Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Mice

When you’re experiencing the pitter-patter of little feet and it’s not a walking, talking bundle of joy standing on two legs, you may have a furry intruder in your home that needs attention. Hiding in a kitchen cabinet or tucked away in the corner of a shed, mice find ways to enter the cleanliest of homes, apartments, and other human dwellings. When the thought of using poisonous bait or inhumane traps is too much to bear, consider the following home remedies before resorting to other tactics.

ghr-mice1

Signs of a Mice Problem [1]

A mouse is a nocturnal creature, meaning they do their dirty work when the sun has set and the lights are out. Mice are rarely spotted during the day unless a heavy infestation exists. Usually, a mouse problem is detected with one or more of the following signs:

Droppings: Mouse feces are moist, soft, shiny and dark, becoming dry and hard within a few days. Old droppings will look dull and grayish in color.
Little Holes: When small holes with chewed edges appear on items, such as cereal boxes, this is a dead giveaway that a critter is gnawing away at your packages. Scan your pantry and look for tooth marks and shredded paper.
Sound: At night, you may hear unexplainable movement, as well as gnawing or scratching in the walls or an attic.
Odor: Mice can cause a musty odor to infiltrate your home.
Nests: Hidden in boxes, mice will use chewed paper and cloth to create a nest for themselves in basements, attics, sheds, and drawers

Mice Home Remedies

When it comes time to get rid of mice, many people wish to repel and drive out critters before clearing away traps, locating dead carcasses hidden in walls, and shelling out the money to hire an exterminator. If you are looking for home remedies to get rid of mice, consider the following suggestions:

a) Peppermint and Peppermint Oil:

In just about every home remedy circle, you will hear that mice cannot stand the scent of peppermint or peppermint oil. Soak a cotton ball in the oil of peppermint and place it at a suspected entryway.

b) Remove Food Supply:

While mice enjoy a nice meal of cereal grains and crumbs, they will also adapt to anything else they can sink their teeth into. If you remove their food supply, most mice are forced to look for other places to eat. Remove edible temptations from low kitchen cabinets. Place cereal and other boxed items in glass containers and plastic Tupperware.

c) Mint:

Keep new mice from entering your residence by adding mint plants to the foundation of your house. If you are already battling a mouse problem, sprinkle mint leaves in the parts of your home that the mice like to frequent. Mint is known to repel mice in most cases, but you must remember to replace old leaves with fresh ones on a regular basis.

d) Bay Leaves:

Some people have been successful in keeping mice away by sprinkling bay leaves in their kitchen and about the pantry.

e) Mothballs:

Mice have a reputation for setting up shop in a shed or garage for the winter season. If you place mothballs around your garage, mice will look for other places to live. In the house, mothballs are used to deter mice from kitchen cupboards, drawers, and other storage spots.

f) Steel Wool:

Mice enter your home in the most creative manner, but once you have pinpointed an access point, use steel wool to block their way. The material is much harder for mice to gnaw through than other options, like wood and newspaper.
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g) Onions:

The smell of onions has helped some individuals solve their mouse problem, as they say the odor is offensive to the pests.

h) Baby Powder:

When you are having a problem locating the point of entry of your uninvited guest, use baby powder (or flour) to check for tracks. Scatter a small patch on the floor along a wall or other frequented places. Some people like to bait a mouse by placing a cracker with a bit of peanut butter in the middle of the patch. Hopefully, you can locate their access point or at least, determine the direction in which they originate.

i) Ammonia:

Some people have driven away their mouse by leaving small bowls filled with ammonia in the places they like to frequent. It is said that the scent repels mice.
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j) Peanut Butter:

Are you looking for an effective bait to lure your unwanted visitor? The next time you lay traps, use peanut butter as bait – a treat that a mouse cannot resist. Since the peanut butter is sticky, he or she is unable to swipe it before setting off a trap [2].

Resources

[1] http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/L384.htm
[2] Reader’s Digest Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things; pg 251

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448 CommentsPosted in Pest Control

linda

Even if u use the glue traps still put peanut butter on them even if they say they smell like peanut butter.There is never
just one mouse if u let this problem go u will be infested.
AliceMalice

have lived in my house in the country for almost TEN YEARS and all of a sudden mice TAKE OVER! it happened overnight we started having more and more in the walls and the glue traps worked like a charm and we killed thirteen in a week, then things got quiet, well imagine my anger and surprise when months later as its getting cold I am fixing soup and grill cheeses for my son and a giant mouse runs out in the middle of the day across my stove and behind the coffee maker, it got away but then I put glue traps out (already had them left over from the first battle with mice) two hours later I get up and go to the kitchen and before I turned the corner I could hear it struggling, it was stuck fast to the glue trap, I took a stick and beat it til its skull was crushed and sadly even though I love animals dearly, It FELT GOOD! I HATE MICE! HATE THEM with a passion! they are filthy and nasty! the next morning my hubby said he saw another one the same size the same NIGHT in the kitchen! I am ready to just move out! More glue traps but did not trap that one, am hoping it was just the ghost of the first one.GRIN
CGR

Not really a tip, at least not yet…

We had a few mice the first fall we lived in this house (7 years ago). They were confined to the lower cabinets in the kitchen, mostly in the utensil drawers. I never saw a piece of mouse poop anywhere else in the house, and I would have if there’d been any because I’m a super neat freak and I clean a lot. I recall we had a few of those live traps that look like a long box with a door that swings only one way so they could get in and not out. Caught a couple, let them go at a park several miles away, then switched to snap traps. It didn’t take long, maybe three more mice, and they were gone. Never saw another piece of mouse poop until this morning! And trust me, I check EVERY SINGLE TIME I OPEN THE UTENSIL DRAWER. (They love the clear silicone spatulas from Williams-Sonoma but not any of my other ones.) No mouse poop yesterday, mouse poop this morning. But only in the drawers, just like last time. Did a thorough house-cleaning today (including washing all bedding) and saw no other droppings. The dogs also haven’t “said” anything, and they loooove chasing small animals.

Found this site after sending my husband to the store for some traps (either couldn’t find the reusable ones we had or we got rid of them at some point). There are a lot of tips here, and I’m not sure which ones really work, but I’m trying the snap traps baited with pb and dry dog food (which we keep in air-tight plastic containers, haven’t found any droppings where those are kept) and cotton balls with drops of lavender, rosemary and cinnamon essential oils placed in and under the cabinets. (If I remove the drawers, I can get underneath the cabinets. They’re original to the house–1920–and poorly built. I’d love to replace them, but…that’s a lot of money I don’t have.) Poison is not an option since we have the two pups.

In the meantime, I have removed and washed every single thing that was stored in the lower cabinets. Did all of it need washing? I don’t know, but it was a great way to weed out lots of stuff we don’t use anymore or forgot we had. I put everything in boxes and moved it to the dining room on the pedestal dining table, so there is nothing in the cabinets or drawers except cotton balls and traps. I’m hoping that if the little buggers make it to the dining room, they won’t be able to get to the top of the table. But they’ve never been outside the kitchen as far as I can tell, so I think we’ll be OK.

When we moved in, there was steel wool stuffed in a hole in the cabinet under the sink. Now I know why. I re-stuffed the hole with a giant wad of aluminum foil with cotton balls soaked in lavender and rosemary oils in the middle. I’m hoping that keeps them out. We filled some holes and cracks outside the house earlier this fall with that spray foam stuff, so hopefully we cut off some of their access points. That foam is still intact, so they haven’t chewed through it. I guess we need to go around the house again and be more ruthless with the spray foam and add some steel wool to it.

We sleep on a different floor so I’m not sure we’d hear the traps snap if they went off overnight. We’ll be sure to check first thing in the morning! I will be back to report the results of our efforts, either once we’ve gotten rid of them or once I’ve lost my sanity.
John Doe

Bleach Poison concoction with parmesan cheese and / or peanut butter.

I don’t like killing them either, but people, if you want instant results, this does work every time. I’m having to do for my brothers family now. I’ve done this countless times and please, enough of the humane comments. I’ve been humane enough, but this is to solve a problem. Regular Clorox bleach; take any chip, cracker, cereal like honey grams, chex, whatever, salt thins, bread… does not matter – put the bleach on whatever it is you use, then cover with parmesan cheese and leave for them in the suspected areas of entry. I also mix peanut butter with bleach and leave a generous amount on bread, crackers, cereal etc… you would think the bleach smell would make the mice say “hell no I’m not touching that,” but NO! they take and will eat and die. I usually mix the bleach/peanut butter concoction well (don’t like to have the smell be over-powering).. as for the parmesan cheese (cheap fake shake kind you buy in supermarkets); just take your bread, chip, cookie etc.. dribble bleach on most of your bait (but don’t over drench it) and then shake parmesan on top and pat it, maybe put some more on top to make the smell more potent and place in suspected areas for them. THEY WILL eat it … only issue is if they don’t die in the open, you’ll need to call someone to eradicate the deceased. I do it myself, cheaper and more humbling. Good luck… it works!
Diane

Does the bobcat urine work? Anyone tried it? Do you put it inside or outside?

Thanks!
kw

I don’t know if anyone has seen the tv show with Billy the exsterminator. I learned that if your trying to kill mice or a mouse, that if you have dog food laying around the mice poison WON’T work!!!!!! You have to get rid of the dog food. DOG food has vitamin K in it and is what the mouse needs to counteract the poison. Make sure the dog food stays sealed up in air tight containers and monitor your dogs feeding schedule. Since we have put the dog food in the container and the kids have quit spilling it on the floor of the garage the mice poison has worked. In summary…get rid of food that has vitamin k in it that the mouse can get into.
olnick

After reading ALL the posts, I have come up with…. catch them out side and keep them out. I keep getting a Random one (yeah I know) 1=99! in my attic. Thought I had them licked, found an open area in the soffet at the corner of the house sealed it with flashing. had NONE for a month. Today another kill in the attic! I’ll clean it all up with bleach again and get some bobcat urine to coat the area in. I’m also going back to check on the flashing to see if any part of the soffet has been chewed away. and fill the opening with expanding foam insulation. I’m going to use the bucket with water trick at the ground location to catch them prior to getting to the house. I do feel for all on this link as to the frustration in dealing with them
Alanx

News from England with house mice. I live in what Americans would call a trailer.

Considering the corpses seen over the last month and guessing from the stench from the poisoned ones, I’ve killed at least 20 of the varmints.

I’ve read it is important to wear gloves when handling traps and laying the bait so that human scent doesn’t get on them.

I’ve used uncleaned snap traps with success within 20 minutes of that trap’s last kill. The modern advanced plastic snap traps are having the best kill rate, and they are much easier to set.

I’m not sure if you can buy bromodialone laced wheat in The States, but I’ve just gone out and bought a big box – THIS STUFF IS HARMFUL TO PETS AND PEOPLE, but will reduce the mouse population.

Changing your methods regularly looks like a good idea, leaving baits unset with food on for a while and trying out different baits on traps.

My mice started off with liking roasted sesame oil on bread, then i went on to the classic crunchy peanut butter and mars bars.

Being thorough is a good idea. – 6 traps and four bait stations to a kitchen is a good idea. It looks to me like that there is a king boss mouse in every group, and it seems if you kill him, the other mice won’t touch the traps until a new king boss mouse who gets killed in the traps.

So if you are not careful, you might end up poisoning two mice very very well while the rest of the gang keep having babies. The multiple bait stations and traps will help get round this problem.

So go in, go hard and go excessive is my advice, and keep the traps and poison out until there are fifteen days of no evidence of mice. Mice like fresh poison, so I clear out my bait places and replace with fresh every 5 days.

My next tactic will be a bucket trap, and if I have to, sticky traps, but only as a final step.

I’ll let you know how I get on. The mice I’m catching are getting smaller and smaller.

On dead mouse smell: these bags:

http://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/acatalog/Deodorants___Disinfectants.html

have worked for me in containing the smell of recently dead mice. The horrible smell still bursts through for a couple of days, but the bags take the edge of the worst of the nauseating smell – enough that you can eat and don’t have to move into a motel.

I’ve found that these bags have cleared the bad smell in 5 days for me (but be warned, if you’re situation is more humid and warm the smell could persist for longer).

You need three of these bags per room
alanx

To clarify – My boss mouse got zapped in an electric trap in a little area he’d appeared to make his own. I’ve left that trap unset loaded with peanut butter and the rest of the squeakers haven’t gone near it. It looks possible to me that boss mouse can mark poison bait stations as his own.
alanx

Link to American site for those dead mouse odour bags ;

http://www.cleartheair.com/english/dead_rodent_odors.html
alanx

Correction – there are some mice it seems are resistant to bromadiolone, but there will be other poisons they will succumb to
rhode island

My mother taught me to place a dryer sheet in the back of the silverware drawer. seems to work.
Megan

We have had the best luck with the old wooden snap traps and putting REAL cheddar cheese for the bait
stacey

OMG i hate the little shits! i have been in my house for nearly 2 years now and we have always had mice!!! i just cant get rid ov em! i clean every day and dont leave any food lying around! but now i think they have got worse i have even seen 2 at a time on kitchen worktop! im at my wits end! i cant sleep at night im that scared lol! il try the peppermint oil and i just hope it works! its hard though because i have fields and woods etc at back of my house so as im getting rid ov em more are coming in! i have just heard recently that orange peel around perimeter of your home and near where they are getting in repels them! i dont kno iv it works but im willing 2 try anifin lol x
Mouse hunter

Sneak into your kitchen at night and blast them in the face with wasp and hornet spray then smash em with a lacrosse stick.
brenda

I’m going to try everything, maybe even a shotgun, they give me the creeps.
Jenn

I have read through a lot of these tips and haven’t seen this one yet A couple people at my work swear by this and i am going to try it out tonight. Decon the crap out of your house, put a couple TALL buckets of water in the middle of the room filled half way with water. Put a thin peice of wook or make a ramp going up to the top of the bucket and smear some peanut butter at the top. A lot of people don’t like decon because the mouse dies elsewhere and then rots. Supposedly after the mice eat the decon they get very thirsty and drown themselves in the bucket. It will take a couple days because they have to eat enough of the decon. We will see if it works!

Also i did try cheap traps with peanut butter and it didn’t work for about a week but i was very persistent and put out more and it now works like a charm… i think it depends on where you put the trap. I originally put it in a place they never came across but found the hot spot apparently. I have trapped six in two days.
Major Anatomy

The Hav-A-Hart traps work well, but they only catch one rodent at a time, unless you happen upon a “siamese” (conjoined is the PC term) mouse.

Way up there, someone was complaining that their plug-in sonic traps attracted Brown Recluse spiders. Mice and other rodents will eat Brown Recluses, Wolf Spiders, and Hobo Spiders, controlling their population.

Given the choice between mice and poisonous spiders, I would rather have the mice.
Frank

TIP:

what i just set up was a oatmeal bowl with DRANO! once they eat it, the drano will react with water to form sharp crystals that will literally cut there insides out.

FUCK THOSE BITcHES! I tried the same thing with squirriels who kept eating my garbage, tearing the garbage bags and leaving a mess for me to clean up! those bitches too! i covered expired bread with drano, and they all dead! hahahah!

gl everyone!
FAME 8396

Where do I begin? I have lived in my house for seventeen years. I use to have a cat, and never saw anything – she was a great hunter, but after fourteen years, we had to put her down. I never got another pet. Our neighborhood is plagued with another rodent – chipmunks! I can’t stand them either! I read somewhere to get rid of chipmunks – use mothballs. So for the past few years, I have placed mothballs around the outside of the house, under the deck and in the garage. Well since I kept seeing the chipmunks, this fall I didn’t use the mothballs – well what I did find was mouse droppings (YUCK!) I freaked out! I immediately went to Lowes’ to get traps. I wasted my money on the type of traps that “kill” the mice but you don’t have to see them! After almost a week of empty traps and still seeing droppings – I called Terminix. They came the next morning – the technician told me it was probably one or two mices in the house by the amount of droppings. He gave me a choice of glue traps or snap traps. After seeing the movie Forget Paris and scene with the glue trap catching a bird in the house and the bird trying to fly away and getting stuck on her face and hair – forget that ! I went with the snap traps (still gross – but at least it is dead unlike the glue traps). The next day, one of the traps had one! I haven’t send any more droppings – it has been over a week and I finally have started to feel some piece of mind! I am so sorry I didn’t spend the few dollars for the mothballs – perhaps I wouldn’t have lost hours and hours of sleep, spending hours and hours cleaning, washing dishes, throwing away food that we suspected the mice were near, etc. I hated the control these little sh**’s had on me! I was paralyzed with fear – I didn’t want to go to my kitchen or my basement! I dreaded looking on my counters, near my stove and microwave, etc., the whole house! I was always kept my house clean – never ate in the bedrooms, washed dishes everynight, took the garbage out everynight – I love to cook – but I hate the smell of food so after the meal is over with – I always made it a point to keep the kitchen clean. These sob’s just made me ill!

I did follow another tip from this website – I have placed Irish Spring soap in the cabinets that do not contain food and the closets (The Terminix Technician stated the house did smell really nice!)

I know this may sound silly – but as I was leaving for work one morning – I open the basement door and I told the little sh**’s to get out of our home and that they were not welcome. I told them to go and live somewhere else like a field (I didn’t wish this agony on my worst enemy) and that this was war! I know how it sounds silly or crazy, but I needed to feel some type of control in my life. I was amazed how these little creatures gripped me with fear in my own home! After reading so many other comments on this and other websites, I realized that I am not alone on how I felt! It still sucks! Living in fear of rodents in your home! This has been an experience I will never forget! And everyone has a mouse story!
I am keeping the faith and I keep checking for droppings with my flashlight at least three times a day during the week and five times during the weekends! Good luck everyone!
Shane

We have noticed the mice in our home for 3 weeks as of tomorrow and have had traps our ever since. We know of 3 for sure 1 of which may be or have been pregnant. Today we caught our first one with glue pads and a few small pieces of Tex Mex shredded cheese. Within an hour of putting the cheese on the trap we had it. So we are putting it on all of our traps and will hopefully get rid of the remainder of them.
Lucy’s Sis

I just had a handy guy recaulk on the outside where it has separated due to the weather and then he stuffed steel wool in all crevices that looked like something could fit in there, also he caulked wherever it looked questionable. A pest control company put poison baits in the attic which is where I heard activity and today when the handy kid was here, we put up in the attic four traps where the mouse walks in to eat the peanut butter and can’t get out. while I am waiting for them to eat the poison I do not care to hear them scratching – I figured they would eat the poison and my peanut butter trap and croak in there. I am also going to put the pepperment oil outisde where I found a dead one. thanks for the tip. the family behind me has always had mice and they just catch them and throw them in the garbage. They dont do anything to prevent them. I dont want to kill them, but if they come into my house, in my living space – they are fair game.
Dan

Has any one ever heard of Cyanne Pepper? anyway i put it all around the house thinking it will stop the mice from comming in. maybe they wont walk through it. what do you think?
Alisha

I just came across a website that says that hedgeapples repel insects and mice. I havent tried it but i hope to get some next year when they are available. I have had luck with the stick pads. and i have had luck with the steel wool but, i did discover mice droppings in under my bathroom sink and they are coming from a hole my husband has not covered all the way.. (yeah he is going to fix that.. lmao) and so i went and checked under my kitchen sink where my pots and pans are and there are A LOT there.. so im not in a very good mood right now to say the least.. i saw that the had TRIED to eat through the steel wool and couldnt so they pushed it out of the hole..

so i got a butter knife and stuffed the steel wool in there really tight. i am going to get some caulking and caulk around the steel wool like was stated so maybe they cant push it.. lol i dont know. but i am not wanting to be dealing with this right now.. i have a 4 year old and just blah.. we get them like every other year.. around this time since its Arkansas and we live on 6 acres.. kinda just goes hand and hand when it the weather starts to get really cold.. i love coming to these sites to see what people are using.. and i hate using chemicals to kill them and have the trapped in my house and making it stink.. so im hoping i can just get them stuck to the pad and carry them off.. i feel bad for them dying but i would like them out of my house more.. happy hunting..
Mick Walsh

I seem to get the mice every year and they are a definite indicator that the cold weather is approaching. I am on quite a bit of medication and have powerful out of date sedatives, anti-psychotic medication which I put to good use rather than take them to the chemists for disposal. I crush them and mix about 50/50 with small amounts of tinned Tuna or other fish and place in areas I see the mice frequent.

The first time after I used my method, I was asleep but was woken up by this dull thudding noise. I sat on the edge of my bed and watched the mouse theatrics as 2 were running along the curtain pole and 2 others were climbing up the curtains but obviously being disorientated by the eating of my concoction, kept falling to the floorboards. They were definitely sedated, still agile but obviously unable to run fast and untroubled by my appearance.

I went back to bed and that was the last I heard or saw of mice that year. I am about to repeat the process this year with expected results in 2-3 days.

I never thought of trying peanut butter as bate instead of fish but will do now and lay traps too so I can have a count.
Melissa

I read somewhere that you can fill your old air wick plug-ins with oil of your choice. I think I am going to put peppermint into mine so then the whole house will smell of peppermint.
Mick Walsh

It is 24 hours+ since I saw the latest mice. They were sedated as slow movements indicated. Did not like to use but caught a mouse stood in its tracks full on with a prolonged shot / spray of Raid, fly and wasp killer. It must be the only flee less mouse for miles around. Possibly they found it so obnoxious they decided to leave my home, I hope so but if not, I will repeat the dose with sedative added food and traps.
lindilou

To keep away any vermon you have to make sure you don’t leave any food source out,this means put food in mouse proof containers,wash up,dont leave till morning,block all holes….a mouse/rat can get through any hole it’s head will fit through.We live in a rural area so food scraps go to the dog/on an ants nest or in the compost..not in the bin..they will be atracted to the smell.We are also fortunate that we have pythons living in the roof…..yeah yeah cringe…but we rarely have a mouse problem.Never put bait down and seal the room…..make sure mouse can get out.: )
Ritesh

I was just going through this couple of weeks ago. nothing mentioned here worked. Tried traditional trick my granny told me. so not sure if mice/mouse in west are any clever.
take some wheatflour, add sugar syrup and make a dough. now make small balls atleast 40-50 (ours is a small apt. 1300 sq. ft, so 40-50 were enough) and deep fry them. now put them every where in your house.
did this last week and i guess they are gone now. hand around 3 mice that i could notice.

Again, this is just what worked for me. May or may not work for you. If it does, leave a thank you note.
Tine

Hi everyone,

I’ve had some problems with mice getting into my RV in the past and my friend told me about this product called Mouse Free. Since I had already tried the other methods (moth balls, dryer sheets) I decided to give this a try and applied it to my RV last summer. I haven’t seen a mouse yet! It’s also easy to apply, all you have to do is connect an air compressor to the application gun and spray the product under the RV. It doesn’t smell bad at all it actually smells like peppermint! So far so good! Here’s the website if any one wants to have a look, http://www.mouse-free.com
ebony

My mother had a really bad mouse problem when she moved house, last year . She discovered them four weeks after she moved in and it took her 12 weeks to get rid of them. She removed all the food and put them into containers. she put down traps (but they would not go near them).She got one of those a sound repellent (which did not work).She than blocked every hole with steel wool and than re-plastered the holes (still no luck). she was lucky to get a good builder because he discovered that there was a hole under her bath tub and that’s how they got in). she is now mice free and keeps fruit and vegetables on display with no problem.

My story goes like this- I just moved 7weeks ago and three days ago I heard rustling along with a musty smell in my kitchen (sometime in the afternoon). Then two nights ago I saw a mouse in the kitchen (3am).

I called my landlord and he said he will come and take a look in two days time (tomorrow). However he said I would have to wait 10days for him to close any holes (there are so many holes/get traps etc because it is Christmas in a few days time.

Mice are smart and they will know how to out smart you. so in the mean time I am doing small steps to give the mice a chance to leave first.

My first step, clean the kitchen (and all around the house) and put all food (any food that cardboard box or plastic and fruit, seeds, rice, pasta, flour, sugar etc)in containers/fridge etc…

The next morning after this step, I discovered even more mice droppings on the kitchen counter top.

my second step – 100% PURE PEPPERMINT OIL… I looked everywhere and found it in my local health store, I applied lots of drops to cotton buds and put them all over the house! I also added drops to water and mopped with the peppermint water (make sure the peppermint oil is NOT MIXED with anything else and CANNOT be use for cooking etc.

THE FIRST 2 STEPS ARE JUST A WARNING TO GET THEM TO MOVE BEFORE I BLOCK UP ALL THE HOLES AND TO GIVE ME MORE TIME TO FIND WHERE THEIR COMING IN. I would perfer to block up holes when they are out of my home and not inside my home.

My third step I will try in 2days time is to fill some holes myself using steel wool…

My fourth step (I will try this 1 day before my landlord comes-because I do not like mice) is to get a big deep bucket and spread peanut butter inside the bucket. I will place the bucket near the kitchen counter top (one of their hang out spots)and they should not be able to resist the smell of the peanut butter and fall in (I know this works because I have seen it work for someone else). I do not want them alive so I will figure a way to kill them when they are in the bucket!

My fifth step- my landlord will close the remaining holes and try and find their nest (if I have not already done so), put down glue boards and continue with the peppermint method.

My sixth step- get my neighbours (who live below me) to do the same, because if they are also living in their home they might want to come back up to mine!

If all fails I will get my friend cat to come over because he is always killing mice and birds.

I will keep you all posted.
Grandmajia

Spent my Christmas Eve cleaning my pantry, under my sink and every other spot I think the miserable beasts have invaded. I thank you all for the tips. I put fox pellets outside the house and around the front entrance to our garage. MY WORD that stuff stinks. EEEUUUWWW
Also got a smaller version of the Victor Multikill. This one is made for rats, but hey, it will just kill mice faster, huh? One on the ground floor and one in the basement. I will pray for them to work, cause like the rest of you—this is unacceptable to my lifestyle to have these critters in my home! We just built a new house cause the one we used to live in had bugs, bats, mice and snakes. The bugs and mice were my problems. My husband hated the snakes and I had to keep saving him from them. Poor baby! ;-D
Praying for you all to have a critter free 2012. God bless you for what you have survived already!!!
alanx

Update (last posted on 19th November).

It is boxing day now and there hasn’t been any smell of mice dead or alive since December 12th.

I’ve seen about 18 dead mice approx caught in breakback traps and electric traps, and the dead mouse stench has come and gone over 8 weeks. There must have been at least 24 of them.

The most successful breakback traps were modern advanced plastic ones (B and Q). The highest catch rate was just at the back of a deep freeze where the mice trotted round the corner. The second most successful trap (plastic again), had the front of it inserted into the little pile of poison bait at the most popular feeding spot – under a cabinet next to the cooker. These little furry things really like cookers.

The best bait for traps was chunky peanut butter.

The odour removing bags I mentioned worked, but when there is a recent kill they do not remove all the smell – but they certainly remove the worst of it.

So, in a space of 20ft by 10 ft it took five breakback traps, two electric traps and six separate piles of poison to see off 20 to 30 mice. (i’ve no pets or kids in my home – poison would not be a good idea at all if you do have pets and kids).

It’s a good idea to find information on where to place traps.

It’s a good idea if the poison is fresh.

Wear disposable rubber gloves when you handle bait, bait boxes and traps – this stops your human scent getting on them.

Persistence is the key. Keep the traps and poison out for two weeks after you notice no more sign of mouse activity.
B Phillips

Please be careful if using peppermint oil and you have cats! Peppermint oil is toxic to cats if they ingest or breathe it in!
john wilson

i see all these tips but havent seen this one lol if your neighbor or someone you know has a cat . have them give you alittle of their urine out of a litter box wet litter in a sandwich baggy not sloppy lol put some around in areas you know they are comin in on jar lids sometin keep away from kid areas duh which mice usualy have out of the way ares of entry and the smell will convince the mouse there is deffinatly a cat somewhere if you cant or wont have a cat . cause they are the best mouse killer ther is good luck
Kathy w

Saw a mouse in my garage and set up bate and traps. No evidence anywhere in the house and no mouse droppings in the garage. Kind of strange but still set out traps I. The garage and In the house. Will update
Kristi

I tried glue traps and had no luck, but went yesterday and bought the plain old traps I caught a mouse within an hour!! So I say they work best!
Kelli

All these tips sound great and I am definately going to try them one by one!
We recently rented a house and have noticed mice…EEEWWWWWW! nasty little thingd! I got a cat because my dog would just watch them…my new kitty is a fantastic mouser!!!!!
We also use glue traps and those have worked pretty good for us too!!!
nothing for bait either…we just set the trap down and we catch them…they like are furnice room although i can’t determine where they are getting in from..still some work to do on that part…but thanks guys…I am so gonna try these tips!!
Have a wonderful day!
Over It

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Guess Santa thought I didn’t deserve a place on the nice list because I got a cupboard full of mouse shit for Christmas! Hooray! Just what I always wanted…

Have baited house with poison but having read people’s experiences about pets finding dead lethal mouse bodies around I’m petrified my puppy is going to eat one!

Have spent 4 nights between Chrissy & New Years up til 1am cleaning and crying! My poor boyfriend…he has to deal with a hysterical cleaning GF as well as plugging up holes with foam fill and board. Can’t do it anymore!!!!

Thanks for al the posts, have been laughing so hard at some of them… good to know i’m not in this alone!!

Off to shops tomoz to try some of these natural remedies(except capturing them in snap lock bags and hammering them to death-thats freaking SICK!)

Thanks again…good luck people!!

hoffie

well i dont feel so bad, we have a mouse and it has decided to use my dish cloth as a bed. Im so scared to open the cupboard and see this thing look at me. Bf thinks its funny cause every noise to me is this mousey drives me mad! will try all the bits and pieces you guys have posed.. the mouse hunt begins.

Katie

I know it might seem a little disgusting, but snake poo can also deter them. We heard about it and having owned a snake at the time we scattered a little bit of snake poo around in the roof where the mice were and it kept them away for quite a while, however, its not a complete solution, every so often we have to scatter more around as we find that eventually it dries up too much and therefore isnt effective anymore.

Now that we have noticed a couple mice in the kitchen though I might give the peppermint oil a try! Thanks for the tip!
Lisa

I had a mouse (ok rat) problem for quite awhile – I live in a manufactured home and could not find ALL their entry points. I have lots of animals so poison was out of the question. I found that the sticky traps (rat size) worked wonders. I lined the area under the pantry door with them so they had to walk over them. Got 2 the first night and finally caught the third by putting his knawed on potato in the back of a box with the trap in the front – he could not resist. Got em. I have not had a repeat invasion. I will definitely be putting mint oil under my sink, in my pantry and under my stove though. I do not want them back.

Meech

Please don’t use glue traps, they are terribly inhumane and illegal in many places. If you insist on killing the mice, please use a snap trap; they kill quickly. Just a suggestion and a brief plea, thank you!

Cherylftm

I’m In England and we went away for a week befor Christmas and when we returned I found droppings in the bathroom,bedroom,living room and kitchen and found the entry point which is under the bath(and there’s gaps in the plastic bath panel)so I’ve caught 3 in snap traps but really I need to stop them coming in but my house is old and made of sandstone with the neighbours garden coming half way up my house so I can’t find where they are getting in and I can’t get to the entry route!I’m worried that if I block the gap under the bath that they don’t leave and find other ways in and come I to the house again!luckily they haven’t ventured out from under the bath due to them sometimes sneaking the chocolate without setting the traps off but I’m hoping if I block the hole off they just leave for good!we had them in the loft a couple of years ago and caught about 6 with snap traps then they must have gone!
Tooscaredtosleep

I’m SOOOO glad that I found this site…finally I’m not alone! I have been battling mice in our house for about a month now and I have felt like a prisoner in my own home! The very first time I saw a mouse, I was laying on my bed and the little s**t ran right across my bedroom floor. I immediately jumped up and asked myself if I really saw what I thought I saw? My BF walked into the room and I told him that I thought I had seen a mouse. I was FREAKED out! He didn’t seem to be too bothered by it, only that we needed to get some traps…I kept telling myself that I was imagining things and that I didn’t REALLY see a mouse…until I saw mouse droppings in my closet where I stashed Halloween candy to keep away from my kids. It/They had been crawling all over my shoes!!! So the next day I bought about 2 packs of glue traps and placed one in my closet. The very next morning I heard the squeal of a caught mouse. I was so scared that I asked my 10 year old daughter to open my closet door and check the trap. (I know, but she was braver than me, lol) and sure enough I had caught the little sucker! I was so excited and asked my boyfriend to dispose of it once he came. There was no way I was going to pick it up..

So, my terror is over and I am done with mice, right? WRONG! I kept find droppings everywhere! Now I am really scared. I was hoping that that one little mouse was it. Well how many do I have and where are they??

I needed to go and buy more traps but I was so embarrassed to buy them AGAIN from the store. I didn’t want people to think that I was a nasty person and was living with mice…I am not a neat freak but I do like cleanliness so the thought of people thinking I was a dirty person bothered me…but the mice bothered me more and so I went and got more traps. I’ve placed them everywhere but have caught nothing. Did they see the struggling mice before and now know not to mess with the glue traps?? I don’t know but they weren’t working and I was still living in fear.

So, we eventually told the owner about the problem and he came to “assess” the situation. I don’t know what he needed to assess, we have mice now do something! He placed new flaps on the bottom of the doors and sealed some holes under the house where we have a crawl space and also a mysterious hole that I found in a bedroom closet. He swore that the mice are not in the walls, but after reading all the posts on this site I see that he was WRONG! That’s where they are!

He also set up a bait station that I was happy about, but now thinking more about the dead mice that will be decomposing around the house, I don’t know if that was such a good idea…but I want them dead! I am definitely going to try the peppermint oil and mint plants around the house. I’ve got to get rid of these suckers and start living again. I’m tired of going into every room and turning on the light and looking around before I enter or staying up late at night listening for gnawing sounds and running of mice.

I WILL win this war! How do you know how many you have though? That part freaks me out. I keep reading posts that people say they’ve caught 14 or 20 or 30! I can’t live imagining that there could be that many in the house…
Carol

Hello, We found at times the mice can eat the peanut butter without setting the trap off, so we now use Marshmallow Fluff, (the stuff to make Fluff-a-nutter sandwiches), and the Fluff lasts about 2-3 days if it takes that long for the mice to find it. In fact, we have caught 11 mice in the back laundry room, their entrance place, and one in the office. Bay leaves are fine but they are better to keep ants out. Thank you, Carol
Hennessyrose69

Or just get a house cat to rid them vermonts… ha ha ha
Hennessyrose69

Well, what can I say? I live in an apartment that is located next to a river which has a lot of rocks and on top of that my neighbors have mice as well as cockroaches!!!! Just the thought. I lived here for four years now and it first started with the cockroaches! Seen a few here and there but then they got worse now the exterminators come every 4 to 5 months! Not quite enough! I know it’s my neighbors fault. Then about two years ago I seen mice s**t in my cupboards below the sink so I moved the pots & pans out of there and the last time I seen one was this summer and I just seen one last night and I used my last sticky paper and caught it. Yay! BUT… Tonight I was trying to write a letter and I heard a squeaky sound and I thought it was my imagination and what do you know?! Seen that little s^^t trying to sneak out and like you Carol I chased it into the bedroom closet and I’ve been watching for it but no sighn of that little rodent yet!!! I do wish the other tenants would take more consideration with their infestations!!!!! I’m worried about my health. Don’t have any little children here with me and you would think that the Housing Authority would crack down on infested apartments. Hopefully I can get this problem situated. GROWSE. The thought of Haunta Virus!!!! Just sickens me.

Thanks for listening to my ventilation. Ha Ha

I’ll be back in a few weeks to update the situation here. Good Luck to everyone with this pest problem.

Grandma's Home Remedies » Pest Control