Friday, February 5, 2010

How to get rid of the mice in the attic?

We have mice in our attic! We hear them at night and in the very early morning. We put baited glue traps up there and got nothing. We got a cat because we saw them run into the fireplace from the livingroom twice. We haven't seen them in the house since the cat, but hear them a lot in the attic.


We put up regular traps baited with cheese all over the place in the attic and we caught one mouse and nothing since but we still hear all the noise. There are now 6 glue and 6 regular traps up there and nothing getting caught!! I just switched to peanut butter for bait so I hope that helps. Any advice? I don't want our kids getting sick from this nonsense.How to get rid of the mice in the attic?
I've had great success with this live trap in my house:





http://veganstore.com/index.html?stocknu鈥?/a>





It鈥檚 also available for $2 cheaper here (although I prefer to buy it from the other place since I鈥檓 not a big fan of PETA):





https://www.petacatalog.org/prodinfo.asp鈥?/a>





I've caught over ten mice with it so far and it can be used over and over indefinitely. Or, you can try making the free homemade humane trap described here:





http://www.helpinganimals.com/wildlife_l鈥?/a>





If you do live trap mice, please be sure to check the traps several times a day and release the mice promptly, approximately a mile away from your home. It is much more cruel to allow a mouse in a live trap to slowly starve to death than to kill it quickly with a snap trap. When you release the mice, do it in an area with some sheltering bushes or plants.





I'm sorry to tell you this, but the absolute cruelest traps are glue traps. They are actually illegal in some countries. Mice have been known to gnaw off their own limbs and tear off their skin in an effort to escape, as they starve or dehydrate to death or suffocate in the glue. It can take three to five days for them to die. I hope you'll consider removing the glue traps. If you do find a live mouse on one, pour vegetable oil around it to loosen the glue, and then gently push it off the trap with a pencil. Release it away from your home.





Poison isn't any better, as the mice die slowly and painfully from internal bleeding. It can take up to a week for them to die, and then they smell as they rot behind your walls.





Please consider humane solutions to your mouse problem. It doesn't take much extra effort to be kind. Good luck!How to get rid of the mice in the attic?
Best bet? exterminator.
You don't have mice. You would NEVER hear them. You either have squirrels or raccoons or rats. Call an exterminator. None of these can be removed efficiently by a home owner.
Put the product Decon in your attic. It is little pellets in a small cardboard box. Simply open the box(es) and place in or throughout your attic. Mice eat the pellets and it dehydrates them. They will either leave the house in search of water, or more likely will die of thirst. But, they won't stop eating the Decon. The stuff works wonders.
Check your home and plug any openings you may find that a mouse could use to enter your home. Don鈥檛 assume the holes have to be large, either. Mice have been known to squeeze into a hole that is 1/4 inch wide. Check around your pipes, doorways, attic, crawl space, vents, radiators and even deep inside your cabinets and closets. A good temporary product to use when plugging holes is steel wool. Mice are unable to chew through it. You should go back and fill cracks and holes with a silicon caulk.








Remove anything that would be a nice gathering place for mice. This includes boxes of old newspapers, magazines and just piles of junk. You should also remove any debris and ';junk'; from your attic, garage or outside sheds (mice use these places for food and housing).








If you have a compost bin on your property, you should make sure that it's maintained and turned frequently. It is best to have your compost bin elevated off of the ground using blocks. This will discourage mice from setting up residence.








If you have a wood pile, you should make sure that it is not propped against your home. A wood pile is a favored ';hang-out'; of mice, so try to keep yours away from your house.








Try to groom the shrubs that are planted around your home's foundation, trimming them off of the ground. Overgrown bushes and vines are a perfect place for mice to hide. You should also be mindful of any plant you have that is used as a groundcover, inspecting it regularly for mice infestation.








Make sure that any unrefrigerated or unfrozen food is put inside a metal container. This includes pet food.








Keep a lid on your trash containers, both indoor and outdoor cans.








If you want to use glue or snap traps, place them in areas where a mouse would run. This includes along baseboards, around the inside walls of your home and behind your appliances.








If you choose to use a poison, be sure to follow the directions. I personally do not recommend poison, having cats in the house. When small children or pets are part of your household, you may want to stick to glue or snap traps. Plus poisoning just causes hidden dead mice in your walls that can really start a stink. It will eventually go away but who needs it!








You also have the option of using non-lethal mice traps, if you are the type who hates to see anything killed -- even a pest. They are little catch and release boxes, but sometimes they do get caught in it in a way that is sometimes fatal to them.








There are rodent repellents on the market, which you can also use to deter mice from taking up living quarters in and around your home.





Forget about the ultrasonic things you plug into your outlets. Doesn't work. Believe me.





Getting a housecat is a good start, but only if you get a good hunter/huntress. My three just like to chase, maybe catch, and accidentally let go. Occasionally maim.
Call an exterminator, they'll know.
I had a similar problem. I got rid of them by following this article -





http://www.associatedcontent.com/article鈥?/a>
First off -are they stealing the peanut butter?-if so-wrap the peanut butter in aluminum foil-make it into a very small package-place the foil ball on the trigger-They have to work much harder to get the peanut butter and this usually springs the traps.


Where are they coming from?-look at your garage door weather stripping (if its an attached garage-always a good mouse entrance) replace or install if worn or not there.. Also look around the exterior of your home-any cracks or holes?-fill them tight with steel wool.I prefer the mouse traps vs glue traps-mouse traps are more humane


Finally when setting traps in the attic do not just lay them on the floor. Mice use their whisker's to navigate-especially in dark areas. You will always notice that mice and other rodents travel along man made obstacles such as walls, lumber boxes-they use their whiskers to feel these edges. When setting mouse traps put the trigger end right up against these ';borders'; you will slam them every time
I would call a professional. Make sure to check food for mouse dropping because they are deadly.





Good luck
If possible, find out where they are coming in and close the hole. If you don't they will come in forever - they seem to pass the information/directions to your home to their children and all relatives !


We had a problem with them coming into our basement - we used traps etc. but then just more came in - it took a lot of searching and using a flashlight at night to find out they were coming in via a tiny hole where a water pipe came in.


Apparently, they can squeez into a one-quarter inch hole.


I would try an exterminator - and that they guarantee complete removal and also find out ';where'; they are coming in.


Good luck with this
I just bought a house in the country a few months ago and there were mice in the garage. I went to Lowe's and bought this thing that looks like a stereo speaker (in the pest control aisle). It sends out a high-pitched sound that people and pets cannot hear, but it is supposed to make pests leave the area. Ever since I plugged it in, I haven't seen any mice or traces of mice. This might be a good alternative to you if you don't want to use traps or poison with kids and pets around.
An exterminator unless they plan on spraying some deadly poison won't do anything you can't do yourself for a lot cheaper. Personal and friend's experience talking .lol


Can you put the cat in the attic at times? Don't leave the cat there permanently but if it can allow it to go up there.


Also they do not like flashing light so see if you can place a flashing light up there to get them to move on. Try and use battery powered so they don't chew a live wire. A nice quiet method to drive them away.
Let the cat in the attic once and a while. Mine has the run of the house. If he is concentrating at a certain area of the house, open a door.


I had a golden retriever that was a better mouser than the cat! I miss that dog.
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