Mouse problem - exterminator recommendation

[PaperBagger'14]

Here's a cheaper alternative to rodent control that I've used with much success:



So there's a little picture for you. Basically you get a big bucket and fill the bottom few inches with antifreeze. Make a little ramp up to the bucket for the mouse to climb on. Tie a string around a tennis ball and attach it to the ramp and coat the hell of the tennis ball in peanut butter. Mouse goes for the peanut butter, falls into the anti freeze and can't get out. Have a big bucket ready in case there's a bunch of the #######s. Good luck!

[calgaryblood]

That looks like a good trap. Is the anti freeze what makes them not be able to get out? Or does it poison them? If it was water I'm assuming they could get out?

[PaperBagger'14]

Anti freeze to poison and kill them, plus with a big bucket they can't get a grip on the walls to climb out.

[Dion]

You need to find where they are coming in. Seal the hole with some steel wool.

[ajr4013]

Sorry to bump an old thread but figured it's better than starting a new one.

We've had a mice issue for almost 6 months now and despite hiring pest control (who in hindsight might have way overcharged us) to install traps and re-fill them several times we've seen little to no improvement.

It was suggested we hire someone to do a through inspection of potential entry points and seal those points off but I am not sure who to hire to do so (most companies I've looked into either don't provide that service or it's unclear if they do).

Any suggestions on companies/contractors that could do this? Am at my wits end with the consistent movement in the walls and shudder at what is probably left behind in the ceiling once the poison does its trick.

[3thirty]

We hired a pest control company and found the stuff they used useless as well.

Do you know where they come out or see them? We found glue traps the most effective but we only had a small problem. Canadian tire sells a huge bulk pack for cheap if you know and have access to where they are moving around.

That being said it won't solve the issue of getting into the house, but our problem was one got in through an open door so it was an easier catch.

[WideReceiver]

After trying everything with varying success, I’ve killed dozens over many years with those poison stations. They work and I’ve become an expert on this. I should start my own business. Feel free to message me for advice.

Don’t tell anyone you’re doing this. People will hate you.

[ajr4013]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

We hired a pest control company and found the stuff they used useless as well.

Do you know where they come out or see them? We found glue traps the most effective but we only had a small problem. Canadian tire sells a huge bulk pack for cheap if you know and have access to where they are moving around.

That being said it won't solve the issue of getting into the house, but our problem was one got in through an open door so it was an easier catch.

I guess that's the biggest issue. They definitely have come out in the basement and we've found several dead ones down here. The exterminator thinks it could be several locations outside and admittedly our backdoor isn't sealed well.

Biggest issue is the basement ceiling and walls and hoping to find someone that could potentially see how they get in and seal it off.

After trying everything with varying success, I’ve killed dozens over many years with those poison stations. They work and I’ve become an expert on this. I should start my own business. Feel free to message me for advice.

Don’t tell anyone you’re doing this. People will hate you.

Appreciate this but at this point it's not the killing I'm worried about it's that we can't seem to solve how they're getting in.

[Geraldsh]

I bet you have looked at the entrance and thought “nothing can get in a hole that small” you were wrong. Mice can unhinge all their bones and drag them in a bag behind them so a minuscule crack beside a pipe is like a wide open door for them.

You can buy rodent resistant spray foam at Canadian Tire as well as aerosols, apply everywhere and get more traps.

[ajr4013]

Haha yeah have been told many times now all they need is the size of a dime to get in somewhere.

I think we're beyond bait and traps at this point though since they are continually getting in or somehow surviving.

[Geraldsh]

Another bright idea: set live traps at intervals outside your house. The one that catches the most mice is likely to be close to the entrance they are using because they follow the scent of the mice that have gone before them.

[Table 5]

Honestly just get a cat. We had some mice issues in the basement when we moved into our current house, and ever since we got a cat, there's been no more mice problem. He's a wussy city-cat, but he still loves patrolling the basement.

[WideReceiver]

Originally Posted by ajr4013

I think we're beyond bait and traps at this point though since they are continually getting in or somehow surviving.

You’re not. Those poison stations are priceless. I can attest. Get several and put them everywhere (out of sight!). I also have them outside, which has pissed my neighbour off.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

You’re not. Those poison stations are priceless. I can attest. Get several and put them everywhere (out of sight!). I also have them outside, which has pissed my neighbour off.

This is important, you must kill every one that comes in before they build nests and birth more.
You are at war! Kill the enemy and close your borders.

[ajr4013]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

You’re not. Those poison stations are priceless. I can attest. Get several and put them everywhere (out of sight!). I also have them outside, which has pissed my neighbour off.

What are these stations? We do have a couple of stations setup outside but guessing the ones are you talking about may be different.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Honestly just get a cat. We had some mice issues in the basement when we moved into our current house, and ever since we got a cat, there's been no more mice problem. He's a wussy city-cat, but he still loves patrolling the basement.

I don't know how to phrase this but I think I'm asking this like a stupid question... but mice can be scared away, right? Like if you get a cat, they'll speak amongst themselves and consider "moving their nest away"? Unlike bugs, you don't have to rely on killing them all to eliminate them?

When I first moved into my house, a few months in, I saw a mouse twice (or maybe it was a vole, I didn't see the tail clearly) on back to back days. I made loud noises and chasing it around literally for almost 20-30 seconds each time (was doing refresh at time, very little in house for it to really hide behind). I got traps and set them up a few days later. I found evidence of cardboard it had been nibbling on and droppings. As a precaution, I put caulking in door areas and windows for the main floor/basement (but it was also to address some minor air leaks). I sprinkled some kind of spice in the back yard that might help deter it (Sage or oregano that was supposed to work from my spice rack that I basically never knew how to use).

Since then, I have never seen a mouse in a trap or evidence of a mouse in my house ever again. It's been 4 years or so. Did I somehow via happy accident eliminate my mouse problem with fear? Or am I going to open up a basement wall one day and realize the mice are the ones who have the last laugh?

[ajr4013]

That’s my one of my biggest concerns, the amount of droppings and potential dead mice in the ceilings/walls. I wouldn’t have thought it would be so hard to find someone to inspect and seal off entry points.

[Fuzz]

Maybe get a motion detecting webcam and see if you can track down entry points? Probably have to move it around a bit, but I bet after a week you'd have it figured.

[WideReceiver]

Originally Posted by ajr4013

What are these stations? We do have a couple of stations setup outside but guessing the ones are you talking about may be different.

https://a.co/d/c2s9rdw

They’re available on Amazon and in certain local stores such as Canadian Tire. Poison comes in pellets or small bricks. They work!

[ajr4013]

Funny enough we actually did try those ones indoors and best I could tell they didn’t do much. I did find a company that will do an outdoor inspection and seal off smaller entry points so might have to do that.