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There's a moose loose aboot this hoose

9fingers

9fingers

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Romsey Hampshire between Southampton and the New F
We live opposite a field and are used to seeing the odd mouse around but this year we have found a number of holes up through floor board and even one through a plastered wall under a window sill in our pantry. These have all been blocked up and reinforced with metal cut from soft drink cans but we still have a visitor sometime seen during the day.
Poisoned grain sachets from Screwfix/toolstation left out over night are being devoured night after night. There are either a lot of them or it is ineffective.

Has anyone used a stronger product that they can recommend please?5CD439FD-D9E5-4D32-A188-B68180C96B7F.jpeg
This is about chest height. They have climbed up the cavity and found a weak spot in the lime mortar rendering.
 
little nipper mouse-trap - bread and peanut-butter...
simple and very effective
 
I put down traps in my workshop last year after my grass seed was being devoured. After I caught what I assume was the two parents, then there were a further six in decreasing size before no more sightings. I set up an indoor ring camera which alerted me to movement around the baited traps (once I'd removed all other food sources) so I know I've got them all now.

Assume it was a family so I'd hazard that you've got the same.
 
It’s not usually a summer problem, so you had better get them and your house under control before the cold weather comes.
Mentioned this before, they hate wire wool, so it’s good for hole stuffing when old drink cans won’t suit.
Ian
 
I'm not too keen on killing them but needs must or they become a health hazard.
I occasionally have a mole problem as well, sprung up in five different places overnight last week and by the time I set the traps 2 days later there were dozens of large mole hills. Caught 3 which seems to have stopped them.
I leave them alone under the hedges and around the edges but when they spring up 50yards into the middle it's a bit too much. I'm still a bit sad when I catch them though.
 
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I've used the red blocks with good affect. Found a well trodden hole outside my shed so I put some blocks on a wire and put it down the hole. Kept on adding new as they were eaten. A week later my shed was full of 1000's of blue bottles, spiders had a field day.
 
The poison recommended by StevieB arrived yesterday 15 blocks of 20grams =300g.
I was busy yesterday so did not put it out but overnight the mice found it in the open cardboard box with a sealed inner plastic bag.

This morning the whole lot had been eaten! just an empty bag and box. A typical mouse weighs 25gm so 12 x mouse weight of bait completely gone. Furthermore not a single mouse turd in sight.
 
Just got to hope they don't die in the walls now otherwise you'll end up with an un-removable stink for a while... That's why I prefer traps to poison.
 
Get a cheap indoor wifi camera with night vision from Amazon and a small micro SD card and set it to record on movement. Then you will see what you are up against and know when they are gone.

Back when I had a factory I used to buy kitkat by the box at the cash + carry and leave the box next to the tea making. there was a honesty box to pay for them (at cost so cheap). One day we noticed all the kitkats had been taken and not paid for as the cash box was unchanged - with coins still in it. Everyone assumed they had been stolen so i stopped buying them. Couple of months later we moved a cabinet and found a pile of wrappers - the thieves were rats!
 
9fingers said:
The poison recommended by StevieB arrived yesterday 15 blocks of 20grams =300g.
I was busy yesterday so did not put it out but overnight the mice found it in the open cardboard box with a sealed inner plastic bag.

This morning the whole lot had been eaten! just an empty bag and box. A typical mouse weighs 25gm so 12 x mouse weight of bait completely gone. Furthermore not a single mouse turd in sight.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a significant colony of mice at least, or something bigger! They do say keep replacing bait until it stops being eaten, but that looks like it could be quite expensive in your situation :unsure:
 
Robert said:
Get a cheap indoor wifi camera with night vision from Amazon and a small micro SD card and set it to record on movement. Then you will see what you are up against and know when they are gone.

Back when I had a factory I used to buy kitkat by the box at the cash + carry and leave the box next to the tea making. there was a honesty box to pay for them (at cost so cheap). One day we noticed all the kitkats had been taken and not paid for as the cash box was unchanged - with coins still in it. Everyone assumed they had been stolen so i stopped buying them. Couple of months later we moved a cabinet and found a pile of wrappers - the thieves were rats!
Click to expand...
Similar but different, we had a mouse mice? In the storeroom, being smaller they just eat away at a corner of the box containing- yes, I think it was KitKat bars, whole vertical corner removed.
 
StevieB said:
That sounds like a significant colony of mice at least, or something bigger! They do say keep replacing bait until it stops being eaten, but that looks like it could be quite expensive in your situation :unsure:
Click to expand...
Indeed expensive about £9 worth in one night. I’ll leave a cheap biscuit out tonight to see if they are still around. I’m still mystified why the are no mouse turds left behind?
 
They must be pooing somewhere and nesting. I guess they could be nesting elsewhere even outside the house and coming indoors to scavenge. Any likely hideaways outside? Under a shed, yours or neighbours.?
 
Get a cat!

Bod.
Ps we have no mice/rats, but do have half the neighbourhood cats wandering through the garden.
 
Last night a mouse ate the biscuit I'd put in the bait tray so at least one has survived from gorging on 300gm of poison the previous night.

I can now present the "all-electric mousetrap" - patent pending.

Mouse trap.jpg


Mousie stands on the metal plate connected to mains neutral and eats from the bait tray. the 7 electrodes are connected via a light bulb to mains live. In the unlikely event that the mouse gets stuck to the spot once electrocuted, the worst that can happen is the light bulb will come on rather than blow a fuse.

I hope to be able to post positive results tomorrow!
 
In the early days of my business we made industrial fly killers at a customers request. The first prototypes had a problem. The insect having been electrocuted stays on the wires and starts to fry - some then catch fire and so did the plastic insulator keeping the wires spaced.

Hope your mouse does not combust.

You and we really need that camera now :)
 
Maximum power transferred into the mouse will be when the resistance of the mouse equals that of the bulb. So effectively 2 x 100watt "bulbs" in series. That will be 25 watts into each. This should soon dehydrate the mouse and its resistance will increase and the power in the mouse will drop. I expect the system to be self regulating

I might include some thermal insulation under the metal plate to save the carpet from singeing!
 
I've done battle with old cameras like that and it's just not worth the effort. I'd suggest a TP link tapo wifi camera from amazon for 20.99 which will just work.
 
Bob I’ve got a Tapo camera I’m not using at the moment. Can put it in the post if you like. Also a Trailcam
 
9fingers said:
Maximum power transferred into the mouse will be when the resistance of the mouse equals that of the bulb. So effectively 2 x 100watt "bulbs" in series. That will be 25 watts into each. This should soon dehydrate the mouse and its resistance will increase and the power in the mouse will drop. I expect the system to be self regulating

I might include some thermal insulation under the metal plate to save the carpet from singeing!
Click to expand...

We have a couple of 'high' voltage 'zapper' bats (like a small tennis racket) that we use for flies in the summer. When you catch one on the mesh, there's a very satisfying 'crack!' and if you leave the juice on for a moment it does start to sizzle and smoke 🤣 - Rob
 
I don't whether to be pleased or frustrated!
Two nights with the all electric mousetrap primed for the kill and not a sign of a mouse!
Maybe the 300g of bait scoffed over the weekend has bumped them off? but considering the night after the bait episode they ate a biscuit I left out as a test and so I went ahead with the electric trap. A camera should arrive today too!
At least I went for an outdoor one so I can find other things to use it for in the garden.
 
Now with a new camera installed we have evidence that the mouse is still around.
activity ends after about 40 seconds.
Clearly the mouse is suspicious of the metal plate and maybe the bait ( biscuit crumbs) are not appealing enough. I'll try changing the bait tonight.
 
We had a mouse infestation in our garage last year. I could hear and see the furry demons in the rafters, between the vapor barrier and roof tiles, and along the top of my tool cabinets. Mouse poo was also all over the place, but not yet in the vehicles.

I bought six spring traps from the local hardware store and baited them with peanut butter. However, I didn't set the traps, just left them unsprung with fresh bait for the first four days throughout the garage. I wore latex gloves when I handled and rebaited the traps. The first day, the traps were not touched, but by the third day I had to put more bait on the trip lever several times a day.

On the fourth day, I put fresh bait on the traps and set them. In the first twelve hours, while checking every 30 minutes, I removed 21 mice that were no longer pining for the fjords and tossed them into the adjacent field for the hawks, crows, and magpies. Over the next two days, an additional 14 mice and three moles were bereft of life and became snacks for the birds.

I realized there was still work to do since the traps with ex-mice did not have any bait. The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese (peanut butter). Over the next four days, the choir invisible welcomed 12 new members and a few of the traps still had bait. I then left the baited traps in place for another week with only three passengers for the rainbow bridge, with bait still in the traps.

I still keep three baited and set traps in the garage, but haven't removed any who made the ultimate sacrifice. Likewise, I no longer see mouse poo.
 
9fingers said:
I don't whether to be pleased or frustrated!
Two nights with the all electric mousetrap primed for the kill and not a sign of a mouse!
Maybe the 300g of bait scoffed over the weekend has bumped them off? but considering the night after the bait episode they ate a biscuit I left out as a test and so I went ahead with the electric trap. A camera should arrive today too!
At least I went for an outdoor one so I can find other things to use it for in the garden.
Click to expand...
Well Bob what did you expect? They had to have a pud after a main meal. ;)
 
Mike said:
............ 14 mice and three moles were bereft of life and became snacks for the birds.
Click to expand...
How on earth did you manage to catch moles in mousetraps and what were they doing in your garage (rafters) in the first place.
 
Lons said:
How on earth did you manage to catch moles in mousetraps and what were they doing in your garage (rafters) in the first place.
Click to expand...
The door at the back of the garage has a gap at the bottom, and I think this is the only way the moles could get in. I have no idea why they were in the garage.
 
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