Mouse (and other Pest) Wars

[WolFish]

I found another bag of Py's that had a snack bar and ginger tea in the water bottle pocket. They shredded everything.
However I slept well last night with no mouse noises and no surprises in my bed.

You guessed it. Got one in the snap trap with the bits of snack bar as bait. The other one probably is in mourning.
I wish I could reuse the snap traps. At least they are biodegradable.

[WolFish]

So today while i was at the store one of them ate a hole in a canvas bag that doesn't have any food in it.
Or so I thought. I found a tin with a snack bar in it.

I was gone for maybe two hours.
Clearly the snack bars are the best bait, and this could be why they have not touched the peanut butter trap. I'll need to stick more snack bar bits in the peanut butter.
The snack bars basically are dates, nuts and seeds held together by honey or rice syrup. The problem with putting them on the can is that if I put it on one side it's unbalanced. Though at this point I might be willing to sacrifice a couple of dollars per bar to get the little monsters into the trap.

['andersom']

So today while i was at the store one of them ate a hole in a canvas bag that doesn't have any food in it.
Or so I thought. I found a tin with a snack bar in it.

I was gone for maybe two hours.
Clearly the snack bars are the best bait, and this could be why they have not touched the peanut butter trap. I'll need to stick more snack bar bits in the peanut butter.
The snack bars basically are dates, nuts and seeds held together by honey or rice syrup. The problem with putting them on the can is that if I put it on one side it's unbalanced. Though at this point I might be willing to sacrifice a couple of dollars per bar to get the little monsters into the trap.

Maybe they'll go for cheaper muesli bars too.

[WolFish]

There are still mice plural. Heard them squeaking, I think behind the stove.

Right now one is tearing the wrapping of something behind the shelves in my office.
I may go to home depot tomorrow for more snap traps. I still have plenty of the bar they got into in my backpack.

Today also I found another bag they chewed  up - I don't remember leaving anything but grocery receipts in it, but it was shredded like the others. I've lost count of how many bags they've chewed holes in. This seems crazy - I never had this kind of problem with mice even when I didn't have cats.

[WolFish]

Looks like we've finally eliminated the bag issue. Last night they went after the meal bars that were in boxes - until last night they hadn't touched those. So now most of the boxed items on those shelves are switched to high cupboards and the little used pots are on the shelves. We will just have to remember to wash before we cook. The high traffic bars are in a plastic box, which no doubt they will learn to chew through, but by then we will have better mousetraps.

[Icequeen]

Wonder if that handyman of yours relocated a few?  Wow.

Seriously sounds like they've been established there for awhile, not good.

[WolFish]

Wonder if that handyman of yours relocated a few?  Wow.

Seriously sounds like they've been established there for awhile, not good.

Actually I think it was the guy downstairs, who has a dog and not the best hygiene regarding the poor thing. I can imagine that they are established down there and overpopulation sent them up here.
Last night they could find nothing more than the jar of peanuts I left on the shelf. It's curved, so all they got was the label. Still no takers on the bucket trap. Will have to make that more enticing. But we have metal multi-catch traps waiting in the U.S. - we are picking them up on Saturday. Hopefully that will solve the problem. Thought about getting plastic traps but the reviews suggest that our smart mice will chew through them or pull the doors open and escape.

[WolFish]

They gave up on the peanuts but kept me up last night searching my room for stuff. My room looks like CBC's chair used to look, as I am sorting and trying to get rid of stuff. Lots of crackling noises and things shifting.

Today I put my hand in my coat pocket for a tissue to blow my nose, I found it shredded mouse style - I had hung my coat on a hook outside the closet instead of in the closet. I suppose I should be happy they didn't chew through the pocket.

Tomorrow I pick up the new traps.

["couldbecousin"]

Tomorrow I pick up the new traps.

  Here is a song for the battle!       ( Note artist name  )

 

[WolFish]

the mouse would eat that song for a snack.

["couldbecousin"]

  *Samuel L. Jackson voice*   


  "I've had it with these muthafuckin mice in this muthafuckin apartment!"

[WolFish]

I got the ketch all and the victor cat.

The ketch all says no bait needed; I am thinking I should put in some of the snack bar they demolished.
Also thinking of putting glue traps inside. I put this one on their commuter route on our pantry shelves.

The victor cat only holds two but that should be enough to reduce the problem. It's reusable.
One of the two has to work.

There is a bad smell in here; the last time it was a mouse in a snap trap. This time we did not leave any set, so it could be that the one that ate a medication capsule died somewhere. It wasn't a stimulant; that would have been as bad as the one that ate the coffee.

[Jack]

There is a bad smell in here;

The last place I worked, the mouse problem in/above the HR manager's office went on too long and her office began to smell like a dirty hamster cage. Not sure if she even noticed the smell due to being in it all day, but finally said something about it because worked closely with her and simply couldn't stand to go in there anymore. The soda route is always a good suggestion for barns and sheds, but usually assume people are unwilling to try it in homes due to the likelihood of mice dying in the walls or other inaccessible areas. Though after a certain amount of time, one way or another, there will be smells anyway.

If you don't mind killing them, in childhood, mom used dark soda for mice in the barn. Any one will do, but she swore dr pepper is the best. Mice can't burp, so it kills them with no worry of poison for other animals that might want to eat them afterward.

[WolFish]

SO tonight I am in my bedroom listening to scritch scritch near the wall at the back of the room. The small trap is under my bed, baited with the snack bar that was already chewed by them. No sign of interest. I am hoping that they're just waiting until I am asleep.

The big one I put on the shelf where they have been commuting to the kitchen. Supposedly it needs no bait but if there are no mice in it I will bait it tomorrow. The path they travel isn't narrow enough to restrict them to the area of the trap.

The cheap $20 vac I got did a good job picking up the mess - too good. It picked up all the fine dust besides, and the filter is too permeable so fine dust is going right into the motor. I will have to clean it regularly if I want it to last. However it is good to have a dedicated vac and really good to have a clean pantry.

[WolFish]

There is a part of me that senses the presence of an animal, so today I turn around in my office and at first nothing.
Then, a mouse the size of a - no, smaller than a tablespoon, comes out and walks under my chair and out into the pantry area.
i was so surprised that i did not use my cup to catch it. clearly the parents should be cited for neglect. my guess is that they are ill or maybe dead from ingesting crap from around the house that is food based but not food. Or maybe the guy downstairs is poisoning them.

In any case, this is the worst kind of mouse, because it's too stupid to stay away from me, which means it could go anywhere.
It might run across my feet or decide to sample my skin, or worse, decide to nest in my boots.

i am wearing slippers. not used to them because went barefoot most of the time in florida. maybe i will have more motivation now.