Mouse problem or, are mice much of a problem?
So we have mice in the house. We periodically do, especially in winter, and we typically put up traps and the like and for many years we had cats, which kept the numbers low, but even without the cats I doubt we have more than a few at any given time. My question is, should I be considering the presence of mice in the house as more of a health risk and be doing more/contacting an exterminator to get rid of them? In particular I'm worried about their droppings and the like, as we have many small corners it's hard to keep clean and I sometimes leave clothes lying around at night, and I know they've been in my closets. I've always assumed that mice are pretty common and a lot of people will have some every once in awhile, them being hard to keep out on a permanent basis, but recently I've been concerned I should be a lot more diligent about controlling them and cleaning when they're around than I have been.
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The odds of catching a disease from a mouse are low, unless you are not exercising proper food hygiene in a food prep/storage area like a kitchen (and washing your hands, etc). You'd be likely to get salmonella before anything else though. The hanta viruscwould likely be a concern if you had enough mice to urinate in a high enough concentrations to risk airbone exposure to it, or you are, for some reason knowingly sniffing mice urine or droppings. If you're in the city, then hanta virus is pretty low (deer mice are more liable to have it than house mice). But cleaning of those areas would limit the risk, and deprive them of food. Sealing holes into your home, etc would also help.
If you are say... having to clean a corner or something like, daily because it is very visibly contaminated by mouse feces, you should probably call an exterminator, because that's a lot of mice.
Solve here of course meaning only the occasional mouse. Even if you're not getting too many, if you're starting to think maybe it could become an issue, it's better to act sooner rather than later. Speaking from experience!
Remember, you don't have to be perfect in sealing up your house, just measurably better than your neighbors.
Baiting works ok, traps work reasonably well.
I am overran with predators from feral cats to coyotes, hawks and I have seen a nest of gila monsters. as well as great plains rat snakes that paid me no heed as they sunned themselves on a bike path. I know there are mice around when I was at Walmart but I feel the number of predators keep the numbers low
Domestic cats are kind of broken as predators. They're thrill predators that kill for play more than food. They'll kill far more than the will ever eat no matter how well fed, they'll torture their prey, they'll release it just to chase it again and hurt it to hear it squeak. It's great for pest control, because they'll kill and kill and kill until they're out of things to kill. It's also really bad for the local small animal population because they will also do this to birds, lizards, frogs, fish, snakes, bugs, worms, whatever.
Offering her a trapped mouse didn't give her anything to hunt for. The dead mouse was a pity gift since you clearly can't kill them properly yourself. You got the dead mouse you asked for, and she probably got a few great minutes of play out of it before it died.
Trash needs to go out every day. Sink needs to be empty and washed of food. Counter needs to be wiped off. Floor needs to be swept. Vacuum everywhere every few days. If your dad can't do it, put it on a daily checklist for you. It doesn't take this long to do these things.
More single or infrequent chores. Move the fridge if you can and sweep under it. I'm always collecting food under there because of the kid. Move all the couches and sweep or vacuum under. Remove nest material like cardboard boxes. Some spray foam will stop mice. It is very cheap. spray open cracks on the exterior or garage areas you think they are coming in. If they continue to chew through put in some steel wool in the foam. This deters them even more because it scratches them up if they try to chew it. Remove everything from cupboards and wipe them down. Make sure they aren't in there eating crackers or anything. That's what will get you sick. All grains or pasta should be in sealed containers.
But it loses its thread
I don't like using poison or glue traps, but I do have poison out in my garage in the corners and behind shelves, since I am pretty sure that they get into my garage first before they enter my house. This last time I had to use glue traps because I had some crafty little ninja mice that were eating the peanut butter without setting off the trap. If it's a bad infestation, I would use all three, standard mouse traps, glue traps and poison.
Good luck
https://www.amazon.com/Authenzo-Catcher-Effective-Sanitary-Families/dp/B07HQMLHCL/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_pm?ac_md=3-1-QmV0d2VlbiAkMTUgYW5kICQyNQ==-ac_d_pm&cv_ct_cx=mouse+trap&keywords=mouse+trap&pd_rd_i=B07HQMLHCL&pd_rd_r=3558f374-bcef-4377-87b3-aad3495e1354&pd_rd_w=t707W&pd_rd_wg=tSHAW&pf_rd_p=516e6e17-ed95-417b-b7a4-ad2c7b9cbae3&pf_rd_r=Z9R0B2N9F89XDM2AF06H&psc=1&qid=1585329482
https://www.amazon.com/Rodent-Killer-Reusable-Effective-Catcher/dp/B07FDZY21W/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=mouse+trap&qid=1585329482&sr=8-6
You'll note that each of these traps were loaded when temps were below freezing. That was not an error. I still have not refilled a single trap of its formerly frozen peanut butter and each one is still murdering mice.
Again, buy one of each of these sets, and put them jaws facing to the wall of where you think your mice are travelling.
If you have any more questions about specific trap placement then DM me.
I hate mice.
Fuck mice.
What's the point of this exactly? Because another way to tell if the trap has been set in a good spot is if there's a dead mouse in it.
Set your traps.
Mice aren't that smart.
But it loses its thread
I caught 11 mice last fall with one trap in the same place in my basement. It is good to learn where they are coming in rather than having the trap across the house, but I always set the trap with peanut butter and I caught that many mice as they were coming in to be inside for the winter. I had reason to suspect that they were coming in in a certain place. I always knew when the trap had a mouse because I'd check it every night and it had fallen off the part of the foundation I had set it on. In order to get at the peanut butter, a mouse must step on the trigger.
This is the trap I use.
https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-409BULK-Plastic-Mouse-Liquid/dp/B081S8PYM2
I've never had the trap go off and not have a mouse in it. By baiting the trap and not setting it, I would just be feeding the mice and doubling the time it took to kill it instead of just killing the mouse.
But it loses its thread
(Note, I haven't handled a mousetrap in my life, for all I know you should train them on fingers so they'll get a taste for blood and be more effective mice killers in the long run.
Er.
I mean, are perfectly safe to move around when set? and/or everyone knows how to disarm safely before further handling?)
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades