# Preventing mice problem



## f8lyer8s (May 15, 2009)

My grandmom gets mice in her basement (unfinished) every year in the summer.. We set traps and there usually gone by late July.. any suggestions on how we can prevent them from even getting in the house?


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## jpelzer (Feb 21, 2009)

http://icanhascheezburger.com/


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

- fill every hole, crack, or *****. EVERY one. Mice can squeeze through the tiniest holes.
- remove all possible foodstuffs - or place in metal or glass containers. This includes birdseed and dog food. Also old boxes and paper can be a source of food and nesting material. When in doubt, remove it. 

I thought I had cleaned all possible mice food out of my garage - I found a nest of them in one of those microwaveable neck wraps - it was full of rice. I never even considered it.


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## umpsfar (Jun 26, 2009)

*thats not enough*

once mice find a food source they will always comeback, this can range from nibbling the floor around where u cook, even if its only grease or a splatter from boiling rice to food left in bottom cupboards, they will pick up a routine and filling holes with ordinary cement will only delay the problem.
If it is possible break up alot of broken bottles and glass into tiny pieces and mix it in with the cement , as they can eat through cement quite easily and quickly.
also open all the cupboards in the kitchen and push the backboards especially in the bottom corners to see if any are weak, you are looking for any kind of give,they will have lossened one nail and wont eat the backboards unless its sealed really well, nails and chipboard and hardboard dont make a good barrier. thinkabout sealing them and check back to see if its been compromised.
. maybe think about moving food up and/or sealing the bottom backboards.
If you cant find the source in the basement(its its a closed basement(no garage door or such)
go down there on a very windy day or loud noise outside could help.


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## ARI001 (Jun 26, 2009)

When you fill your holes stuff copper wool (like steel wool only its copper) before caulking or foaming. Remove and place in glass storage containers all food. Check for water sources (leaky pipes/ faucets/ etc.) and repair. Also a cat works well for controlling mice problems. I also turn loose black rat snakes that I catch on job sites in my yard. They are harmless to humans and pets and efficient at eating rodents. I think in your area you would have to use pine snakes (even more efficient) but don't use pesticides if you go that route.


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## jpelzer (Feb 21, 2009)

Cat was my idea. Feed them cheeseburgers when the mice are away.

I *LOVE* the idea of setting snakes loose to catch mice. Love it. Then you get some birds of prey to catch the snakes.


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## f8lyer8s (May 15, 2009)

I got a tiger... problem solved....:laughing:


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Having a cat won't work all the time
We have a cat, we've had mice
Must have got in while I was building the sunroom
or the garage


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## jpelzer (Feb 21, 2009)

I think umpsfar was ultimately correct. Sealing all entrances, being very careful about food storage. I have a feeling this is an older house that has plenty of access points for the critters. Get rid of that, they'll go away. Alternatively, make it easier for them to get into the neighbors house. Path of least resistance, and all that.


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## woodnthings (Jun 8, 2009)

*Bait 'em*

Then use a .22 with bird shot and night vision scope. You'll become a good marksman and we need all the help we can get the way this country is going. Leave the bodies there for a while they'll get the idea and look for a safer neighborhood.:thumbsup: bill


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## PTP WX (Oct 28, 2009)

*Use the Chipmunk method*

I live in the woods and get deer mice in the garage, in the wood pile, in the air intake on my wifes car.. About three years ago I accidentally discovered a solution after using pellets, traps, sonic devices, etc. for years.

My truck cracked it's engine block when we hit about -25° F and the water pump broke. It leaked antifreeze all over the garage floor. So I cleaned out the truck to trade it in (including french fries from my son). Threw the french fries into an empty garbage can, wiped up the antifreeze with paper towels and threw them in the trash can. Seems all the mice climbed into the can to eat the fries. Slippery feet couldn't climb out, and the anti-freeze poisoned them. Came home from work the next day and had 7 dead mice..... didn't have any the rest of the winter!


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## Steve Dubloom (Dec 8, 2009)

PTP WX said:


> I live in the woods and get deer mice in the garage, in the wood pile, in the air intake on my wifes car.. About three years ago I accidentally discovered a solution after using pellets, traps, sonic devices, etc. for years.
> 
> My truck cracked it's engine block when we hit about -25° F and the water pump broke. It leaked antifreeze all over the garage floor. So I cleaned out the truck to trade it in (including french fries from my son). Threw the french fries into an empty garbage can, wiped up the antifreeze with paper towels and threw them in the trash can. Seems all the mice climbed into the can to eat the fries. Slippery feet couldn't climb out, and the anti-freeze poisoned them. Came home from work the next day and had 7 dead mice..... didn't have any the rest of the winter!


That is just about the best accident I have ever heard of! :laughing:

There are a variety of ways to combat mice, though. Even organically. A greased bowl will work similarly to your trash can, and can even keep them alive if you don't want to kill them. Just be sure to release them FAR away from your house!

Also, peppermint plants can deter mice from entering your house if you grow them along the walls and at as many entry points as possible. There are a couple of other options for organic mice control as well.

If you don't care about being organic, then there are a few more ways to deal with mice. New York State actually has a good page about controlling mice

If all else fails, you can look into Terminix Pest Control, or something like it, but that is always a last resort when all else fails, in my opinion.

Good luck! I hope that people can use these pages to really help themselves get rid of mice, cause mice suck!


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## spark plug (May 5, 2009)

Leah Frances said:


> - fill every hole, crack, or *****. EVERY one. Mice can squeeze through the tiniest holes.
> - remove all possible foodstuffs - or place in metal or glass containers. This includes birdseed and dog food. Also old boxes and paper can be a source of food and nesting material. When in doubt, remove it.
> 
> I thought I had cleaned all possible mice food out of my garage - I found a nest of them in one of those microwaveable neck wraps - it was full of rice. I never even considered it.


Also. In large cities whenever there is new construction in the area (and the old house is demolished) the surrounding houses are susceptible to mice and other rodent infestation, due to their search for new hideaways from where they were uprooted. Yes. the trick is to seal all openings. Some with heavy gauge silver foil or mesh screen with a thick coating of plaster on top. (No matter what) Don't Drink and Drive, Ever!!!


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

It used to snow every spring around my house in California. All the orchard trees would just go crazy and the blossoms and bees flew around everywhere. 

They all went away along with the field environments everywhere, the native magpies, the lizards and snakes and everything that fed on mice went two. The mice hid somewhere. Without the predators and supporting environment, field mice were everywhere look for food. The County handed us poison to help eliminate the problem and sometimes it is the only way to deal with them. 

Starlings were beyond control here and had to be thinned in mass numbers with chemicals. It was like a Hitchcock film as they fell from the sky in numbers into daycare centers and so forth. 

Cats are great for a lot of reasons, in my opinion, including they always come when you call them and they are so easy to herd if into ranching them. I have ended up with good friends, pets and hunters in having them around. Mine would just play soccer with the poor mice captures until they had heart attacks though. Lazy overfed things would never even leave them for me as trophies in my shoes like other people claim to have experienced. 

I think I read some LA police departments have such a problem with mice they capture ferile cats from neighboring hoods to acclimate them to the precincts and just let them out to hunt thereafter? I think they spay and neuter them at the humane society in the process but I have no faith in California claims of such things or others. 

Obviously the mice seek warmth, food scraps and nesting possibilities. Are you deliberately or accidentally providing any of these? Definitely see if you can find how they are getting in or out. Close up those situations with all the methods mentioned.

They are a pest. But I have never heard of any human haven been bitten by a mouse in their sleep or catching rabies or anything from one. They are chewers and clawers though and can do damage and of course they carry fleas and things like that.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

jpelzer said:


> Cat was my idea. Feed them cheeseburgers when the mice are away.
> 
> I *LOVE* the idea of setting snakes loose to catch mice. Love it. Then you get some birds of prey to catch the snakes.


Unfortunately you are not the first to think of this approach. Gov Ronny Reagan California environmental management 10A (the course he, Nancy and psychics never took) and still the working logic of the Virgin Islands and many other places. :laughing: 

And when you realize the monster. Kill it or shoot it if you still can. Kill the entire chain of events with fire or chemical poisons if you cannot! Keep nuke options at hand!


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## bcgolf3 (Jan 4, 2010)

Have you thought about using a stainless steel based product like this one? A friend suggested it to me and I removed the mice from my house


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

We had mice when I was younger. We also caught bull snakes and kept them in a cage. The snakes always got out, or my brother and I claimed. Then we had no mice. Another benefit, the younger brothers and sisters stayed out of our room. Somehow, they thought snakes ate small children.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

fireguy said:


> We had mice when I was younger. We also caught bull snakes and kept them in a cage. The snakes always got out, or my brother and I claimed. Then we had no mice. Another benefit, the younger brothers and sisters stayed out of our room. Somehow, they thought snakes ate small children.


 
Now I wonder why?:laughing:


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## Tonglebeak (Dec 28, 2009)

Do what I did: buy a can of Great Stuff, and spray your gaps and holes. Come back 2 hours later and you'll find the rodent eradicator:


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## Snav (Aug 20, 2009)

I've used an electric rodent repeller with good success (I bought a big one that covers the entire home) . . . I *do* still have mice - but they stay in the attic and I've yet to worry about them being out of the actual house.


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## Allison1888 (Mar 16, 2008)

*mice*

Cats are still the best protection. If you can borrow a neighbor's for a few hours that will do the trick. Get their scent around the area to scare away the mice and then let the cat do his thing.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

My cat stays in the basement at night
He didn't chase off the mice or catch a single one
He has caught them outside...but never inside


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