I’ve done seen that movie; it doesn’t end well for the homeowner.

quote:

Originally posted by kidcop:
I've dealt with mice for years - once they establish a beachhead they are extremely difficult to eradicate, due to how many offspring a mating pair can generate.

I can attest to that.

I eliminated all their ingress points into the house over the years. Finally, at least a year, possibly two, after I eliminated the last (?) ingress, we had one more mouse. Have seen no further evidence of mice in the house, since.

I think I may have finally barred them from the garage, too.

quote:

Originally posted by kidcop:
I do have an actual cat, who occasionally will score a kill, but often just plays with them.

The most any of our cats have ever done is bring them up from the basement and set them loose upstairs to play with. Of course they invariably get away. Last one, that last mouse to which I referred, above, I found petrified in a closet one day.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
OK, how impoverished are you? You want to reuse the glue trap? Toss the trap, mouse included, into an old bread bag and start over.

I was once named "great white hunter" at the dairy where I worked. That for killing the most mice. I thought it fun. Lots of possible baits, those mentioned as well as bacon, cream, you name it. Mice are kind of dumb and commit suicide with almost anything. Try different baits and you'll find a good one. But before long even they "smarten" up and you'll need something different. Its not a one time thing, its a long drawn out war.

one of my high school buddy's worked downtown at a kosher bakery,

he would start at ~3 or 4am, and take a break at sunrise,

he started noticing the amazingly large number of rats (and big ones at that ) that would just wander around before disappearing in a hole somewhere each morning,

so he started popping them with a tater gun,

then he bought a Crosmann 177 pump pellet pistol


every morning, he would kill about a dozen with that pistol, and never made a dent in the population

I've liked the Jaws traps w/ peanut butter applied. It crushes them, you pick it up, squeeze it open so the mouse drops in the trash, and the peanut butter stays put as you reset it.

Until one day I was checking the trap and noticed the peanut butter was gone. I checked function and reapplied. Next day there was a black line going to the trap. A line of ants.

The second ingredient on my Jiff is sugar.
I never resolved what to use instead of the PB because a feral/stray moved in (pg. 453 cat thread).
Haven't used a trap since.

Have you considered installing a friendly little black snake in your garage?

Mice are great for drumming up business in the auto repair shop I work in, from chewing up wiring. If you have a plastic decorative/sound-deadening cover on top of your engine, remove it every so often (most of them just pull off) to check for nesting, as well as the rest of your engine bay.

Had a big wooden playset in the backyard. Kids are grown and gone.
Took the swings off and hung finch feeders on. Sometimes I could count
about 30 Finches at a time. Put up a shepards hook with another feeder
for the Cardinals and such. Battled the squirrels for years. Finally
would go out every couple days with a paper towel soaked motor oil and
wipe the shepards hook. Squirrels would jump up on it and just slide down.
Laugh my ass off. Anyway, the birds spill as much as they eat. Had a mice
population under my back deck. Trapped 25 or 30, Got rid of the mice
but sadly no more bird feeders. Still have my Hummingbird feeders, one
at my front window and one at the back window.

During previous hunting seasons would go to a brothers house which was a old wooden above ground farm house over 100yrs old out in the country. they had a mice problem. I would set up watching tv in a dark living room with a BB gun across my lap and have a shooting arcade as the mice would scurry around the room along the base boards. Also would be listening for set snap traps baited with peanut butter being tripped in other rooms nearby. They had 2 barn cats but sister-in-law fed them to much and they got fat and lazy. ............................................ drill sgt.

Checked baited traps today. No mice. They must not like creamy smooth peanut butter. Cue the song "Uptown Funk" and "smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy."

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0

But, with four traps, and no mice, I hope the garage is "secure."

I've used the Jawz traps with great success. Tried the 5 gallon bucket traps and they didn't work worth a damn.

As has been stated, meeces travel along the baseboards and not out in the open. When I first started with the Jawz traps, I'd bait them with peanut butter and stick them along the walls with great success. Then, I learned that if you set them and face them inward along the walls, you don't even need to bait them. The mice won't walk around them. When they try to go over them it'll set them off, so no need to even bait them.

I keep a low skirmish with the mice at all times, giving them no quarter. That includes some poison safely tucked away from the dog, then a few traps.

Well, in an older farm home, built in the 50’s. On 5 acres, so we like it here, except for the mice. Used to have the coal cellar, so not completely concreted and has a crawlspace on part of the basement. We do get mice, luckily only in the basement, and have used the battery powered traps before, but then you gotta keep checking to make sure the battery hasn’t died. Best thing so far is the walk the plank trap. 5 gallon bucket, fill part way with water, and put a little bit of cheese on the plank. Seems to have thinned the population, we don’t get nearly as many as in the beginning. Maybe one or two in a month now. Usually when the weather turns. And easy disposal. Dump, refill, re bait it if needed and reset it up.

I began fighting them ever since my wife put a bird feeder in the back yard. None in the house but plenty in my backyard shed.

They get into my house every year. My cat catches them, beats them to death and puts them in front of my computer desk. He also takes care of the moles and voles in the backyard but they are left in front of my patio chair !

My wife thinks cats are evil. I don’t. I have contemplated divorce many times over her misguided and mistaken beliefs. I think Hezekiaah 37:3-5 allows divorce when the husband is right?

Anyway, an outdoor cat would be awesome, but impractical.

For those watching this space for updates, I have news.

Trap 1 at the garage door corner remains unmolested.

Trap 2 at the other garage door corner was moved by parties unknown from its position “along the baseboard” a few inches, and around the corner of the cinderblock.

Trap 3 near a corner and on the wall sill board shows that something plopped into the glue just far enough to reach the peanut butter, and somehow struggled free, leaving a trail of glue residue as it retreated.

Trap 4, in the center of the garage near the residential storage container, without peanut butter, shows no signs of traffic.

Alternate traps will be procured and placed.