the bait. I do use peanut butter. These traps are around $4.00, but in my opinion well worth it. I use open traps in places like the basement where my husband can venture to retrieve the results. After harvest this year as it began to get cold my husband set several traps in the basement of our big old farmhouse. Our Master bedroom is on the main floor over the basement and sadly it sounded like gunfire in our basement when we went to bed. I haven't seen any mice though.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Old farmhouses and mice seem to go together. There are some traps that are more effective than the old fashion ones. dCon Covered Traps work well for us and we use peanut butter for bait.
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas Cactus looks quite healthy despite being forgotten.
I don't comment too often but I do enjoy reading your blog :)
☼ Sunny
There are no-kill traps you can get. But then you need to take little Mr. (or Ms.) Mouse far away to let him go or he'll just come back. I always make my husband take Mr. Mouse to the green area near where he works. BTW I have been reading and enjoying your blog sine it was mentioned in the NYT recently.
ReplyDeleteOur garage is full of mice as well, so we haven't been very successful in getting rid of them either. They just look at our trap and laugh. Hope you get them taken care of.
ReplyDeleteI have had the best results with placing a little peanut butter in the center of a glue trap.
ReplyDeleteOur house was built in the '50's. Not too terribly old but...
ReplyDeleteWe always got mice in the attic, starting in the fall and always used traps set with peanut butter. It was always pretty effective, but they do get down into the house too. Did I mention that I hate mice?!
A couple of years ago, we decided to try one of those pest deterrent things that you plug into an outlet. We plugged it in, in the attic, and haven't seen a mouse in two winters!
you need a cute little kitty to take care of that mouse!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was going to mention peanut butter too...they just cant resist it, and have to climb right on the trap to lick it. Bang!
ReplyDeleteDon't rely on just 1 trap- step up the number of traps you have as there will surely be cousins coming to visit this mouse soon. I've found peanut butter to be hit-or-miss. Our mice would prefer a crumb of bread. And keep at it. We get a rodent influx this time of year, too!
ReplyDeleteMy advice? Cats.
ReplyDeleteI use d-con, then they usually go outside to die. I hate the other way.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jen
I don't have any sure-fire advice for getting rid of the mouse, but you might put all your foods in sealed plastic bins until you figure it out. We went through this with college housing last year--we called an exterminator. He plugged up the (larger-than-it-needed-to-be) hole around the drain pipe with steel wool pads so there would be no chew-through escapes from the house. Then he set traps. Does anyone have a mousing cat you can borrow?
ReplyDeleteWe used to get mice in our farm house also and I think we just cornered the little stinker and Tim caught it in a jar. Then we would go for a drive and let it out miles from our house...I don't like to kill them :(
ReplyDeleteI'm with Trish above on this-We catch ours in a tea towel and let them go.I think they are pretty.I'm not so favourable with rats though.
ReplyDeleteThe other day we caught two mice in one trap! One was a house mouse and one a field mouse. We used Velveeta cheese. And a couple of weeks ago we caught two baby mice and a big fat mama on a sticky trap. The mama was still alive and got away before anyone disposed of it, much to my chagrin. :( We still haven't caught it.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, I found a mommy mouse getting her "maternity ward" ready...I found torn up tissues leading up to and under my entertainment center. I called the exterminator and he set out triangle shaped traps and that was the end of it. He said the mouse would leave to find water and I never saw any telltale signs after that! Whew!
ReplyDelete~Jean
It would appear that we are all in good company :-) We use sticky pads with pretty good results and you don't hear the "snap" during dinner ... been there, done that. We had "something" running and making chewing sounds between the floors or our home. We found a hole (vole?) near the foundation, but no entry point into the house.. we put some d-con in the hole and have not heard it since. Thankfully ... I don't "do mice! (or voles, or moles)
ReplyDeleteI have a SERIOUS mouse/rat phobia!!! Fortunately, my dad used to own an exterminating company. He recommened d-con rat bait. We keep it in our attic and every since we started using it ... no more mice or rats.
ReplyDeleteDad says the rodents usually don't die in the house because they leave in search of water. So far, if we've had any, they haven't died in our home.
The down side to the bait is one MUST keep it away from pets and children as it is highly toxic. The attic and upper area of our barn are the only places we've ever placed the bait.
Mrs.B
Oh barf, I'm so sorry. I've found screaming and always holding a broom to be a very good temporary fix. We call the pros to come put these box things out. Wish I could help more. The good news was they only needed to come once and that was years ago. Then again, we did have rats this summer so who knows. I do know they don't come in "ones"!
ReplyDeleteCheese and sugar might tempt him.
ReplyDeleteOh my this is like Tom an d Jerry.
In India we have killer biscuits, the rodents eat them an d pass off peacefully once injested.
Boy, I'm no help! We ger mice in the bins where we keep the cat and dog food, as well as the bird seed. The Lord of the Manor just drapes a rag over the top ofthe bin so the mice can climb out! If one gets stuck, he takes the bin out to the wood pile and tips the mouse out. The dear man even puts down a bit of food so they won't starve until they figure out how to eat outside. Yeah, we're both nuts!
ReplyDelete