# Eek! A mouse!



## Northerner (Mar 16, 2010)

Just watching telly and saw something move in the shadows in the corner behind the TV. At first I thought it was an enormous spider, but then took a closer look and it was a wood mouse (NOT a _wooden_ mouse!)! My house is quite old and there is a gap in that corner between the skirting and the floor - it dived back under once it realised it had been rumbled

Now, do I get the (humane) traps out, or not bother?


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## am64 (Mar 16, 2010)

its the time of year north ...if there is one there may be many ....we have them in the garden but got a weasel who sorted it out....if you have a humane trap you need to take them along way to stop them coming back ...the best bait my friend said was chocolate ...she rigged up a plastic box type thingy good luck ..that or borrow a cat


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## Northerner (Mar 16, 2010)

am64 said:


> its the time of year north ...if there is one there may be many ....we have them in the garden but got a weasel who sorted it out....if you have a humane trap you need to take them along way to stop them coming back ...the best bait my friend said was chocolate ...she rigged up a plastic box type thingy good luck ..that or borrow a cat



It's impossible to keep them out of my house as they go under the floorboards and can squeeze through the tiniest gap. I usually take them about a mile away to the park, but it's a pain in the neck and they usually get eaten by seagulls! I found that peanut butter is good bait!


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## Steff (Mar 16, 2010)

eeeeek id of ran and ran i hate um and rats .


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## Northerner (Mar 16, 2010)

Steff2010 said:


> eeeeek id of ran and ran i hate um and rats .



Little blighter just showed its face again!!!


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## am64 (Mar 16, 2010)

is it a mouse or a baby rat ?


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## Steff (Mar 16, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Little blighter just showed its face again!!!



whack some kate bush on then it can go back to all its mousey mates and say we aint going back there anymore


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## cazscot (Mar 16, 2010)

My dad and step-mum had some recently and bated the traps with a bit of mars bar and it did the trick... 

When our cat ran in the house with a live mouse I, not my hubby, was the one that had to run around rescuing it, he refused to pick it up!


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## AlisonM (Mar 16, 2010)

My old place in St Reatham had meeces in the walls. I think they used to come in from the Common. Jam worked well in my traps I found.


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## Northerner (Mar 16, 2010)

Well, it's persistent! Just clocked the little perisher again! Have set two traps - am expecting to jump out of my skin soon when they go off!


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## aymes (Mar 16, 2010)

Eeek! I'm a total wuss and proper terrified of anything rodent like, if it happened to me I'd have moved house by now!!!

Seriously think I may have a problem, I've probably seen mice or rats (eurgh, even struggle to write the words) half a dozen times and I've never returned to a place where I've seen them!


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## Northerner (Mar 17, 2010)

Well, both traps have been sprung! Haven't looked yet to see if there are occupants in them...


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## Caroline (Mar 17, 2010)

We get wood mice in on a semi regular basis. When I asked advice about humane traps (they are too cute to kill) I was told chocolate and peanut butter were best.

Other advice was to make sure all food was stored in such a way the little rodents (am I allowed to say blighters?) couldn't get at it or gnaw their way in. Acts as a deterent.


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## Steff (Mar 17, 2010)

Morning Northey I hope you have had no more hairy visitors in the night , did you mange to see if the traps worked?


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## Northerner (Mar 17, 2010)

Steff2010 said:


> Morning Northey I hope you have had no more hairy visitors in the night , did you mange to see if the traps worked?



Both traps have been sprung, but haven't checked for occupants yet! I'm not scared of mice, but checking the traps does give me the shivers!


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## Tezzz (Mar 17, 2010)

Have you thought of getting the pest control department of the local council involved?


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## Northerner (Mar 17, 2010)

brightontez said:


> Have you thought of getting the pest control department of the local council involved?



I doubt they could do anything Tez. Round here there a lot of 'wildlife friendly gardens' and as I said, I can only discourage them, not make the house mouse-proof. There are plenty of cats in the neighbourhood - one at each side of my house, so they help to control the population. I have a rat at the bottom of my garden too!


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## Caroline (Mar 17, 2010)

I am one of those wildlife friendly people, I hate killing things if I don't have to, but there is a lot you can do to deter mice like making sure food is stored in plastic or metal containers so it can't be gnawed, and there are electronic things you can get from DIY stores and garden centres that are supposed to deter mice and other pests.

We get lots of mice in. We try to keep the floor vaccumed and swept or cleaned on a regular basis and where possible any packages that can be gnawed through are in stronge containers, or even in the firdge or freezer.

As mice can climb even food on top shelves is not exempt. When we asked the pest control people for alternative solutions they advised get a cat because you'll never kep them out any other way! Also the people next door to us have decking and the mice make their homes in there. SInce itis rented private the council cannot get the decking removed unless it is a health or environmental hazard, which it is not.


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## Northerner (Mar 17, 2010)

I checked the traps and...no mice. I guess the mouse probably nudged them which made them close rather than managing to get inside and at the peanut butter. Have set them up again. I don't like to kill them as they are the cutest things, but they are also unable to control their bladders so I don't want mouse pee on everything!


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## MartinX123 (Mar 17, 2010)

Mouseys are sooo cute. One little bugger bit me once, I was rescueing him from my cats mouth at the time!

We used to have a mouse problem, well the house it was in (my dads) still does. But like caroline says just keep all your food gnawproof & you will be fine. Im an advocate of the humane traps too


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## Copepod (Mar 17, 2010)

Borrowing a cat for a few hours really is a good idea - mice will detect the smell of a predator and keep away. We shut our cat into our shed for an hour or so a couple of times a year, and never get rodents inside.


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## margie (Mar 17, 2010)

Will the mouse inspire a poem ?

I hope the mouse problem gets cleared up - it could be worse though a friend of my sisters had mice take shelter in her house - however, they kept popping up in the oddest places - the grill pan in the oven being one - really freaked her out.


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## Steff (Mar 17, 2010)

margie said:


> Will the mouse inspire a poem ?
> 
> I hope the mouse problem gets cleared up - it could be worse though a friend of my sisters had mice take shelter in her house - however, they kept popping up in the oddest places - the grill pan in the oven being one - really freaked her out.



eww grilled mouse on toast dont sound appetising does it.


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## Caroline (Mar 17, 2010)

Steff2010 said:


> eww grilled mouse on toast dont sound appetising does it.



It's a good job for the mice this is 21st century United Kingdom and not Ancient Rome where skewered mice were a delicacy. I am glad no one here wants to kill the mice, even if we don't want to encourage them into our homes.


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## Northerner (Mar 17, 2010)

Well, no sign of the mouse tonight, probably waiting for me to go to bed. I bet the traps are sprung again when I get up!


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## grahams mum (Mar 17, 2010)

my sister  still have a problem with a BABY RAT and the landlord somebody from the council came got the dead baby rat  but they need to solve the problem of where they come from and make sure you call a professional otherwise your insurance doesnot cover any damage done by the rat (the rat man said it  to my sister)


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## Northerner (Mar 18, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Well, no sign of the mouse tonight, probably waiting for me to go to bed. I bet the traps are sprung again when I get up!



One of the traps has been sprung this morning. As the other is still open, that suggests I might have a mouse, and also that there is only one. It takes me a little while to wake up enough to have the courage to check!


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## Caroline (Mar 18, 2010)

Is the mouse doing any damage anywhere? Someone suggested putting disinfectant down in all the places you think it may be getting in. Apparently the smell puts the little visitors off, they think it smells like cats wee. Cheap disinfectant is available in loads of places.


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## Northerner (Mar 18, 2010)

Caroline said:


> Is the mouse doing any damage anywhere? Someone suggested putting disinfectant down in all the places you think it may be getting in. Apparently the smell puts the little visitors off, they think it smells like cats wee. Cheap disinfectant is available in loads of places.



Sounds like a good idea. I need to clean that area anyway in case the mouse has peed there. It's not done any damage that I'm aware of, in fact I'm surprised it's coming into the front room rather than the kitchen as there's no food in here.


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## Caroline (Mar 18, 2010)

Hope you get it sorted. Apparently they comeinto the places where it is easiest to get in.


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## Northerner (Mar 18, 2010)

Just checked and there is a mouse - looks like an excursion to the park and a whole new world for it to explore!


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## Caroline (Mar 18, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Just checked and there is a mouse - looks like an excursion to the park and a whole new world for it to explore!



It's a walk in the park...


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## Northerner (Mar 18, 2010)

Mousey released about a mile from home so hope it enjoys its new surroundings! Managed to keep away from seagulls for the first 30 yards and disappeared into the undergrowth. It was a wood mouse, very pretty with beautiful colouring and big black eyes! Still have a trap out, so will see if there are any others tonight, no doubt!


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## Northerner (Mar 18, 2010)

Haha! I got tweeted by a tweeter called 'KillThatMouse'


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## Northerner (Mar 19, 2010)

Trap remained untouched through the night, so pehaps the mouse I caught was a scout, sent out to find out the lay of the land and whether my house was a suitable staging post for the rodent hordes to take over the world...


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## topcat123 (Mar 19, 2010)

ahh the fun of it all the last couple of year i had a few in the house, not that i keep a dirty house but they were field mice as i am surrounded by fields and i think they were comming in when my back door been open or my elderly cat brought them in as play thing as ive cought her in the hall playing with it.

she used to be a verry good mouser but old age has caught up and is not as fast as she used to. 

dont have them any more but keeps the back door shut now and keeps an eye on what my cats bring in


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## Caroline (Mar 19, 2010)

My cat used to present me with mice and look all cute and apealing because he'd given me a present. I used to tell him he was a  good puss and I'd release the mouse or do something appropriate if it was dead.


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## Northerner (Mar 20, 2010)

No mouse again last night.


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## AlisonM (Mar 20, 2010)

Northerner said:


> No mouse again last night.



They probably wanted to steal your brain to find out what the question is.


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## Northerner (Mar 20, 2010)

AlisonM said:


> They probably wanted to steal your brain to find out what the question is.



hadn't thought about that - my traps aren't mousetraps, but pan-dimensional being traps!


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## AlisonM (Mar 20, 2010)

Just be careful of their improbability drive, you don't want to end up like the petunias.


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