We've got...

taylor20204

mice.  In our basement.  DH has caught about 4 this week.  I'm mortified.  It seems like they are going after our cat's food which we keep in the basement (we have 3...and yes, 1 of them is helping out in the mouse hunting).  We've moved the food upstairs (hopefully the critters don't follow it).  DH also has a rack of food down there (he buys some stuff in bulk), so I guess we have to put that stuff in storage bins.  We put out the poison traps, where we think they're coming in but not where the cats can get to.  What else is there to do?  Can an exterminator do anything?  DH says there's not much else we can do because they can get in through the tiniest holes. 

The basement is finished although we've never used it for anything other than storage (been in the house 5 years).  But we're carpeting next month and planning to be down there a lot using this space we've neglected for so long, and now this!  I'm so bummed out...and grossed out : ( 

Nicole and Chris

You need to find out where they are getting in exactly. ILs had a problem with this and they found the hole, put some steel wool in it, and it held out the mice.  Eventually they had to re-do the drywall (no basement & they live by a field) because of water damage so it got fixed then permenantly.  Steel wool is supposed to help because they can't chew through it.  You just also then need to make sure you're sealing it from the inside and outside of the house.

steph81

We've had mice.  An exterminator helped in the short term but they can't prevent new ones from coming in.  I've read that it's like, impossible to find all the tiny holes they can get in.  We found some spots that we've patched and then had an exterminator come so it's better for now, but I'm not sure if it will be a permenant fix since our house is old and doesn't seem to have been cared for well.  I've actually thought of getting a cat even though I'm allergic because I thought it might help!!

Hudson_Hawk

We discovered a mouse problem in our old house and we went around the outside with steel wool and spray foam and sealed up any gaps or holes first with the SW and then topped it with the foam. We discovered that the vent for the dryer had come loose and that's how the mice were getting in. Once that was fixed and we put out traps (a combo of snap and glue traps) the mice problem resolved itself. We were finding the mice/traces of mice in our cabinets in the kitchen so we emptied out the ones in question and put the glue traps in them with the doors closed. The cats didn't get into them that way. I know they're not the most humane method, but I think glue traps are one of the fastest ways to get rid of a mouse problem, but I would never use them in a place where a pet or child could get to them.