Mouse in the house. Help!

[Deleted]

I know if there's one, there are others. Does peppermint oil work or do I have to do traps. I can't do poison because of cat and kid. TIA!

Steph

[Susie]

Oh goodness, no, something benign like peppermint oil is not going to solve your mouse problem for you.  That's like when people ask for something that's all-natural, non-toxic, completely organic, and possibly made of unicorn hair that will kill dandelions in their yard but not harm the grass or anyone who touches or maybe even drinks the stuff.  Nope.

It's time to bust out some mousetraps.  I highly recommend these:
 
which you can get at Lowe's and lots of other places.  They snap hard, and kill quickly and therefore more humanely.  They work so much better than these:

which too often only catch tails, or don't snap hard enough and leave a struggler.  That is no good for anyone.  I also think the black ones are easier to empty after they've done their job, they work just like a clothes pin.  I do them myself, no biggie.  A little peanut butter on that yellow target spot works great.  With kids and pets around you'll just need to put them up high.  We usually put ours on shelves in the basement, or sometimes there's a little ledge at the top of the poured concrete or cinder block wall.

I am of the opinion that good snap traps are kinder and more humane than poison.  When they work right, the mouse never gets ill, never knows what happened.

[dr.girlfriend]

We got these containers for EVERYTHING:

www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=oxo%20pop%20storage%20containers&sprefix=oxo+pop%2Caps%2C187

I love them. They are at Kohls and Home Goods too. I tried to avoid poison too, but in the end we got that stuff that makes them extra-thirsty. We put it only where we were certain DS could not get to it (in locked undersink cab, in basement). We tried snap traps, but ended up with a lot of random mouse bits and blood trails and just...ugh. 

[who22]

We've always had good luck with snap traps. Put them along the wall where you see droppings or notice other mouse activity.

[TBM]

We had good results with snap traps, but not the ones with the plastic cheese thing. The black ones that Susie posted look good.

We found that the mice kept going after dog treats or dog food, so we always bait them with peanut butter with dog food or a dog treat stuck in. It hasn't failed us, and normally works quickly.

Peppermint oil and that kind of stuff is supposed to help prevent, but certainly does nothing once you already have an issue.

[laterbloomer]

Ditto Susie's recommendation. And don't panic. It is possible to only have one or two and it is coming up on the time of year that they are looking for their winter home.

"I can't do poison because of cat"

LOL you do know that fluffy is supposed to earn her keep by hunting the little rodents right?

[Deleted]

Lucy-fur sort of earned her keep. I believe she played with Mickey till he hid under a piece of furniture and collapsed from too much fun. I didn't find him till days later unfortunately :-( So disgusting! She'll be getting a pep talk!

Thank you all for the tips! I'll be hauling hiney to the local Home Depot or Lowes for traps.

[lavender444]

We got a mouse in our last house. I'm a big chicken and couldn't handle opening a cupboard door to find a mouse in a snap trap, so we bought one that lured then into a box, then electrocuted them. No mess, and it all occurred under the closed lid, so I didn't have to see it. H could just come home and empty it.

We got it on Amazon. It was around $20, but it's reusable so it was worth it.

[Deleted]

I keep spraying under the jukebox where I found it with disinfectant. I'm so skeeved out! Silkwood shower might be necessary. :-(

[Marmee]

Slim Jim's are good bait! I tried the humane traps & nothing for days. We resorted to the worst option but caught it in 1 night of those. Also hired an exterminator but that takes days to work too...I couldn't wait. That little thing waltz through my living room at noonish everyday freaking taunting me. Good news is, there really was only one.