# Please help! Small rat or mouse?



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

They appear to be common house mice. Rats wouldn't fit in your trap  Same class "rodentia". Not making light of it, but the Pied Piper in Saxony Germany ran them off a cliff. Your pest control people will know what to do.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

chandler48 said:


> They appear to be common house mice. Rats wouldn't fit in your trap  Same class "rodentia". Not making light of it, but the Pied Piper in Saxony Germany ran them off a cliff. Your pest control people will know what to do.


Thank you so much for your help. I live in a mobile/park home backing onto woodlands/fields which has probably made it easier for them to get in. I am very clean but I do leave food and water down in the lounge for my cats at night and that sounds like a very bad idea at the moment. I am trying to calm down, just the thought of them invading my little space in the world which felt so safe before, is horrible! Thank you again, much appreciated.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Stop feeding the cats and the mice will disappear.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Don't feed your cats. They'll get hungry and hunt like they did before they were domesticated. I am being extreme, but, really if they are fed and fat, they will have no incentive to hunt the mice, although they sometimes do it for sport.


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## gthomas785 (Mar 22, 2021)

Put away the cat food at night, or when your cat has finished with it.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

joed said:


> Stop feeding the cats and the mice will disappear.


That’s easy enough for me to do, thank you!


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## Longshot_HN (May 21, 2021)

Definitely a mouse. My daughter has them as pets. The pet mice are not quite the same as the house mice you have. So while you're trying to get them out, my daughter is bringing them in.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

Longshot_HN said:


> Definitely a mouse. My daughter has them as pets. The pet mice are not quite the same as the house mice you have. So while you're trying to get them out, my daughter is bringing them in.


Mice as pets? Omg. That would really not be my idea of fun at the moment! I honestly never want to see another mouse ever again - not even on TV! !


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## Longshot_HN (May 21, 2021)

JMHRTD said:


> Mice as pets? Omg. That would really not be my idea of fun at the moment! I honestly never want to see another mouse ever again - not even on TV! !


Yeah, I got rid of some humanely and my daughter thought they were cute. So we had to go to the pet store to buy mice to bring home. Apparently, they're cute.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

Longshot_HN said:


> Yeah, I got rid of some humanely and my daughter thought they were cute. So we had to go to the pet store to buy mice to bring home. Apparently, they're cute.





gthomas785 said:


> Put away the cat food at night, or when your cat has finished with it.


I absolutely will, thank you!


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

Longshot_HN said:


> . Apparently, they're cute.


They are cute. As cute as can be for an animal that craps where it eats, walks through its own urine and spreads it around your house.
And don't forget the diseases they carry.


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## Longshot_HN (May 21, 2021)

Missouri Bound said:


> They are cute. As cute as can be for an animal that craps where it eats, walks through its own urine and spreads it around your house.
> And don't forget the diseases they carry.


Well, all I know is my daughter better not let them escape. I'm not chasing them around the house.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Cats will still kill mice even if they're fed regularly. Just the sight of the mouse running sets them off. Maybe the cats aren't where the mice are?


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

Longshot_HN said:


> Well, all I know is my daughter better not let them escape. I'm not chasing them around the house.





Nik333 said:


> Cats will still kill mice even if they're fed regularly. Just the sight of the mouse running sets them off. Maybe the cats aren't where the mice are?


You could be right, I’m going to encourage them to visit the kitchen more at night if I can (not with food lol) !


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@JMHRTD nice to meet you and welcome!

There's a lot you can do about mice. For starters, I'd replace the "live catch" traps with the kind that have springs and kill them. If you don't want to do that, get a friend to help you. (I'm not mocking, I want to help.) If you release them somewhere, they just come back. 

Poisons work, but, ugh. They go down the food chain and can hurt or kill animals that eat the carcasses, or worse, develop resistance. (Warfarin has a problem with this.) 

I have five cats, in my house, and only one of them gets any critters. The others just look. 

Also, mice are great at hiding, including from cats. If your cats are outside, and the mice are inside, cats won't get them. 

If the mice are hiding inside or under something like an appliance, sometimes "dryer sheets" those things you put in the clothes dryer with clothes can drive them away, too.

Let us know what happens. 

Again, if this is getting to you, get a friend to help. 

The kitty below just watches . . . .


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

DoomsDave said:


> @JMHRTD nice to meet you and welcome!
> 
> There's a lot you can do about mice. For starters, I'd replace the "live catch" traps with the kind that have springs and kill them. If you don't want to do that, get a friend to help you. (I'm not mocking, I want to help.) If you release them somewhere, they just come back.
> 
> ...





DoomsDave said:


> @JMHRTD nice to meet you and welcome!
> 
> There's a lot you can do about mice. For starters, I'd replace the "live catch" traps with the kind that have springs and kill them. If you don't want to do that, get a friend to help you. (I'm not mocking, I want to help.) If you release them somewhere, they just come back.
> 
> ...





DoomsDave said:


> @JMHRTD nice to meet you and welcome!
> 
> There's a lot you can do about mice. For starters, I'd replace the "live catch" traps with the kind that have springs and kill them. If you don't want to do that, get a friend to help you. (I'm not mocking, I want to help.) If you release them somewhere, they just come back.
> 
> ...





JMHRTD said:


> You could be right, I’m going to encourage them to visit the kitchen more at night if I can (not with food lol) !


Hi, thanks so much for the advice. Haven’t seen any signs of mice for a week now but I’m not being complacent and I’m taking up my cats’ food at night which I’m pretty sure attracted the mice in the first place. I had a pest controller in last week and he put poison underneath my mobile home (no access for cats), as he suspects rats but I’m hoping he’s wrong and it’s a mouse issue. I’ve studied mice and small rat pictures over and over again and mine really look like mice to me. He’s coming back on Friday to check if anything took the bait. I had been releasing the mice about 2 miles from home because I’m a bit squeamish about killing them but if they reappear I don’t think I’ll have any choice and I’ll have to get tougher, Being a single girl this has all been very stressful so thank you again for the very valuable help. Will definitely get some dryer sheets! Jo


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## gthomas785 (Mar 22, 2021)

Even if your cats can't get to where the poison is, there's a risk to them if they eat the poisoned mice. Something to think about.

Glad things seem to be moving in the right direction


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@JMHRTD good to hear things are, if not under control, then at least likely to get there.

Be warned that this will be a recurring problem. Forests are aswarm with rodents, and you're right up next to one. It can be hard to "bulwark" a mobile home against critters. If your cats eat them, or at least kill them for sport (like the handsome, but bloodthirsty monster below) that will help, but they won't go away completely.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

gthomas785 said:


> Even if your cats can't get to where the poison is, there's a risk to them if they eat the poisoned mice. Something to think about.
> 
> Glad things seem to be moving in the right direction


Yes I really hadn’t considered that, no more poison now just in case, thanks


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

gthomas785 said:


> Even if your cats can't get to where the poison is, there's a risk to them if they eat the poisoned mice. Something to think about.
> 
> Glad things seem to be moving in the right direction


Yeah, that can get to be bad news. 

I've used poisons and they do work. 

But, here in Southern California, the wild mountain lion population has two top causes of death: (a) getting hit by cars, trucks, etc.; and (b) hemorrhage from too many resistant rodents which give the poison to the cat.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

DoomsDave said:


> @JMHRTD good to hear things are, if not under control, then at least likely to get there.
> 
> Be warned that this will be a recurring problem. Forests are aswarm with rodents, and you're right up next to one. It can be hard to "bulwark" a mobile home against critters. If your cats eat them, or at least kill them for sport (like the handsome, but bloodthirsty monster below) that will help, but they won't go away completely.
> 
> View attachment 654624


You have super cute cats! 2 of mine are inside cats (with an outside enclosed catio) and they really are useless as far as chasing mice. However my 17 year old tabby girl still has some game left in her. She sleeps a lot of the time now (mostly to avoid the other 2 lol) but she’s definitely the hunter of the family. Would I ever move to near a forest again? A big fat no! I love the deer and rabbits nearby but I saw a badger last year the size of a dog in my back garden in the dark and it scared the hell out of me. I’m seriously considering selling up now. This has been just one of many issues I’ve had with mobile home living. I’m dealing with 1 problem at a time - the mice are first!!


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

JMHRTD said:


> You have super cute cats! 2 of mine are inside cats (with an outside enclosed catio) and they really are useless as far as chasing mice. However my 17 year old tabby girl still has some game left in her. She sleeps a lot of the time now (mostly to avoid the other 2 lol) but she’s definitely the hunter of the family. Would I ever move to near a forest again? A big fat no! I love the deer and rabbits nearby but I saw a badger last year the size of a dog in my back garden in the dark and it scared the hell out of me. I’m seriously considering selling up now. This has been just one of many issues I’ve had with mobile home living. I’m dealing with 1 problem at a time - the mice are first!!


Okay, we can help you with other things too.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

If you have any further questions, ask.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

Thank you so much 



DoomsDave said:


> Okay, we can help you with other things too.
> 
> Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
> 
> If you have any further questions, ask.


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## turbo4 (Jan 30, 2021)

gthomas785 said:


> Put away the cat food at night, or when your cat has finished with it.


That right ,i had a tenant in the countryside that was putting dog food out every night for his dogs and actually was feeding about 30 rats living in holes under the house. Was shocked when he looked out at night to see them all mopping up the dog food. dogs were getting skinny.


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

turbo4 said:


> That right ,i had a tenant in the countryside that was putting dog food out every night for his dogs and actually was feeding about 30 rats living in holes under the house. Was shocked when he looked out at night to see them all mopping up the dog food. dogs were getting skinny.


OMG!, that’s terrible! I have cat cams so I can check up on my cats during the day when I’m at work. I’m going to set them up in the kitchen to check there’s nothing creeping around at night. Hopefully there won’t be now I’ve removed the food source.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Maybe you should keep that badger around. This is American, but I'm sure British eat similarly.

"Badgers are carnivores. Their dominate prey are rodents such as pocket gophers, ground squirrels, moles, prairie dogs, woodrats, deer mice, and voles. May also eat ground nesting birds, lizards, carrion, fish, and insects. Badgers catch most of their food by digging and will sometimes cache food for later."

*American Badgers - Kootenai - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service*


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## JMHRTD (Jun 3, 2021)

Nik333 said:


> Maybe you should keep that badger around. This is American, but I'm sure British eat similarly.
> 
> "Badgers are carnivores. Their dominate prey are rodents such as pocket gophers, ground squirrels, moles, prairie dogs, woodrats, deer mice, and voles. May also eat ground nesting birds, lizards, carrion, fish, and insects. Badgers catch most of their food by digging and will sometimes cache food for later."
> *American Badgers - Kootenai - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service*


Oh I didn’t realise that! Now I’m suddenly not so scared of him….


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