What do you do with mouse in house ?  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Miyuki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:33:54 am
content: Hi folksI have one big OT questionWhat do you do when you see or hear a mouse in your house ?Do you kill them or trap alive or just let them live they tiny livesAnd yes I have a mouse problem herethey are running in ceiling, the are not at attic an mostly no in rooms (cat take care of them) but we hear how they have party in ceiling

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:40:54 am
content: Try and find where/how they are getting in and fix it. Often litter leaning against the house, lifted board etc.

author: bob225
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:42:20 am
content: lay a sealed bait box, a mouse can get through a hole the size of your little fingerdeal with it asap as it will only get worse

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:44:42 am
content: If you trap them alive you have to release them quite some distance from your home or they return.Poison/kill traps are a nasty solution but effective, sticky traps are akin to animal torture and should be banned, plus they leave you the unpleasant job of having to kill the animal if you find them alive.Letting the mice get on with it is a bad idea as they can cause significant damage and if you're unlucky, they can nibble wiring and cause a fire, their urine is bad for electronics (I've had to remove dead mice from old school video recorders and PCs on more than one occasion) and there's also the risk to your health from their faeces and urine.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:49:22 am
content: Don't panic about it. Kill them humanely before they move in, make nests, leave droppings/urine, chew 240V cables. Make sure you know where the carcasses are, so you can remove them before they decompose. Don't let them wander off and die.I usehttps://www.toolstation.com/shop/Cleaning+%26+Pest+Control/d260/Pest+Control/sd3217/Pest-Stop+Little+Nipper+Mouse+Trap/p46451baited with peanut butter.Put itnearwhere they are active; they will smell the peanut butter and come to it. Sometimes they will eat the butter without springing the trap. They have to be lucky every time, you only have to be lucky once.Check daily to see whether there is a peanut butter or a carcass in them.

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:49:49 am
content: After having rats nest, die and decompose in the insulation above the bedroom (where is that putrid stench coming from???), I trap them ASAP before they can do damage. So stomach churning to have to remove - trying not to gag and throw up. A dead rat is far less trouble than a pile of rat-piss soaked insulation.And then there were the two fried mice inside the control panel of the oven. Poor guys just wanted somewhere warm and stood on the wrong two terminals. Once again it was "where is that putrid stench coming from???" every time the oven was on...

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:57:15 am
content: I've never had any mice here in the house itself but battle them some years in the garage during the summer.I find the old, classic spring-loaded snap-traps to be the most effective. Some years they seem to like peanut butter better, other years a little bit of cheese squished in the trigger thingy works better.Same problem at the parent's summer cabin at the lake. Good ol' snap traps generally get them the first night you put them out when you've seen a mouse that day.

author: rjp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 11:01:37 am
content: Quote from: CJay on September 27, 2018, 10:44:42 ami think poison is less humane and should also be banned - not for what it does to the mice but the extended torture it gives to owls and other birds of prey.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 11:10:40 am
content: Quote from: rjp on September 27, 2018, 11:01:37 amIt's a valid concern and unfortunately the reason I couldn't live catch and release the mouse I saw in my office as the company hired an exterminator who bait boxed the run over a weekend so I couldn't guarantee the mouse wasn't poisoned.Poison is still the best way to deal with an out of control infestation of mice unfortunately.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 11:22:05 am
content: I have small gaps between the garage door and the brick wall (where the rail/guide is), what's an effective way to seal those holes so that mice can't burrow/chew their way through? Will they even bother to try and get through an unknown substance?

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 11:53:34 am
content: I have a severe problem with mice particularly in and around my my desk area, almost a plague in fact.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 12:15:26 pm
content: What about a charged high voltage capacitor connected to two bare wires about 1/2" apart with a bit of peanut butter smeared onto the wires?

author: generic_username
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 12:35:37 pm
content: My grandma used spring traps did the job good enough,maybe you should have a look at this insane mouse trap

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 01:15:24 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on September 27, 2018, 12:15:26 pmThat's pretty much what the instant kill traps are, they're a box with a 1.5V battery and inverter charged capacitor inside.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 01:24:38 pm
content: Get a kitty cat.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 01:27:58 pm
content: This thread makes me feel guilty for chasing them round with a hammer.More seriously if they have nothing to eat then they usually bugger off after a bit. We got rid of them in the end through traps (old snap traps) with peanut butter and filling the holes up with concrete. They will literally chew through anything else.Don't buy a cat. We did and it was useless. It just made them wet and let them go again.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 01:38:03 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on September 27, 2018, 01:27:58 pmYou got the wrong cat.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 01:39:07 pm
content: Yes. Problem is you don't know if it's a good mouser until you've got it. And then you're stuck with it. Fortunately it disappeared one day. Bloody hate cats anyway.

author: lwatts666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 02:15:03 pm
content: Do a search for "Mouse Trap Monday" on YouTube.Shawn Woods collects, explains the operation and demonstrates mouse traps in action. Some are historic, some modern, some complex, some simple.After spending a Sunday afternoon watching his channel, I now appreciate the phrase "Build a better mouse trap"...

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 02:21:15 pm
content: As mentioned earlier, promptly get to work setting some baits or traps before they get settled in and out of control, rodents can carry and transmit some terrible diseases to humans.

author: stmdude
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 02:25:41 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on September 27, 2018, 01:39:07 pmI have two excellent mousers. Together they've more or less performed genocide on the mouse population around the house.However. Having good mousers have a downside as well. Every now and then they take home their trophies and snack on them indoors...They're cool though. They're like walking EMI tests.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 02:26:40 pm
content: You had this mouse"poison" that worked like cast (CaSO4 white powder that gets hard and footprint are made of), it kills the mouse and dries the remains -> no smell.You can use baittraps but they need to be set to volatile that it might take off your fingers if you are not carefull.Best bait IME is peanutbutter, but since it is easy to remove without closing the trap you should apply it to something with more substance like small piece of bread.Good luck, we had plenty of mice when I was young and they were so clever to close traps with their tails and then running away with the bait.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:06:27 pm
content: Quote from: rjp on September 27, 2018, 11:01:37 amDo you have owls and other birds of prey in your house? If not, then your argument against poison is nonsense!OTOH I won't use poison because I have pets in my house and also I don't want to take the chance that a mouse will go and die in some place that's inaccessible.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:13:18 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on September 27, 2018, 01:15:24 pmA friend of mine is an avian veterinarian and has a large collection of exotic birds. He has a constant battle with rats and mice. He tried the electronic traps because he thought that they'd be safer to use around the birds. But the problem with them is that when the mice/rats get caught they'd piss all over everything and the urine would short the trap out and run the batteries down in short order. Also the urine would corrode and ruin the electronics in the trap. So in short, the traps were expensive and one time use only.

author: rjp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:14:43 pm
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on September 27, 2018, 03:06:27 pmWow. Authority on nonsense no doubt.Houses have outsides .https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/hazards-solutions/rodenticides/background-rat-poison-problem/In my urban area with trees , owl numbers have dropped massively due to rodent poisoning

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:19:29 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on September 27, 2018, 11:22:05 amYes, they'll try to chew through just about anything. What the exterminators around here recommend for plugging holes is steel wool. I guess that it gets caught in the long teeth or the mice and rats and it may also cut their mouths. I would think that it would rust away so it may not be a long term solution. I've been wondering about using expanding polyurethane foam and mixing broken glass in it before it hardens.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:29:14 pm
content: Nice article aboutbarn owls. Do you live in a barn?Even if I did try to poison the mice I wouldn't be trying to poison the outdoor ones, only those that are indoors so I'm not worried about poisoning owls!FYI at one time, I had about 85 pairs of breeding birds. None of them ever got poisoned.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 03:32:20 pm
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on September 27, 2018, 03:19:29 pmWe tried everything. Had to seal the holes with poured concrete in the end.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 07:51:58 pm
content: Kill traps with chocolate or corn syrup, accept no substitutes.

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 08:02:35 pm
content: Quote from: Miyuki on September 27, 2018, 10:33:54 amYou HAVE to get rid of them, they will chew on wiring in the walls and set the place on fire. I have a friend who has a cabin out in the country. The mice and larger rodents have stripped ALL the insulation off all the wires in the walls and ceilings. He has had to replace all the "Romex" (plastic-covered cable) with armored cable (with a spiral steel covering) to stop this. He leaves all the power off when not there, but had all sorts of problems turing the power on each time he went out there. It was totally insane to see all these bare copper wires strung all over in the attic, with just a little insulation right around the staples.OK, now about the how.The best I've found (in the US) are Victor brand wood and metal traps. These have a wood base and a metal trigger. The trigger has a curled metal part. You get chunky peanut butter, fish out a small nugget of peanut and jam it in the rolled-over metal part of the trigger, then smear some peanut butter around the chunk. The peanut butter has an aroma, and attracts them. They lick off the peanut butter without triggering the trap, but then there's that little nugget of peanut! While trying to get the nugget out, they trigger the trap.If mice are around, I set the trap in a particular place they frequent up in the ceiling of the basement, turn off the lights and wait for the snap. It usually takes less than 20 minutes.I can get 3 of them in one night, when we have "visitors".Hate to be the "bad guy" but I don't want these vermin chewing on my wires!Jon

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 09:03:06 pm
content: QuoteYou kill all 22 of them. I used glue traps.As for discussing how the sausage is made, that's best left to the sausage makers.No need to discuss it, they already know.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 09:10:37 pm
content: Removing food sources helps, but isn't a complete end to rodent invasions. Just like people they like warm, dry areas. Homes and shops are often the best deal in the area. They can always go out for food if necessary.After having all manner of equipment destroyed by rodents my sympathy for them is limited. I don't want to cause intentional suffering, but effectiveness on traps is my number 1 criteria. I have had trouble with other species falling victim to poisons so I try to avoid them.One method that works well in some situations is the water bucket trap. Fill a large plastic bucket ( 5 gallon here in the US, I presume you have 20 liter buckets in other places) half full of water. Place a long board as a ramp from the ground to the top of the bucket. Put a pipe on bearings across the top of the bucket, and suspend your favorite bait somewhere near the center of the bucket below the crossing pipe. The rodents climb the ramp and attempt to use the pipe to reach the bait. Sooner or later they fall in and drown. Completely reusable. A smaller bucket might work better on mice.

author: rmacintosh
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:01:55 pm
content: Kill, maim, destroy.You may feel bad about killing them, but only until they cause costly $$$ damage in your home and cost you lots of time and work.Then you will quickly opt for flamethrowers and hammers....and kick yourself for wanting to spare them some pain.edit:Best method is the old style victor traps with peanut butter on the trigger. They are careful enough to like the peanut butter off so I used small pieces of cotton ball smeared with peanut butter then stuffed in the hole of the trigger.Trapped 10-12 in my house a couple years back, eradicated them all.More importantly, you have to find and fix how they are entering your house.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2018, 10:08:38 pm
content: I really don't like to kill them, they are cute but they are also dirty and can cause damage... so I do kill them with snap traps. More humane than poison or sticky traps.I madethis contraptionthat lets me monitor if a trap is tripped and sticked it in the attic. It's the only place I get some and it's rare. I need to figure out how they're getting in and block it but since I hardly get any it makes it hard to track.

author: shakalnokturn
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 12:11:19 am
content: My house is a straw house so mice and wires are quite a concern here, so far the walls are free of the little vermin.We have two cats, this evening one of them brought a young mouse in from outside (as a gift) and let it free in the kitchen.Then I spent over an hour to capture the rodent while the feline was sleeping...After checking the effectiveness on the mouse I'm now considering an old microwave oven with infrared barrier, big enough to host mice and cats

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 12:13:09 am
content: Definitely find out how they get in; it's very unlikely they get all their food and water from your home, unless you have noticed lots of activity in the larder. Look for small cracks and holes around the foundation and the gutters and fill them with hardware cloth (fine wire mesh) and/or expanding urethane foam.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 01:04:54 am
content: We have 7 cats, so mice have never been a problem for me. I did catch a couple rats in my mom's garage using the classic snap traps.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 01:32:53 am
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on September 27, 2018, 03:29:14 pmStop boasting about the contents of your little black book - the man was talking about ornithology.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 06:55:44 am
content: Quote from: james_s on September 28, 2018, 01:04:54 amYou have a cat problem now though

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 07:22:07 am
content: Quote from: shakalnokturn on September 28, 2018, 12:11:19 amMy landlady's cat used to sit on your lap, purring, and sinkng its claws into your thigh.It also came in, sat next to me on the sofa, and vomited up a bird. The landlady was delighted and grateful that I removed most of it before it soaked in.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 03:51:15 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on September 28, 2018, 01:32:53 amLOL! I could only wish!

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 04:18:55 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on September 28, 2018, 06:55:44 amI won't argue there. Seven is a few more than I would intentionally acquire but they kind of acquired us. They're a lot better at keeping my lap warm than mice. Ours are all fairly old so they spend most of the time napping and outside of feeding time at least half of them are quietly perched somewhere out of the way at any given moment. They're quite low maintenance creatures, I don't have to walk them, I don't have to bathe them, I don't have to take them outside to pee and they don't make a lot of noise. Much cheaper than kids, I don't have to send them to college and they're never going to want to borrow my car.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 04:57:01 pm
content: Quote from: Miyuki on September 27, 2018, 10:33:54 amWell I would not kill them.I recently exterminated a Wasp nest that was in my wall at the terrace. After they where all dead (oh yeah, poison worked a charm). I actually did some reading (the workers would have died anyway after first frost), since I initial thought they are useless. Well a big no. And now i regret (should have read it first). We cant undead anything.No a pacifist, but I see no reason to kill other animals, not even insect. With the one exception, mosquitos.Find their way in, close it, trap them and set them free (and let nature deal with it).

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 08:44:40 pm
content: You never had a mouse plague did you?When I was a kid if I slept on the floor they would walkover me. They bred in everything even the piano under the keys damaging everything suitable for nesting material.Those nice mice procreate faster than rabbits who have that reputation.Without natural enemy one female and one male mouse can takeover an entire island in five months!http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150701-how-two-mice-conquered-an-islandNow read it and next time you encounter a mouse kill it or hope you are lucky a second one never shows up.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 10:05:51 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on September 28, 2018, 08:44:40 pmSorry to hear that. And no, never had a plague.So if your neighbors keep fucking, what you do? If you have a plague, something else must be gong on. No natural enemies? I live 5 meters from a enormous forrest, and we just have a few mice and other creatures I simply don’t think killing is the answer. It’s easy talking if you don’t need to deal with it. I get thatSent from my iPad using Tapatalk

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 10:29:57 pm
content: I respect your internal value for life, it is just in the end a question of letting them live in your house and move out yourself or live in unhygienic conditions or remove them.Since I also eat meat where also innocent animals that do not bother anyone are killed for, I have less of a problem with "animal intruders". Don't underestimate the diseases that rodents can bring, rats and their plague invested flees have caused millions of human lives in the middle ages.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2018, 10:41:37 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on September 28, 2018, 10:29:57 pmI read you. And of course agree. IF it would come down to that choice. But the OP writes “mouse” not “mice”. Catch and release is worth a try. You can’t make it undead Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:03:02 am
content: When you are talking about pest issues in a house - the correct word is "mice" ... never "mouse".I have no problem with causing the demise of a pest - but I prefer to know that it was dispatched as humanely as possible. In the case of mice, the traditional spring trap usually does this quite well - but if I have caught one by hand, it gets dealt with swiftly.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:13:24 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on September 29, 2018, 08:03:02 amAnd what if there is just one mouse?Not nitpicking l, but I think it maters wetter there is one mouse or a whole colony. Obviously if its the latter, the approach is likely to be different.Sent from my X using Tapatalk

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:26:37 am
content: Quote from: onesixright on September 28, 2018, 10:41:37 pmI re-read the OP it mentions multiple times "they" in reference to the mouse which probably are multiple mice thenIf it was one mouse you have one or two days to block the way he came in to the house and remove it more humanely. After two days he probably got company.Tell you a story this summer a hedgehog intruded the garage where our 17 yr old cat lives.The hog ate his food and the cat was in panic unable to do anything against the naturally defense of the hedgehog. It was easy to catch esp with a Flir E4I put it in a carton box and let it out in the forest two miles behind the house and drove home. Next evening it was backI googled and these animals move 15 miles each day and have a huge territory.Now don't worry I love hedgehogs wouldn't hurt them ever judt placed a large table in the garage put the food on top and showed the cat each day where his food was, the cat coukd easily reach the table by jumping 50 cm airgap the hedgehog was out of luck. He came by a few times to see if there was something to eat and then we didn't see it anymore.With mice I remember we had to put all the food and animal stuff in plastick containers because they eat through the normal plastick packaging. They cause an estimated 19000 guilders (€9000) damage to antique books, furniture, stamp collections, clothes etc etc and the smell of mouseurine I can not forget.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:34:31 am
content: @kjeltHehe. Kudos.I’m guessing its still better solution then to kill it Just trying different tactics might work At the end of the day (guessing) you might feel better then killing stuff. IMHO.Sent from my X using Tapatalk

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 09:05:19 am
content: I guess 50% of EEVblog members would kill the mouse/mice and 50% wouldn't, so it all evens out. Nature at work.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 09:09:16 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on September 29, 2018, 09:05:19 amHe should have made it a poll

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 09:22:07 am
content: Quote from: onesixright on September 29, 2018, 09:09:16 amwould let the cat decide fate of it.if it's quick and nimble, it will live another day

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 10:57:34 am
content: Quote from: onesixright on September 29, 2018, 08:13:24 amThis is my exact point. In all my experiences - it hasNEVERbeenonemouse.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 12:36:57 pm
content: Quote from: onesixright on September 28, 2018, 10:41:37 pmThat'shalfof what the OP wrote, and what theydidn'twrite is equally important.The OP wrote that theysawone mouse. They did not say how many mice there are, because that's much more difficult to determine.Whenever I've seen evidence of a mouse in a relative's house, I've trapped 2-5 mice over the course of a week or so. After that the traps remain unsprung, so presumably they have all gone.

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:18:43 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on September 29, 2018, 12:36:57 pmUhhh, no, and I quote:Quote from: Miyuki on September 27, 2018, 10:33:54 amThe OP said nothing about one mouse, saidtheyare partying in the ceiling. and that theyhavea cat that takes care of any that get into the actual interior of the rooms of the house. The OP's issue ismultiple micescurrying aroundinside the walls and ceiling. This is very bad...The OP just phrased the question as "What do you do when you see or hear a mouse in your house?", not saying thatTHEYonly sawONEmouse... The OP clearly knows that they have multiple mice to battle.Quote from: onesixright on September 29, 2018, 09:09:16 amThe 50% seems a bit off, if we take this thread as an informal sampling...(Updated:See below)(32) Kill: alsetalokin4017, Bud, bd139, bob225, Brumby, CatalinaWOW, CJay, David Hess, DimitriP, drussell, floobydust, generic_username, Halcyon, hamster_nz, james_s, jmnelson, jonovid, Karel, Kjelt, lwatts666, Marco, Muttley Snickers, NiHaoMike, Red Squirrel, rjp, rmacintosh, SeanB, shakalnokturn, stmdude, Stray Electron, tggzzz, xrunner(1) OP, doesn't seem to be opposed to killing them: Miyuki(2) No Kill: Cerebus, onesixright(2) Try to stop ingress, no mention of kill or not: helius, VK5RCNow, I realize that some of the people in the "Kill" group would rathernotkill them butrealize that is usually necessary, even though they may notlikeit, but that is a different question.If anyone has been miscounted or wants to abstain, etc. please speak up. This is just an informal sampling, I don't want to offend anyone.In any case, it seems more like 97% - 3% than 50% - 50%.It currentlyseemsmore like 94% - 6% than 50% - 50%.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:30:27 pm
content: Quote from: drussell on September 29, 2018, 01:18:43 pmOh, dear. I took onesixright's statement at face value, only checking it against the OP's first post. I missed the followup.I'm not in the slightest bit surprised about the information in the followup, and it doesn't change my conclusions.

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:31:26 pm
content: It is said if you see one, you've got ten.Me, I wish I had "just" mice.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:33:40 pm
content: Well i tried the humane traps, and after a while the snake park no longer wanted the rats, they were eating the snakes, so i went for some Tomcats, a good supply of the tasty blue blocks and figured out the local feral cats were probably smart enough to stick to garbage bags. the people next door went to the other route, jar of peanut butter, stale bread and one guy sitting up high with a pellet gun. He went through around 100 before the rest started getting wary, and I was just dropping bait when the old stuff vanished, till it started staying uneaten. Did have a few flying rats eat some of the crumbs, and they wandered out dazed into traffic, so were taken care of that way.The nest underground did not survive the liter of assorted acetone, benzine, turpentine and mystery old paint i poured down the hole, left for a minute then lit. Followed up a day later with 5kg of very wet concrete mix sans the stone, mixed to slurry and poured in till the hole was full.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:37:56 pm
content: CO2 supposedly works well for burrows, without the soil contamination.

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:38:41 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on September 29, 2018, 01:30:27 pmWhose followup? The OP has only made the one original post.

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 01:47:20 pm
content: Quote from: alsetalokin4017 on September 29, 2018, 01:31:26 pmLOL, yeah, I'm glad I live in a rat free location!Since 1950, the Alberta provincial government has had aRat Patrolteam that patrols the borders and also takes care of any reported rat populations anywhere within the province. It is illegal to bring any rats into the province for any reason and a punishable offense to keep one as a pet.If you see a rat anywhere in the province, you literally just pick up the phone and call 310-RATS and they will deal with them.http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/All/com14443

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 02:05:27 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on September 29, 2018, 01:33:40 pmI once sealed the ants nest in the house wall with a can of expanding construction foam.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 03:39:16 pm
content: Quote from: drussell on September 29, 2018, 01:18:43 pmI believe I have been miscounted, in fact I know I've been miscounted.In point of fact I've only ever used live traps to deal with mouse problems and released them far away. That's not entirely true - once I was in the right place at the right time and quick enough to outright kill a mouse with one blow from the blunt end of a screwdriver.There's a logic to using live traps, I've always thought that biological control is the best strategy for any pest problem (not just mice), if you can engineer it. That is the introduction or encouragement of predators. If you kill your pest you're depriving their predators of prey, if you poison them you're at risk of poisoning the predators too or accidentality poisoning other benign species you'd rather not (e.g. hedgehogs, once common in the UK now bordering on endangered).

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 04:31:22 pm
content: In electric utility substations, we stuff gaps and openings with steel-wool and then spray-foam expanding insulation. The mice stop chewing through stuff as soon as they nibble steel-wool.Really neat reviews of mouse traps and techniques going back 427 years sometimes:https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mousetrap+mondaysGuillotine mousetrap, electrocuter mousetrap, ultrasonics etc. I use the "walk the plank" mousetrap in the garage.Youtube has him censor the "ouch! scenes" and "death scenes" of mice and rats.edit: this looks cool, place your bets

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 04:52:51 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on September 29, 2018, 03:39:16 pmMy apologies. I meant to have a note on there to say "If anyone has been miscounted, speak up so I can adjust your count." I only just skimmed the thread for "do not kill" posters and almost certainly missed some specifics. I may have to go back a re-read the whole thread more closely to not offend anyone. i also intended to not includeVK5RCin the calculation.Some of these are still guesses based on the quick skim, mentions of killing other pests, etc. I as just illustrating that I believe it is nowhere close to 50%/50%. "If you are using these numbers to do anything scientific or important, you're insane."(32) Kill: alsetalokin4017, Bud, bd139, bob225, Brumby, CatalinaWOW, CJay, David Hess, DimitriP, drussell, floobydust, generic_username, Halcyon, hamster_nz, james_s, jmnelson, jonovid, Karel, Kjelt, lwatts666, Marco, Muttley Snickers, NiHaoMike, Red Squirrel, rjp, rmacintosh, SeanB, shakalnokturn, stmdude, Stray Electron, tggzzz, xrunner(1) OP, doesn't seem to be opposed to killing them: Miyuki(2) No Kill: Cerebus, onesixright(2) Try to stop ingress, no mention of kill or not: helius, VK5RCNow, I realize that some of the people in the "Kill" group would rathernotkill them but realize that is usually necessary, even though they may notlikeit, but that is a different question.It currentlyseemsmore like 94% - 6% than 50% - 50%.

author: drussell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 05:09:58 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on September 29, 2018, 04:31:22 pmMy best guess would be no, despite the fireball clickbait in the corner.By the 14/2 cable, that looks like it is probably 120V and I doubt it has enough oomph to kill a varmint. It is pretty difficult to do more than zap yourself it you touch 120Vac. Maybe the odd one will die if they chomp right down on it or something but a quick lick probably won't work. Even 240V probably won't work. I know you can scare worms out of the ground with mains-connected rods just stuck in the ground some distance apart (to collect fishing bait, etc. supposedly) and it doesn't kill all the worms either.Those bug zapper things step the voltage way up. If you put a 5000 volt transformer on it or something it would probably work but you certainly want some kind of enclosure. Live wires just hanging around with high voltage on them seems kind ofeven in a box!

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 05:52:58 pm
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on September 27, 2018, 03:29:14 pmI still think there's a risk of poisoning birds outside, even if the poison is only used indoors. If the mice can get in the house, they can get out too and it's unlikely they're getting all the food they need from the house. As far as you having 85 pairs of breeding birds is concerned, that could just be luck that none of them were poisoned or it's possible some birds were poisoned but you didn't know about it.Use kill traps and put the carcases out for the birds to feed on.

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:11:18 pm
content: Mice in the house .. it happens. I've heard them scurry around in new builds with plasterboard ceilings, in an old house with timber floors and joists and in a bungalo in the attic space. They move on once they've brought up their litter and a few spring traps will catch them. It really isn't that big deal just leave them be.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 08:22:43 pm
content: I don't like harming animals on general principle, but rodents can spread diseases (CDC).

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2018, 11:41:48 pm
content: They're very destructive. The ones that got into my mom's garage gnawed holes in boxes, got into some food she had stored out there, they even nibbled into the cans of a case of cola and then pissed and pooped all over the place before anyone noticed they had been there. They got into the crawl space too, shredded the insulation on some of the heating ducts and pooped all over down there too.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 30, 2018, 04:35:10 am
content: Quote from: chris_leyson on September 29, 2018, 08:11:18 pmWhen they crap in my pantry and nibble at my food, I call that a big deal.I'd rather not kill them - but I'm not into letting them have the opportunity to kill me or make me sick (or anyone else in the household).

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2018, 01:47:50 pm
content: Yep. I thought the same. Then I found out my loaf of bread had entirely disappeared over night and my entire kitchen was covered in shit. Kill ‘em dead.

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2018, 02:31:12 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on September 30, 2018, 01:47:50 pmI think you'll find that was down to an infestation of students or teenagers. Post-natal abortion is frowned on, even though at times it might seem the attractive option.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2018, 02:52:39 pm
content: That was before I had teenagers. Teenagers are a whole new class of infestation akin to locusts.