Mouse problem - exterminator recommendation - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

killer_carlson · 09-12-2016, 09:55 AM

Agreed on the old metal bait pads working better than the yellow ones.

The yellow ones are much easier to set though.

Kiran403 · 09-12-2016, 09:58 AM

Has anyone use those box-style traps that shock them?

What about those noise deterrent devices that are supposed to drive them away?

FlamesAddiction · 09-12-2016, 10:00 AM

I find bait traps just entice more to come in.

You might want to try a deterrent. i had varying degrees of success with mothballs and bounce sheets around the perimeter of our old house.

burn_this_city · 09-12-2016, 10:01 AM

My wife bought the noise thing, we haven't had one since, but its only been setup for a month or so. Once I hear it whining in the basement, I can hear it almost imperceptibly throughout the whole house.

Ashartus · 09-12-2016, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

My wife bought the noise thing, we haven't had one since, but its only been setup for a month or so. Once I hear it whining in the basement, I can hear it almost imperceptibly throughout the whole house.

I put one of the ultrasonic noise things in my garage. When we first moved in the garage was full of mouse droppings, we put that in and had no more issues. A few weeks ago (after almost 10 years) we unplugged it to use the outlet for something else and forgot to put it back in, and lo and behold we had mouse droppings again. So from my anecdotal experience they seem to work as a deterrent.

Kiran403 · 09-12-2016, 10:34 AM

What's the range on one of those noise deterrents? Would one be good for a whole house (approx 2000 sqft) or should I get one for the basement, one for the main floor and maybe one for upstairs?

calgaryblood · 09-12-2016, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiran403

What's the range on one of those noise deterrents? Would one be good for a whole house (approx 2000 sqft) or should I get one for the basement, one for the main floor and maybe one for upstairs?

The sounds do not travel through furniture or any object really so you'd probably need like 15 for your house if you don't know where they're coming from.

burn_this_city · 09-12-2016, 11:02 AM

I wouldn't put it anywhere but in the basement. It makes a horrible whining noise.

calgaryblood · 09-12-2016, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I wouldn't put it anywhere but in the basement. It makes a horrible whining noise.

I must be using ones that don't make any noise. I always thought they couldn't be heard by humans and only by the mice. Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong device.

calgarywinning · 09-12-2016, 12:23 PM

They are pretty smart, if they get away and knew the bait you used they won't come back to the trap or any of their friends. To be a good mouser takes skill. I agree the best are the old school metal ones.

blankall · 09-12-2016, 12:44 PM

You need to find out if they are getting in from an outside point in the house. You also need to eliminate their food source. Mice need regular food to survive. This shouldn't be too big of an issue, as long as they are not accessing food from outside that you can't control, EX: someone else's garbage can.

As far as traps go, those sticky ones are the best, but the most inhumane. The mice will trash around on them and rip off their skin. You also have to kill the mice somehow once they are caught. I'd try one of those bucket style build your own traps. The ones with water and a paper towel roll.

The classic snap traps are good, but the mice will also learn to lick the bait off them, without setting off the trap, and that'll piss you off.

Kiran403 · 09-12-2016, 01:25 PM

Thanks for all the pointers. I went to Canadian Tire over my lunch break and bought 4 snap traps and a sonic deterrent. My plan is to see if I can trap a couple of them and then put in the deterrent to keep any new ones from entering.

What's the best way to find where their nest might be? I've been looking for droppings but haven't seen any yet and I haven't come across any holes or obvious points of entry inside my house.

Fuzz · 09-12-2016, 01:28 PM

Did someone leave a door open during the weekend?

afc wimbledon · 09-12-2016, 01:33 PM

Call me a bastard but I just poison the crap out of them, works a treat.

afc wimbledon · 09-12-2016, 01:44 PM

I would bother with the electric ones imho, you will always forget to check your traps now and then and it's a lot cheaper to throw away the spring traps with the rotting carcass of a mouse glued to it. You also can't flush the electric ones out with a hose.

Of course the electric one provides endless fascination for my slightly disturbed foster kids.

burn_this_city · 09-12-2016, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

I must be using ones that don't make any noise. I always thought they couldn't be heard by humans and only by the mice. Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong device.

I can hear it, but I might be weird. I could also hear a faint whine emitted by tube tvs that most people can't.

GreenLantern · 09-12-2016, 01:48 PM

Ya I caught 10 in my garage last year, in a brand new build. They were getting in under the weather stripping on the garage doors, I got it fixed multiple times but they somehow still got in. We back a farmers field so I think that is the problem as all my neighbours are in a similar situation. I decided to try a gimmick, which was the sonar thingies that plug into the wall.. and it worked. I put two in the garage and never caught another mouse for the rest of the winter. I saw their prints outside running under my step, along the garage doors, but never any actually leading in nor did my traps catch one.

I let them run all summer, but this thread is a good reminder to bait some traps to see if things are still on the up and up. I did just give my garage a good sweep last week and didn't notice a single piece of mouse poop.

I bought mine at CT in a 2 pack I think for like 25 bucks. Not sure how it would work for a house though.. but maybe on the outside? Some people say they bother their pets but my dog didn't seem to care when she was out there with me.

These guys:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/vi...3847p.html#srp

blankall · 09-12-2016, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Call me a bastard but I just poison the crap out of them, works a treat.

This is pretty effective and for large numbers of mice may be the only way. Mice don't really leave a rotting smell either. I'm always nervous about leaving poisons around the house. Suppose if you don't have a kids or pets, it's less of an issue.

cral12 · 09-12-2016, 02:13 PM

Who else read the first two words of this thread and thought that it belonged in the "Tech Talk" section of the forum? ; )

Flabbibulin · 09-12-2016, 02:18 PM

Continually putting poison in the basement did jack squat for me. The poison would disappear quickly and the mice would keep coming back... and the cat was a useless bastard. He would occasionally catch one, but then just play with it like a mouse toy- including tossing one in the air about 15 feet. Would eventually just let them go. Nothing more shameful that owning a cat but also having a mouse problem.

Only thing that fixed our problem was finding the entry point- which ended up being a decent sized hole in the side of our house under the deck. Sealed it up but good a couple weeks ago and I think that did the trick- the poison hasn't been touched since.