The art of mice catching!!

OK this is the time of year when the little devils come inside and for those of us who live in the country it can be infuriating to find the damage they can do. I have been battling with this problem since we moved here five years ago and here are my thoughts:-

First, a warning, if you do catch one do NOT relax, there will always be more than one, possibly a lot more

TRAPS

The temptation is to go out and buy one of traditional traps, you know the ones with a rectangular piece of wood with a crude spring and wire lever thing...........don't waste your money, they maybe cheap but they are useless, time consuming to set, difficult to get any bait to stay on and worst of all they often only catch the mouse by the leg and I have had several dragged away and not found for days.

There have been a few firms who have tried to improve on this basic design and go by the name of 'Super Cat' or 'Little Cheese' these are a bit better at catching them but you MUST mount them on a thick heavy flat piece of wood about 12 inches square. If you screw them down make sure the trap can still be set, I used to use hot melt glue which was quick and strong enough to hold it in place.
But, the mice can still get the bait off without triggering the trap, or get the bait and get away before the arm has come down on them.

There is a bigger version of the traditional type which has a removeable bait 'dish' in the centre, this makes it easier to put the bait in but I still found that the wire arm sometimes only partly caught the mouse and you are faced with an injured and not dead mouse the next morning so I would not recommend these.

I have now standardised on the 'Big Cheese' which is a big black trap with a large clam type cover and a powerful spring. Made by Rentokill I think, the advantage of this type is that the mouse has to get both feet on the trigger plate and when this happens the clam cover comes down in exactly the right place, death is instant and there is no pain for the mouse. I would still advise mounting it on a wooden plinth about 12 inches square and you can set the trap with your foot and remove any dead mice with a pair of tongs so there's no need to get up close and look them in th eye

BAIT

This is a big problem with the conventional types, what ever you use will not stay on the hook and usually has to be wired on which is a very time consuming job.

I bought two syringes from B&Q and when they were empty I continued to refill them with peanut butter which I've found works well, or strawberry jam but that is a bit messy. The B&Q syringes are expensive (About £4 each IIRC) but as I say they can be reused and it sure saves a lot of time as you just squeeeze the plunger to put the bait on the 'dish'

ULTRASONIC

The jury is still out on these, I am happy that they operate above a dogs hearing level so they are OK to use with pets but I am not certain they really work. I have read that they are best used BEFORE the mice arrive, i.e. they will deter a mouse from entering the room but once in they won't make it go away. I use one in my workshop and have not seen any mice on the ground floor where it is located, but upstairs in the loft area they are still around

HUMANE TYPE

A good friend on Dogsey asked me to try these and I have used both the one with a little stairway which drops down and prevents the mouse from getting out, I have also used the 'Revolver trap' type which is a once only trap, the mouse is supposed to go in and then you throw the whole thing away.

Neither of these have caught even one mouse, and even if they did it would be neccessary to walk at least half a mile down the road to release them else they would be back PDQ

POISON

Definately not to be used if you have cats or dogs. I have tried putting it in a tray inside a biscuit tin with holes on the side and a big brick on top, it does work but my worry is that if the mouse was found outside our dogs might play with it and might even eat it and then the poison would be in them, it must be a slow death for the mouse too so all in all I wo't be using poison anymore.

A CAT

Yes, a good 'mouser' is probably the ultimate deterent but if you have dogs that are not used to cats then it is not an option. Our two Newfies will always chase a cat if they see one so I have no experience of this method

Re: The art of mice catching!!

Good tips Losos! I think having a cat is probably my favourite idea

I used humane traps once - which are like tunnels that 'tilt' when a mouse goes inside and becomes shut.

You can introduce a cat(kitten is better) to dogs - but it takes a lot of time and dedication

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An excellent mouser is the perfect solution, unfortunately not for you.

Aren't some small breeds of dogs ratters? The dog people here should know. Would they do mice?

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Mini Schnauzers are supposed to be ratters and I must say if any thing is in the garden that shouldn't be there, Asti knows about it. Recently she was pawing at the concerete on our patio area but couldn't get to where she wanted to because of the concerete and I thought "ooo, I wonder what's under there?" A couple of weeks later about 3 baby mice came running out. My nephew caught two and Asti got the other one and played with it and left it half dead! I got my husband to put the poor thing out of it's misery.

Another time Asti was sleeping downstairs as she pulled a muscle in her back (she usually sleeps upstairs with us in our bedroom), anyway the next morning I fed her but she kept barking at her bowls (I've got one of those slightly raised bowls joined together, one for her water and the other for her food). Well she wouldn't eat her food, she just kept barking at the bowl!! Never thought about picking up the bowl did I Two days after I picked up her bowl to wash the kitchen floor and there was greasy urine under it So there was obviously either a mouse or rat had been under there! I've never seen anything since. Mind you, we have a sort of clicking noise in our cavity wall so not sure what that is but Asti keeps barking down the air vent thats in our sitting room.

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Going back to your post Losos, that was very useful information thanks. I will print that off and keep it for reference.

The trouble is with us, our garden is in the middle of others and alot of the naighbours feed the birds and that attracts all sorts . When we first moved in I have seen rats in the garden but I think Asti has scared them all off now. The only thing that worries me is if she eats rat poo in the garden.

I think we might end up getting a kitten. Asti isnt keen on cats but she would love one that lived with her.

Until we moved here I've never had any dealings with mice or rats! Thanks again for your info.

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Used to have border collie crossed with alsation years and years ago. He was the best mouser I have ever known. We moved into a house that was over-run and he would down two at once, one under each front paw.

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I couldn't resist posting this .... the ultimate mouse trap.

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Nice one DM - As I think I hinted above a cat is certainly a good deterent and as we all know they have other attributes too It's just unfortunate that some of us who have dogs are a bit wary about getting a cat 'tho over on Dogsey there are many people who have both. I just know that one of our two Newfs would never give a cat any peace in this house

BTW I've just checked and it seems the name 'Big Cheese' is used for a lot of products and somewhat confusingly it's also used by different manufacturers, so I will update this thread when I've purchased a few more in a couple of weeks.

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It surprised me too at how many of our sister forum Catsey's members have dogs also. It's too bad that's impractical for you; hope the pic wasn't disturbing to some. Leia always brings me her mice to show what she's done, and I managed to get that shot.

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Dandysmom I want your cat! How much will you rent Leiah out to me for Mice are very small aren't they! I didn't realise they were so small, you've got no chance of keeping them out if you don't have any defences. No doubt rats are bigger.