Mouse problem

[doversoul1]

Ah, yes. What they meant was they didn’t do free service for private property. This is Dover page

http://www.dover.gov.uk/pest_control.aspx

Mice £33 per treatment A treatment is usually 3 visits

I wouldn’t call this a small charge, would you? Besides, three visits are probably not enough. I put the poison every day for well over a week, also the poison wasn’t touched for the first couple of times.

[french frank]

Ah, yes. What they meant was they didn’t do free service for private property. This is Dover page

http://www.dover.gov.uk/pest_control.aspx

Mice £33 per treatment A treatment is usually 3 visits

I wouldn’t call this a small charge, would you? Besides, three visits are probably not enough. I put the poison every day for well over a week, also the poison wasn’t touched for the first couple of times.

Well, Bristol charges £64.80 per treatment (up to 4 visits). But it does seem a possible DIY job.

[Petrushka]

Well, Bristol charges £64.80 per treatment (up to 4 visits). But it does seem a possible DIY job.

Personally, I'd consider it £64.80 well spent if it gets rid of them. When I lived in Bristol for a short while in 1988/9 I had a terrible slug problem.

Readers of Bernard Levin may well recall his laughter in the 1982 book Speaking Up at the continual stories that appeared of rats immunity to poison every few years. Wish he was still around to see the same stories appearing now.

[Flosshilde]

Really. And there was me thinking that if a cat kills a bird it means one fewer bird alive. Ah well. You live and learn. Thanks.

If only

The problem with killing mice is that it just creates a vacancy for other mice to fill, doesn't it?

[jayne lee wilson]

Can you really not live with them? How many are there? Cats have often brought me mice as presents, and as they get older they quickly learn not to harm them, soon get bored as the exasperated mice play dead, allowing me to catch them (by the tail, in a box, any which way but loose)... and return them outside. The speed of a mouse is amazing to watch as it rushes off across earth, stone, into shrubbery or woodpiles. Sometimes they get lost inside the house and reappear at irregular intervals to nibble the catfood, or wander along the hi-fi stand, past the power amplifier, to sit near the DacMagic. I usually trap them in a box between the mains conditioner and the skirting board. Then, out in the back yard - see them go!

But a dead one trapped near the heating isn't much fun. Is it utterly inaccessible? Looks like a job for Micycle Repair Man...

[amateur51]

Looks like a job for Micycle Repair Man...

[teamsaint]

a good tip way to catch mice, etc loose in the house is to throw a tea towel or similar over them. With mice I guess you might want to dampen it .(the tea towel, not the mouse !)

[Resurrection Man]

Now here is a really scary story. Before I learned about the ultrasonic deterrents, I used to put poison up in the loft inside one of those special rat poison tubes. After a few weeks when I went up to check if the poison was still being eaten, I found that both ends of the tube had been stuffed with loft insulation.

So either the rats had done this to conceal their food source OR

they knew it was poisoned and were trying to prevent other rats from getting to it.

[Hornspieler]

We sometimes get mice in our house in winter. Conventional traps seem the best way of dealing with them.

I suspect one has taken revenge and died close to one of our heating pipes. The smell gets significantly worse when the heating kicks in.

Does it make sense to wait until the smell goes away, or will that be so long we'll have to take more drastic action?

The pipes and the run where I suspect the cadaver is are boxed in, and I'd say largely inaccessible.
Obviously removal is the best option, if feasible, but it doesn't seem a very realistic option right now.

When I saw this heading, I assumed that it was about computer mice!

My computer mouse sometimes goes for a stroll on its own - straight upwards or travelling left. I watch it, fascinated for a few moments and then bring it to heel with a sharp tap on its left ear. At least it doesn't smell.

Has anyone else encountered this phenominum? I'm thinking of writing a mystery novel entitled "The Case of the Wandering Mouse" - but it didn't come in a case, only a plastic wrapper.

HS (g'morning all!)

[salymap]

The touchpad on my computer is cracked and young cousin got me a smart little mouse from Logitech. It won't be controlled until I use two hands on it - one to hold it steady, one to tap on it. I shall continue with the touchpad unless she visits me.

[amateur51]

The touchpad on my computer is cracked and young cousin got me a smart little mouse from Logitech. It won't be controlled until I use two hands on it - one to hold it steady, one to tap on it. I shall continue with the touchpad unless she visits me.

[doversoul1]

Dave
I hope all this wise (?) advice has helped you to make up your mind what to do next. I’ve had dead things in the house and the small IS awful. It usually takes about a week to clear. I could tell you more tales of the Battles between Rodent Persistence and Human Intelligence but I know it’s not funny when it is happening in your house. I do hope you’ll be able to sort things out before Christmas.

[salymap]

Off topic but perhaps in the summer we could start a thread on getting rid of wasps' nests. I paid a lot,twice for a short spray of something into the loft. When it was given a fresh layer of draughtproofing man swore the wasps were still there and buzzing.

Back to mice, sorry

[Resurrection Man]

Off topic but perhaps in the summer we could start a thread on getting rid of wasps' nests. I paid a lot,twice for a short spray of something into the loft. When it was given a fresh layer of draughtproofing man swore the wasps were still there and buzzing.

Back to mice, sorry

At least that was one blessing of our lousy summer. No wasp nests to speak of. The year before we had nine. Lots of mosquitoes, mind.

[Flosshilde]

Off topic but perhaps in the summer we could start a thread on getting rid of wasps' nests. I paid a lot,twice for a short spray of something into the loft. When it was given a fresh layer of draughtproofing man swore the wasps were still there and buzzing.

Back to mice, sorry

It's no good killing the wasps unless you also block up the entrance they were using - if you don't the ones that were away from home when the nest was blitzed will come back & build a new one.