Mice!!!!

KatyRoseM

Our house suddenly has mice. We have 2 terrier dogs, one of which catches the mice extremely quickly when she sees them, but the smell of dog used to be enough that we never had a problem before, now suddenly we have had 5 in 2 weeks, the dog also caught one outside near our chicken coop. Does anyone know why this would suddenly be happening? How do we make it stop? We have traps around and all food is in rodent proof containers. I'm at a loss and don't know what to do.  

formerlyGDaisy09

we went throught a period a couple springs ago where our cat caught one mouse a night for an entire month, a few nights she got two.  They were living in the insulation that was in our basement, sort of in that ledge insullating the concrete that sticks up above the ground.  I would look around the garage, basement and foundation to see if you can figure out where they're getting in (look for loose seeds and little mouse droppings). 

Put down some of the classic snap-traps and bait them with a mixture of peanut butter and uncooked oatmeal. At least you have a critter who is alerting you to the problem, probably a good bet that when the dog stops catching the mice they've been taken care of.  When you brush the dogs take their hair outside and scatter it around your foundation.  We used Feline Pine litter for our cats (biodegradable litter made from pine) we took the urine saturated litter and sprinkled it around the house...the mice stayed away. 

musictchr25

Since it's cold out, being winter, the mice are trying to find a warm place to live.  You need to try to find their entry point.  Make sure that any and all holes in your foundation are sealed, and go around the exterior of your home with a stick and poke at the siding. If you find any weak spots, chances are that the mice may have eaten away at some of the wood and found their way into your home.  Set traps outside as well as inside, and use peanut butter instead of cheese as bait. Also, take care of your chicken's waste. Mice will be attracted to the waste and the feed. 

If you can't find any points of entry yourself, you will need to call an exterminator, as mice can be very harmful to you and your family - they carry diseases and bacteria, not to mention they are dirty, poop everywhere, and can eat at electrical wires in the walls, which could potentially cause an electrical issue or fire.

christinekk

I caught part of a radio show and they were talking about using steel wool.  I'm not sure how or why, but look into it.  They also said you shouldn't use poison, because the mice might die in the walls...

Erikan73

I have to agree with pp that you have to try to figure out where they are coming in from. Once you do that, you can close the hole up, but if it's a hole they made, make sure to cover it with some sort of wiring too so they won't be able to chew through the wiring. Also make sure to do a good cleaning of the areas you find them in so to remove any scents that they may have left.

Sillygirl45

Steel wool is used to plug any entry points you find. They won't chew through it. 

You have to find the entry points and fix them. We took down the drop ceiling in our basement when we bought our house and found two holes chewed through the wood where it meets the foundation as well as mouse droppings. We fixed the holes with steel wool and caulk; no mice so far this winter. Fingers crossed! 

If we do have any, I'll be calling an exterminator. It's not that expensive and they can be really good at finding the source of the issue.