We have furry visitors...

[EEEM]

My roommate noticed a couple of mice in thehouse last night. They were upstairs, not in the bunnybasement, but I assume it won't be long before they discover there'sfood and hay down there free for the taking.

Anyone have any information about diseases being passed from wild miceto house rabbits? We're going to try to get rid of the littlebuggers but with a dog running about upstairs and bunnies downstairsthere isn't a very safe way to catch them without harming the housepetstoo.

Anyone had similar problems? Honestly, we don't mind the micethat much, but we don't want to let it get out of control.One or two mice aren't a bother, but we'd like to get them out beforewinter and keep them out so we don't attract more visitors.Anyone have any hints?

 

[Mr. Stee]

first off, the rule of thumb is usually,multiply the mice you see by five and that is how many you have onaverage in your house.

If you want to get rid of them without endangering the animals you canbuy sticky traps to catch the mice. They are just flats ofcardboard with sticky stuff on them. You put a dab of peanutbutter on it and put it where your pets probably won't get atit. The mice will get stuck to the board, but other then thatthey will be unharmed. You then use cooking oil to get themoff and set them free outside (you have to let them go at least FIVEMILES from your home because mice have been known to travel that far toget back to their home territory.) If your pets accidentlydecide that peanut butter is good, you just remove them from the trapsthe same way. Just remember to check the traps daily.

 

[Bassetluv]

About diseases, I know that wild mice can carrydiseases which are transferrable to humans (Lyme disease is one). Ifyou plan on capture/release, be extra careful when handling them. Andlike Mr. Stee said, you have to take them FAR away (five miles soundsabout right, I think) or they will simply return. (Sometimes they canreturn so quickly I wonder if they all have hidden mini-mousecyclessomewhere that they just hop on to come back!)

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I tried the sticky traps. One mousegot stuck, but escaped, leavingmost of hisfurbehind. I imagine that was pretty painful forhim. Are there humane traps for mice?

 

[cirrustwi]

Get a Have-A-Heart live trap. It workson a trigger mechanism that when the mouse enters, it steps on a paneland makes the door close. The mouse is perfectlyfine. You can then set them free outside. I alwayshave 2 set-up in the critter room. They usually get triggeredby a rabbit or a ferret who bumps it too hard, so I have to set themagain when everyone is in bed. It's been months since Icaught anything but...better safe then sorry.

Jen

 

[EEEM]

Do they have mouse size traps that are too smallfor the bunnies to get into? I know we used a human trap tocatch squirrels and racoons in the yard at home but they would be toobig as the bunnies would get themselves stuck.

 

[RusselandRoxy]

EEEM wrote:

Dothey have mouse size traps that are too small for the bunnies to getinto? I know we used a human trap to catch squirrels andracoons in the yard at home but they would be too big as the bunnieswould get themselves stuck.

I had one as Jen mentioned once, and it was avery small one that wasonly big enough for mice to fit into. And i got that from a local petshop so hopefully you will be able to find one,
LEanne

 

You have all the attractantsavailable to them , storeall grains , dog , and rabbitin mouse proof jars or cans, be ultra clean , Have-A-Heart has mouse live traps getsome and use them.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

EEEM wrote:

we used a human trap to catch squirrels and racoons

Yikes! Tell me where you live so Ican stayaway! Sorry - couldn't resist.







Have you been talking to Gypsy? I heard she uses bear traps!

 

[Stephanie]

One thing my mom told me (as she recently hadthe same problem in her house) was to stuff steel wool (plain, not thesudsy kind) into any and all holes/crevices you can find. Basically,once you get rid of these mice, more will probably come into your housewhen the cooler weather comes. I guess they won't chew through thatstuff and it's humane.

 

[EEEM]

Thanks for the advice, all!

I'm going to call around tomorrow and try to find somewhere that sellstraps. All the animal food is in airtight containers and hasbeen... But our kitchen is never all that clean and that's where we sawthem so we're going to have to have a house meeting about doing thedishes more regularly. Silly college kids.

The house has had a mouse problem before and the landlord claims he hadthe entry holes sealed, but I guess he missed a few. Thehandy man is coming tomorrow to fix a leaky sink so I'll ask him tocheck around and plug up any holes he finds. Hopefully we'llget this under control before it gets out of control!

 

Stephanie wrote:

One thing my mom told me (as she recently had the sameproblem in her house) was to stuff steel wool (plain, not the sudsykind) into any and all holes/crevices you can find. Basically, once youget rid of these mice, more will probably come into your house when thecooler weather comes. I guess they won't chew through that stuff andit's humane.

All the Steel wool doesto deter them is to deter themfrom that particular spot theygo find another easy wall tochew thru .

And YES Laura I do USE BEAR Traps !