Author Topic: What to do when there are mice in the walls?  (Read 3802 times)

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Offline The Walrus

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What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« on: July 01, 2019, 03:52:31 PM »
Okay so... found a mouse in my apartment about a month ago. First time in the 3+ years I've been living here. Put out 4 bait traps - never caught it, but came home one day and found a weak (dying?) tiny mouse in the doorway between my kitchen and dining room... slapped it with a broom to be sure it was dead, got rid of it, no mice since.

I live in the apartment on the end of my building; there is an empty unit next door to me between me and my other neighbor, then another empty unit next to her on the front end of the building. That lady is no longer living there but apparently left a bunch of old food there which brought in a bunch of mice; my neighbor on the other side of the empty unit next door has seen over half a dozen mice in her place since then since she's directly next door. I figure that's where my one mouse came from.

Well yesterday I started hearing squeaking in my living room wall that's shared with the empty unit next door, and this morning I heard an alarming amount of squeaking from the wall behind my refrigerator in the kitchen. Freaked out and told the front office about it and hopefully somebody came by today like they said and put out some traps, but what else can I do? Should I use the glue traps? I put out 4 bait traps and didn't catch anybody so I might have to go for glue (the one mouse I did find was small as hell and I wonder if it would even get caught in the bait trap; one of my bait traps was actually activated, but there was no mouse in it).

I've never had to deal with mice before let alone inside the walls. Other than putting out traps/poison is there anything I can do? I DO NOT want to see any more mice in my pad. I do keep it clean, like I said, never seen them until last month.
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Offline King Postwhore

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2019, 03:55:32 PM »
Tomcat glue pads with a cracker in the middle. Inhumane but gets them all the time.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2019, 04:02:58 PM »
Tomcat glue pads with a cracker in the middle. Inhumane but gets them all the time.

I used those with peanut butter rather than a cracker.  But otherwise, yeah. 
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2019, 04:04:07 PM »
I'd blast some Sonata Arctica.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2019, 04:04:31 PM »
...or..

Have you had a conversation with your landlord?
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline King Postwhore

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2019, 04:09:12 PM »
Tomcat glue pads with a cracker in the middle. Inhumane but gets them all the time.

I used those with peanut butter rather than a cracker.  But otherwise, yeah.

Never tried that. I will next time.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline bosk1

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2019, 04:15:23 PM »
If a cracker works, I would continue doing that.  Less messy than trying to flick a wad of peanut butter into the center of one of those.
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Offline Podaar

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #7 on: July 01, 2019, 04:40:44 PM »
What to do when there are mice in the walls?

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Offline lonestar

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Offline bosk1

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2019, 05:19:29 PM »
:lol  Wow, that thread still exists...
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Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2019, 06:19:14 PM »
Looks like I have some reading ahead of me!

TAC, did you eat a big bowl of smart asses for breakfast?  :lol Yeah, I told the landlord...
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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Offline King Postwhore

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I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline Grappler

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2019, 07:12:20 PM »
Glue traps tend to work the best for mice.  You might need the BIG ones though to force them to walk onto the glue far enough to get stuck.   If you use the snap traps, set up two next to each other, with the trigger sides butted up against the wall. 

Offline Lonk

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #14 on: July 01, 2019, 08:48:01 PM »
Never had any in my apartment, but my mother did once. I got her those wall plugs and surprisingly they worked for her for a good year or so until it had to be replaced.
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2019, 10:35:53 PM »
Put some cats in the walls.

I'd blast some Sonata Arctica.

Or this, I guess.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2019, 10:59:04 PM »
Glue traps have been set just in case. Maybe I'll catch a TAC while I'm at it.  :lol
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Offline Lethean

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #17 on: July 01, 2019, 11:33:35 PM »
Looks like I have some reading ahead of me!

TAC, did you eat a big bowl of smart asses for breakfast?  :lol Yeah, I told the landlord...

And he/she said... ?

Living in an apartment has its drawbacks, but the benefits are that they take care of that kind of stuff.

Offline orcus116

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2019, 05:15:02 AM »
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=20039.0

 :lol My very first thought when I saw the title was "Whatever method you use don't forget the keys".

Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2019, 06:12:12 AM »
Looks like I have some reading ahead of me!

TAC, did you eat a big bowl of smart asses for breakfast?  :lol Yeah, I told the landlord...

And he/she said... ?

Living in an apartment has its drawbacks, but the benefits are that they take care of that kind of stuff.

I mean I only told her yesterday. I'm just looking for advice on other things to do in the meantime. I said in the OP they were sending someone out to put out traps/poison. I just wanted to know if there was something more I could do myself because I don't generally twiddle my thumbs and wait for them to do everything
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2019, 06:15:16 AM »
I'd just set some traps or glue boards wherever you have seen them. They like to run along the walls.

Also, make sure all food is covered on your counters and keep your kitchen floor clean.
Don't leave dirty dishes piled up in your sink either.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2019, 06:32:09 AM »
Yeah I keep my apartment pretty clean thankfully. Hope I catch one... or not, as long as they stay out of my space!
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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Offline home

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #22 on: July 02, 2019, 06:33:12 AM »
From my experience (I've had many animal infestations, student housing yeey) poison is a lot more effective than traps. Especially because the foraging mouse will bring the poison back to the nest, killing any younglings there. That might also be more humane than just killing the foraging parents with a trap and leaving the babies to starve.
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #24 on: July 02, 2019, 07:21:44 AM »
The traps were awesome (I'm impressed that they figured out the keys; I thought this was just a part of my family folklore for years...) but this was the best:

"Why would I want to kill the mouse? I'd befriend it at the first opportunity; we could drink and surf the internet and listen to music together, it'd be awesome. He'd quickly become my go-to mouse for everything. Girl troubles? Talk to the mouse. Need someone to go to a gig with? That mouse fucking loves to mosh. My friends would love him, because he's an adorable mouse, and who doesn't love those? At clubs he's the perfect wingman, jumping on grenades so I can get with the hottest girl there. He's my best friend in the world, and I'm closer to him than I could ever be to a fellow human.

But then, early one morning I awake and go to the kitchen to make a bagel. I open the cupboard, and there he is, munching away on my bagels. My. Bagels. I blackout, and when I awake I find myself covered in blood, clutching the severed head of a girl I've never seen before and the mouse's skin is stuck to the wall with a thumbtack. I never found his body."

For some reason, I could see Kattelox posting this.  I would just replace "mosh" with "power metal".   

Offline El Barto

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #25 on: July 02, 2019, 08:14:11 AM »
Okay so... found a mouse in my apartment about a month ago. First time in the 3+ years I've been living here. Put out 4 bait traps - never caught it, but came home one day and found a weak (dying?) tiny mouse in the doorway between my kitchen and dining room... slapped it with a broom to be sure it was dead, got rid of it, no mice since.

I live in the apartment on the end of my building; there is an empty unit next door to me between me and my other neighbor, then another empty unit next to her on the front end of the building. That lady is no longer living there but apparently left a bunch of old food there which brought in a bunch of mice; my neighbor on the other side of the empty unit next door has seen over half a dozen mice in her place since then since she's directly next door. I figure that's where my one mouse came from.

Well yesterday I started hearing squeaking in my living room wall that's shared with the empty unit next door, and this morning I heard an alarming amount of squeaking from the wall behind my refrigerator in the kitchen. Freaked out and told the front office about it and hopefully somebody came by today like they said and put out some traps, but what else can I do? Should I use the glue traps? I put out 4 bait traps and didn't catch anybody so I might have to go for glue (the one mouse I did find was small as hell and I wonder if it would even get caught in the bait trap; one of my bait traps was actually activated, but there was no mouse in it).

I've never had to deal with mice before let alone inside the walls. Other than putting out traps/poison is there anything I can do? I DO NOT want to see any more mice in my pad. I do keep it clean, like I said, never seen them until last month.
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #26 on: July 02, 2019, 08:23:14 AM »
The traps were awesome (I'm impressed that they figured out the keys; I thought this was just a part of my family folklore for years...) but this was the best:

"Why would I want to kill the mouse? I'd befriend it at the first opportunity; we could drink and surf the internet and listen to music together, it'd be awesome. He'd quickly become my go-to mouse for everything. Girl troubles? Talk to the mouse. Need someone to go to a gig with? That mouse fucking loves to mosh. My friends would love him, because he's an adorable mouse, and who doesn't love those? At clubs he's the perfect wingman, jumping on grenades so I can get with the hottest girl there. He's my best friend in the world, and I'm closer to him than I could ever be to a fellow human.

But then, early one morning I awake and go to the kitchen to make a bagel. I open the cupboard, and there he is, munching away on my bagels. My. Bagels. I blackout, and when I awake I find myself covered in blood, clutching the severed head of a girl I've never seen before and the mouse's skin is stuck to the wall with a thumbtack. I never found his body."

For some reason, I could see Kattelox posting this.  I would just replace "mosh" with "power metal".

HAHAHA. Awesome. Just awesome.

I thought you were a cat guy? As a rule a cat's mere presence makes rodents uncomfortable enough to find new digs.

I am a cat guy, but I don't own any, they all live with my parents.
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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Offline Lethean

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #27 on: July 02, 2019, 09:58:03 AM »
Could you bring one of the cats over for a visit for a few days? :)

Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #28 on: July 02, 2019, 11:41:05 AM »
Could you bring one of the cats over for a visit for a few days? :)

Haha - I've asked my mom and without missing a beat gives me a very firm "no." Plus... they're kind of fraidy cats who won't go outside. :)
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #29 on: July 02, 2019, 11:44:25 AM »
Yeah, if you bring one of them to an unfamiliar place all he/she'll do is probably hide under the couch or wherever he/she feels safe.

The only decision is now to adopt a few outdoor cats so they would deal with the problem.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline The Walrus

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #30 on: July 02, 2019, 11:46:00 AM »
Yeah, if you bring one of them to an unfamiliar place all he/she'll do is probably hide under the couch or wherever he/she feels safe.

The only decision is now to adopt a few outdoor cats so they would deal with the problem.

The goal is to get animals out, not in! The obvious solution is to live amongst the cats and learn their secrets, then use them for my own gain, and then I win.
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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Offline Stadler

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #32 on: July 02, 2019, 12:06:03 PM »
Could you bring one of the cats over for a visit for a few days? :)

Haha - I've asked my mom and without missing a beat gives me a very firm "no." Plus... they're kind of fraidy cats who won't go outside. :)

Whose side is she on?   Tell her, if we don't deploy the cats the terrorists win!   :)

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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #33 on: July 02, 2019, 02:19:45 PM »
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=20039.0

This is glorious!  :rollin :rollin

Yup... too bad some of the links are to culled photo-bucket libraries.  Part of the fun of reliving that thread was all regulars from back then that are nothing but memories now.  Makes me feel warm, fuzzy and sad all at once.

Just checking in to say peanut butter has always done the trick for the jingle's.  Just before we moved from the last house, we had a little family - caught/released one, but 'snapped' the other three.  After having setup 2 traps, we caught two in one night.  I doubt the traps snapped simultaneously, so rodent #2 must've been REAL hungry - to see your dead pal just a few inches away and think "meh... I'll chance it".  :lol
« Last Edit: July 02, 2019, 02:35:18 PM by jingle.boy »
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Re: What to do when there are mice in the walls?
« Reply #34 on: July 02, 2019, 04:05:02 PM »
It was suicide