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There's a mouse in the house...
Figgy
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Fighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered User regular
Okay, mice.
First things first, a pest control company is coming tomorrow. Pest control is covered under my condo fees. (I live in an end unit town home). I just wanted to ask you guys who have had a similar situation what to expect, how to prepare my home, and what I should be ready to do afterwards.
Wife first saw a mouse run out of the hall closet November 30th. Found a dead mouse under the garbage can a week later.
I then saw my cat going crazy trying to get at something under the stove a month or so later. Moved the stove. There is a small hole where the gas line goes into the floor, so I assume it escaped there.
Then saw a mouse run through the garage one day a few weeks ago. I pull a shelving unit out and see a rather large gap near the floor that goes into who-knows-where. I tear a bit of drywall off and see that it leads to a very accessible part of uncovered insulation, straight into the house. There are also mouse droppings all over the place. As we are going on our honeymoon in a week or so, I leave it for the time being.
When I get back from the honeymoon (Saturday), I see in the basement (carpeted) that the large Styrofoam piece that was on the floor from an electric fireplace we got was chewed up. Tiny little bits all over the place. It wasn't the cat, since she was at a friend's for the week while we were away. Then, I see a dead mouse by the wall, and a tiny little hole chewed in the wall where the main drain comes out of the wall.
Today, I can go into the garage, open the garage door, (way more droppings now where the opening there is an all along the walls) and stamp my feet, and a mouse (or two) will go running out of the garage. Works every time. I imagine it's the same ones running out and then back in. The weather stripping along the bottom of the garage door I installed last year has a chewed gap at each end.
Lastly, there is a very noticeable smell on the main floor around the front hall closet and possibly into the kitchen area (they're rather close). I've pulled out the fridge, stove, and looked in the closet but can't find any dead mice.
These little fuckers! So, my question is basically this: what are these guys going to do tomorrow? Are they just going to throw down some poison/traps? Will they close up the gaps that I've found? Will they tear out part of the wall to find a nest? If so, will they repair the wall afterwards? Will they paint? Will they have some fancy, state-of-the-art gadget that finds mice through walls and zaps em dead?
And do I need to do anything to make their job easier tomorrow? I've already pulled out a bunch of stuff away from the corner in the garage where they're getting into the house, but there's another wall where my workbench is, another shelving unit, mini-fridge, etc. I'm assuming they'll be the ones moving all that stuff, then?
I expect that's what they're paid to do, but I'll be annoyed if they come and then tell me they'll have to come back when everything is more accessible.
Edit: And I've smelled something foul in the foyer/kitchen area a couple times before, but I always thought it was something in the sink drain as it went away in a few days. There is no visible trap under the sink, so I figured it was just sewer gas/whatever from that problem, and planned on fixing that at some point. I just out of curiosity went down into the laundry room and found the trap for the kitchen sink under the floor. So, maybe dead mice all the time? How long does it take for a mouse to decompose and stop smelling? I'd hate to have to tear up floors/walls here.
First things first, a pest control company is coming tomorrow. Pest control is covered under my condo fees. (I live in an end unit town home). I just wanted to ask you guys who have had a similar situation what to expect, how to prepare my home, and what I should be ready to do afterwards.
Wife first saw a mouse run out of the hall closet November 30th. Found a dead mouse under the garbage can a week later.
I then saw my cat going crazy trying to get at something under the stove a month or so later. Moved the stove. There is a small hole where the gas line goes into the floor, so I assume it escaped there.
Then saw a mouse run through the garage one day a few weeks ago. I pull a shelving unit out and see a rather large gap near the floor that goes into who-knows-where. I tear a bit of drywall off and see that it leads to a very accessible part of uncovered insulation, straight into the house. There are also mouse droppings all over the place. As we are going on our honeymoon in a week or so, I leave it for the time being.
When I get back from the honeymoon (Saturday), I see in the basement (carpeted) that the large Styrofoam piece that was on the floor from an electric fireplace we got was chewed up. Tiny little bits all over the place. It wasn't the cat, since she was at a friend's for the week while we were away. Then, I see a dead mouse by the wall, and a tiny little hole chewed in the wall where the main drain comes out of the wall.
Today, I can go into the garage, open the garage door, (way more droppings now where the opening there is an all along the walls) and stamp my feet, and a mouse (or two) will go running out of the garage. Works every time. I imagine it's the same ones running out and then back in. The weather stripping along the bottom of the garage door I installed last year has a chewed gap at each end.
Lastly, there is a very noticeable smell on the main floor around the front hall closet and possibly into the kitchen area (they're rather close). I've pulled out the fridge, stove, and looked in the closet but can't find any dead mice.
These little fuckers! So, my question is basically this: what are these guys going to do tomorrow? Are they just going to throw down some poison/traps? Will they close up the gaps that I've found? Will they tear out part of the wall to find a nest? If so, will they repair the wall afterwards? Will they paint? Will they have some fancy, state-of-the-art gadget that finds mice through walls and zaps em dead?
And do I need to do anything to make their job easier tomorrow? I've already pulled out a bunch of stuff away from the corner in the garage where they're getting into the house, but there's another wall where my workbench is, another shelving unit, mini-fridge, etc. I'm assuming they'll be the ones moving all that stuff, then?
I expect that's what they're paid to do, but I'll be annoyed if they come and then tell me they'll have to come back when everything is more accessible.
Edit: And I've smelled something foul in the foyer/kitchen area a couple times before, but I always thought it was something in the sink drain as it went away in a few days. There is no visible trap under the sink, so I figured it was just sewer gas/whatever from that problem, and planned on fixing that at some point. I just out of curiosity went down into the laundry room and found the trap for the kitchen sink under the floor. So, maybe dead mice all the time? How long does it take for a mouse to decompose and stop smelling? I'd hate to have to tear up floors/walls here.
Figgy on
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If you are looking for a more humane approach, there are companies that specialize in that sort of thing. I'm guessing whoever you called has those tools available as well. You'll probably end up paying more for them, however.
At the risk of sounding like a dick, I don't care how they get rid of the mice.
And the company I called is covered under my condo fees, so it'll be covered completely. I guess they don't ever remove drywall then to get at a nest? They just lay traps to try to kill them all?
What about plugging up holes where they're getting in? Is that up to me? I don't want to plug up the drywall gap in the garage only to have them all driven into my house. That's why I didn't plug it up in the first place.
Edit: Also, what will these fuckers eat? I'd like to think my house is kept fairly clean, but who knows what they're after? Is half a case of empty beer bottles on the kitchen floor by the garbage going to attract them? What about the recycling bin? And why are they so keen on my garage? There is literally no food in there, human or cat. There is a mini fridge with some pop, beer, etc.
You said that you're in a townhome, so it's possible that your unit is just the (or one of the) entry points, and that they're able to get access to other units that give them access to food for whatever reason.
I'm told that what often happens is that a pregnant female will be looking for somewhere warm to nest, gets in to a home through an open door/window/garage and then, ta-da, you've got a rapidly expanding family of mice in your home.
If they're in the walls of your garage, then they're already in your house. I'd be making sure that there's no way for new mice to get in. That includes checking the seal around exterior doors, vents, access under cantilevers, chimneys etc. etc.
Being in an attached unit makes this difficult as you have little control over their access to adjoining units.
Laying traps is easier than trying to starve them out, but your exterminator might not go through and plug up the holes that are letting them in. get a good Idea of your exterminators game plan and figure out where you'll have to push for more, or fill in the gaps in the service yourself.
Also, removing clutter, if you have any, will give the mice less places to feel safe out in the open, and then lining base boards with traps will be more effective.
if they dont seal em. its not hard to do it yourself.
though if you wipe out the colony you are goimg to be ok, just make sure you seal up any foodstuffs and water points
also, mice prefer darkness and cover
I'm also going to ask if it's alright if I seal up that drywall spot in there, or if it'll mess up his plan. I'm thinking it has gotten worse since I tore out a bit of the drywall. It wouldn't be hard at all to just re-drywall and then caulk along the concrete floor.
And steel wool + drywall mud for the hole in the wall downstairs. Chew through that, fuckers.
Mice are herbivores, so they'll eat anything plant-like or any food crumbs / scraps lying around - and anything that looks or smells like it might be food. Broken-up bits of concrete, drywall, timber, etc (the stuff will kill them, of course, but the animal doesn't realize that).
Mice live just about everywhere and can nest in the most surprising of places, so preventing invasion is something of a non-starter (other than doing basic things like keeping your home reasonably well maintained & cleaned). Just about anything can prove to be attractive for a mouse.
Honestly, an exterminator is a waste of money. They will lay traps that you could go and buy at a very low cost yourself and perhaps clean them out for you. If you feel the sadistic need to hurt back the rodents that came into Your House (TM), go buy some basic hammer traps from Wal Mart, set them up in the areas you know the mice are running around and dispose of the corpses in a day or two (repeat until the traps are no longer killing mice).
There's basically a bulkhead in the corner of the garage, and there's a three inch gap at the bottom of this bulkhead, as it doesn't extend all the way to the concrete floor. It goes back about a foot. I can see where the concrete dips down, but I can't be sure it's an actual hole to anywhere and not just a little less concrete when they did the floor.
Option 1: Shove some concrete back there, but if that's a drain or something, that's not good.
Option 2: Drywall up the gap and caulk to the concrete floor. But if there's a drain back there or something, that's not good. And the guy who came said there's no point drywalling because they'll chew right through it.
I could open up the bulkhead so I can see clearer what it is, but fuck. It looks like the hole is directly above where the hole is in the basement wall, so he's probably right. There's a drain cap in the wall there too (basement), I just don't know exactly what it's for.
I did shove steel wool into the hole in the basement (two fist fulls or so) and slapped some mud over top.
That being said, make sure that whatever they end up doing, you keep the health of your cat in mind. Traps need to be someplace inaccessible to the cat, and I recommend against poison. The last thing I'd want is a poisoned mouse dying out somewhere the cat could eat it.
Good luck with gettin' rid of them!
This is the bulkhead You can see the grey shelving on either side to give you an idea of how far the actual wall goes back on the right. The piece of drywall I ripped up is on the right side along the bottom. The dark line on the floor is where it was caulked to the cement. The gap on the left side was already there and is actually finished up and under. The problem, though, is the gap on the right side where the underside of the bulkhead is not finished and exposes the insulation.
This is the right side, underneath. You can see a few mouse droppings there. And you can see where the floor dips down a bit on the left.
Here is a closer look at the hole. It's obviously not a hole that's there from deterioration, since you can see the buildup of cement. It's almost like it's an intended hole for drainage or something. But, obviously, the mice are using it for access.
Any ideas? I've left a message with the property management of our condo board, hoping they might say they want to take care of it. Technically it's a problem with existing building structure, I guess, so it should fall under their responsibility. I don't mind taking care of this myself, but I don't want to fuck something up by plugging up an important vent/drain and would rather them send a professional on their dime.
I'm not interested in reaching back there and feeling around, to be honest. And I don't feel comfortable reaching further back with my phone to take pictures, in case I drop it. Or maybe a mouse might jump out and snatch it away.
Edit: And according to my wife, the pest guy tossed some poison down the mystery hole as well. Not sure if that was a good idea.
If so you could cut a piece of drywall or plywood to the right size and shove it in there. If the piece isn't anchored and you finish it then you'll likely get some cracking over time along the joint/tape.
As for the drain/vent maybe you can MacGyver up something that will give you a better look at what's there: broomstick, hand mirror, duct tape and more light? If you think you cannot plug it (and you're probably right about that) all I can think is to install some screening material (heavy duty window screen or chicken wire of some type). Probably will be a pain to try to screen off the drain/vent itself, but once you've blocked entry into the house proper on the right you could screen the gap where the bulkhead doesn't quite meet the floor.
I don't necessarily want to throw something MacGyver over it, cause that's going to look mighty fishy to a buyer/inspector when it comes time to sell. Since there's a main stack directly underneath there in the basement, I'm leaning toward either a vent of some sort of an unfinished rough-in for a basement bathroom.
Making sure everything is clean is key of course and definitely clean up any mess found from them (ie droppings, etc). The foam I bought I got at wal-mart for I think $4 or $5 so it's not overly expensive and it says right on the can that it's made to keep pests out. Hope that helps.
And yes, I do park my car in there normally. We have a contractor coming out now to have a look. Convinced the condo board it's on their dime.
The inside of the house is abnormally clean, so I think that's the only saving grace when it comes to having more of a major problem inside. Since I plugged up the hole in the wall in the basement by the drain cap, there have been no mice inside. They're still in the garage, though. I saw one scurry away when I came home today and opened the garage door. I might try some foam in that corner or just throw a bunch of steel wool down it. I took a video with my phone by shoving my hand back there and it looks like a big, dirty, hole. It's still hard to see in the video, but I didn't see any pipe or anything. Just grimy darkness.
I'll also replace the garage door weather stripping once the mice are gone. Doing so now would probably just result in another chewed up weather strip.
They're generally pretty good, if slow at times.
The only time they fought me was when my front hall pipes were freezing due to improper insulation between the cold storage room and the interior of the house. Eventually they came in and insulated.
The contracter just left. He just filled the hole with spray foam and stuck some steel wool on top. Kind of a hack job, really. We'll see.
It's the same contractor they use for a lot of stuff, so I'm sure it's reasonable. The board tends to go a bit low on the quality/price balance scale, in my opinion.