First fruit flies, and now a mouse

[AllieB]

Thanks to the wonderful suggestions that I received here on Democratic Underground, I no longer have fruit flies. I just returned home from work to meet the UPS guy, and as I was waiting, a mouse ran from under the stove to under the refridgerator. I screamed. The dog just watched it scurry.

This is particularly vexing because in addition to the dog, I have two indoor cats. I roused them from their naps and they just sniffed around rather disinterestedly. My husband is away until tomorrow, so I don't want to pull out the fridge or stove without him here. :scared:

There is quite a bit of construction happening in my neighborhood, including a teardown and some new construction. I've never had a mouse before and I'm freaked. I can only think it's because of the construction, the heat and availability of food bowls. Is there anything natural that I can use as a repellent, since poison is out of the question with pets?

[hobbit709]

1. Your cats aren't

hungry enough

[AllieB]

2. I agree-spoiled housecats. And a lazy Lab.

Their food bowls are being removed pronto!

[sui generis]

3. any Home Depot or Lowes has rodent cage traps

you just bait them and set them near where the critters go and you should be able to carry it out.

Check your crawspace / attic access, vents, etc. to see where they might be getting in. Maybe where the under-sink plumbing goes into the wall or behind your washer/dryer (check the vent line too). Make sure you don't have gaps under any doors either -- you may need to remove your doors and put door flashing on the bottoms (usually plastic, copper or nylon) to make sure the door snugs properly when closed.

You will need to seal every place they can get into your house because there isn't really an effective "repellant".

[AllieB]

4. I have a feeling it's coming in through the gas line

I'll get some steel wool to fill in the gaps. Thank you for your suggestions.

[Wilber_Stool]

5. What did you do

to get rid of the fruit flies? I've got them again this year.

[AllieB]

6. I used a cup of wine to lure some and they drowned

I also poured bleach down the sink. I am now keeping my fruits and veggies in the fridge.

[BurtWorm]

7. You should maybe open up a genetic engineering lab.

Or breed mice and fruit flies for other labs around the country. (Get Rich Quick Scheme #4,329,862.)

:thumbsup:

[AllieB]

10. LOL. My house does feel like a glorified petri dish.

Yuk.

[BurtWorm]

11. I know that feeling!

I just returned from a vacation, and boy is my apartment tired! :wow:

[Kali]

8. Mouse trap baited with peanut butter

and maybe a chocolate chip. You can purchase live traps and let it go outside but in my opinion this isn't really as humane as folks think, because they are likely to be killed or die less quickly that way than the usually instant way with an old fashioned wooden trap.

Oh and put it near the fridge or stove where you saw the critter - if you can't keep the pets away from it cut a couple holes out of a shoe box and put that over the top of the trap and weigh it down with a brick or something to keep the dog from moving it - of course a mousetrap IS a self training device for most dogs!

[AllieB]

14. Thanks for your suggestions.

:hi:

[Misunderestimator]

9. You don't want to poison it... it may crawl into your walls or floor and

die there... then you are in for a month of STINK. Humane traps... They've worked for me in the past. Is it a small mouse?

[AllieB]

12. It looked like a healthy mouse, or possibly pregnant mouse.

:-(

Darn cats and lazy Lab. I think they've had their killer instincts domesticated right out of them.

[Misunderestimator]

13. You could try starving the cats for a day or two.

:D *JOKING* :D

[Kali]

16. Lazy or "dumb" cats

can have the same effect as the poisons mentioned above. Sometimes they "play" with a mouse till it is mortally wounded then let it go whereby it crawls someplace inaccessible and inconvinient, dies and stinks for a long time (especially if you are ina humid climate)

[LisaL]

15. What do the cats know? They probably never even saw a mouse

before. I am sure mine will be totally useless as well, especially considering they are Persians.

[miss_kitty]

17. Get all the food into storage

Wipe up all the crumbs.

Pull out all your appliances and clean everythig out. Micies stockpile, so it's important you clean the fridge area, use a vacuum cleaner-careful not to suck up mousie-you just want to get rid of all the food stash. Change your vacuum cleaner bag right after that.

Get glass or metal canisters to store your dry goods in. Thoroughly clean all your cupboards.

Take all food waste to the garbage at least once a day. Put it in a metal or glass container between trips.

Be scrupulous about wiping up spills. Don't use bleach or caustic cleaners or Lysol or Pinesol. You have pets, and the stuff is not good for them.

This will not rid you of the mice, but they will be less likely to come back once you've sorted out food storage.

On Edit: Do Not leave doors or windows open. They get in that way too. And they can climb.

[AllieB]

19. Thank you for the tips. I'm about to head home and deal with everything.

I think I will stop at Target and pick up some storage containers first.

[leftofthedial]

18. next will be velociraptors

so get ready