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There's a rat in the kitchen

20:28 / 04.10.06

Actually mouse, not rat.

We seem to have developed mice in the kitchen - apparently over the last 48 hours or so. I have heard them scratching away in the cavity walls, and actually saw one last night (it went behind the fridge). Came home this evening to find mouse droppings all over the kitchen surfaces.

So, the plan is to keep food off the surfaces, keep the place as clean as poss, and buy some traps. But, we live on the third floor of a big, old block of flats in slightly dilapidated condition, which means that these mice are IN THE SYSTEM.

Getting a cat is not really an option as we have no outside space and I can't abide the smell of cat food or litter trays... anyone got any other ideas/experiences?

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

20:31 / 04.10.06

Brrr.

I keep thinking of Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls."

Well, you can go the humane route or the full-on tactical assault route. Depends on which way your conscience swings.

20:32 / 04.10.06

Full on assault. They are vermin.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

20:34 / 04.10.06

Put some food in your bathtub and a ramp leading up to it. They can't climb out. I found this out the hard way, but my stress can now be turned to your solution.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

20:35 / 04.10.06

Oh: plug the drain first, and maybe have some sort of "hey there's a mouse trapped in the bathtub now" plan beforehand. "Drop a cat in there for an hour then give it back to its owner" is one possible plan, but it gets messy.

20:40 / 04.10.06

Oh God. Not the mouse thing again.

Don't ask me. I had a mouse in Somerset and I actively fed it. It lived in the dog food cupboard and it never did anyone any harm. In the middle of winter it came and whiffled about by the fire once. Then it realised I was on the sofa and it eyed me for about a minute before it fled.

Anyway, there is no point trying to get rid of it if there are Mice In The System. Only the System Owners can deal with such a thing.

20:44 / 04.10.06

For when you can't find humane traps try my family's 100% fool proof mouse trap system:

Need:

1@ Mayonaise jar (empty)
1@ jar 0' peanut butter
1@ Tin Snips/sharp craft knife
1@ small piece of stiff thin metal usually cut from another jar lid
1@ roll of duct tape
1oz cayenne pepper
1@ piece of paper or paper plate

Take the lid of the mayo jar and cut along three sides of a 'square' creating a flap. On the inside suface attach the extra metal piece via duct tape which causes the flap to only open inwards. Place a generous dollop of peanut butter at the bottom of the jar. Check the flap on the lid then screw it on and place against the wall on its side buffered with something to keep it from rolling. For clever mice leave in upright position.

Check frequently to verify and captive toss critter outside. Repeat baiting the jar. Only down side is the poop factor in the jar.

One you are relatively mouse-free put the cayenne on a piece of paper or paper plate and sift into suspected mice entrance vectors. Works fabulously for ants and roaches as well.

20:45 / 04.10.06

I've only managed to catch a mouse by hand once- If you want shot of them then you'll have to call in the exterminators- I believe the council might be able to help you there...

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

20:49 / 04.10.06

xk, I like that your family has a mouse-trap system.

If it were mice, I'd go the humane route, but rats...I'd call meself an exterminator.

Brrr.

Cloned Christ on a HoverDonkey

21:45 / 04.10.06

We actually had blue tits in the wall cavity at the weekend.

Took a cavity vent off the wall in the nursery and one flew out and hid in the corner of the room, beneath my son's cot, shivering in fear as I tried to cup it in my hands. It then tried to fly out through the closed window and sat dazed on the windowsill until I slowly approached it again, cupped hands outstrectched.

As I'm doing this and trying to appear as unthreatening as a great big mammal can be to a tiny little fluffball of a bird another one flew out, scaring me and the other bird shitless.

How my chest puffed out as I strode down the stairs after gently throwing the birds out of the window and my eldest son (4 years old) was wide-eyed saying, 'Wow Dad, you're fantastic'.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:13 / 04.10.06

I've had mice at various places I've lived, and I've never minded them unless they eat my stuff or keep me awake at night. As long as they know it's their JOB to fuck off when they hear me coming, we can live together quite happily.

They have to live somewhere, after all.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

23:41 / 04.10.06

Unfortunately, it's also their job to nest in your insulation, breed like crazy, and chew on everything in sight, which can include electrical wires. I'm all for live traps and humane treatment, but cohabitation isn't a long-term solution for either party.

Cloned Christ on a HoverDonkey

00:09 / 05.10.06

I'm all for live traps and humane treatment, but cohabitation isn't a long-term solution for either party.

Sounds like my marriage.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

00:21 / 05.10.06

Well, by all accounts they've been there for the last five years or so (long before I moved in...) I think they actually nest elsewhere. It's very strange.

00:59 / 05.10.06

Another way to set up a live trap is to take a can, a mousetrap, and a piece of something hard and flat like wire mesh and slap 'em all together. The idea is that the can is affixed to the main body of the mouse trap and the wire mesh (or whatnot) is affixed to the arm of the mouse trap. The mouse will, in most cases, eat the bait while sitting on the mesh, which will fling the mouse into the can and cover the opening.

I've seen this method clean 20-something mice out of a hoarder's apartment.

10:46 / 05.10.06

I'd recommend against poison unless you really have no choice. Leaving the ethics of it to one side, the mice crawl into all manner of places to die and you come upon them when you least expect to. Not nice.

10:56 / 05.10.06

I'm wondering if those ultrasonic doohickeys (technical term) that keep cats out of the garden would work with mice?

I do love the idea of the ethical capture mouse catapult though.

11:09 / 05.10.06

I'm wondering if those ultrasonic doohickeys (technical term) that keep cats out of the garden would work with mice?

Yes, they are generally marketed as "mouse whistles" and they work a charm. They got the little critters out of my boyfriend's place when all other measures had failed.

Be glad they're not actual, live, large rats! We had a horrible infestation one summer a few years ago when I was living in a crumbling, dilapidated old mansion in Georgia. I was bitten in my sleep (seriously!) and had to go to the hospital for rabies innoculation (not a problem in the UK i think). The hospital staff injected me with tiny doses of the virus for six weeks, so that my immune system could overide any potential exposure. It was very painful and did make me slightly mad...

I ended up bailing on the hospital bill, and negotiating 6 months free rent from my drunk of a slumlord. Result!(?)!

13:38 / 05.10.06

Full on assault, kit-kat! Humane mouse-ageddon! If they're in the system you can only keep your own place free of meeces, but a few Heath-Robinson devices will scare them away. Try all the suggestions and let us know which is best!

This dude's built a better mousetrap, check out the quicktime video;
"Nobody wants to share their home with a mouse, but many of us do not wish to cause them pain and suffering as we remove them. Commercial mousetraps usually lead to an agonizing and slow death, and poisons are even worse. I have developed a simple, reliable mousetrap which will work every time and will never hurt the mouse."

It looks really foolproof and claims a 100% success rate with some mice, the only down side is it won't fit in nooks and crannies.

Here's full details on the mouse-apult canflinger described above, if you try this please please film the surprised mouse being caught if you can.

And of course if all else fails bring out the big guns;

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

14:41 / 05.10.06

Mice and rats are horrible losers when it comes to board games. All you have to do is win one round and it sends them packing.

20:30 / 05.10.06

Thanks all for v helpful suggestions - rosie x's sound emitting plug-ins look likely to be the best immediate option, though I do like the idea of sprinkling cayenne pepper around the place and then waiting to hear little mousy sneezes.