Opened my pantry to put a box of crackers back and a little fur ball was looking right at me! Scared the crap out of me cuz I was half asleep. What's the best way to get rid of these things? I just put a trap(the no see them dead kind) in the pantry. I have a exterminator service for the spider and bug problem I used to have. Can they help or is this going to be an ongoing thing? I probably sound silly but this is bothering me now.:rocketem:

Oh yea and I have a young cat less than a year who could seem to give 2 bleeps about going after them!

The snap traps are the best and are cheap, where I lived before we were infested with mice and I would just kill them and throw the whole trap and dead mouse in the wood stove. Mice suck and are hard to get rid of poison is the best way but with a cat if the cat eats a mouse that has been poisoned you may have a problem

Someone told me mice don't like the smell of mothballs (thats why grandmas closet smelled like that).

Somewhere !
you have holes.... or a single hole that is allowing an outside mouse entry into the house....you can buy a type of hardware cloth mesh thats very pliable to shove into these holes...
(they can't chew thru it)

generally ...they have a nest somewhere in the house and the mouse you saw....is a domesticated mouse now because he was born (over winter)
in the house and thinks of it as home. you need to stop the breeding asap ...because they breed extremely fast.

look for the droppings under the fridge or find their nesting materials in an old card board box in storage. Usually there's a tiny hole (1 inch) ....chewed thru the side.

for now....empty out the whole food shelf and box it up. I know thats a hassle but you want to dis-infect that whole area to have peace of mind...then determine if theres any possible hole or crack
1/2 inch wide that would allow them access into the food area.

as far as that lazy cat is concerned.....quit feeding it...
and set up a old rod with like 15 to 20 pound line and then you attach a grey or brown cat nip mouse to the end that you bought at the pet store and train it to chase and capture that mouse and he'll love the game and the smell especially and will begin to associate the mouse with pleasure. Not all cats are mouser's /...
thats a known fact.... so your left with either getting a second cat or training the cat you have... it's allot of fun really.

*...you can dust area's with regular while flour to determine if a mouse has walked thru at night because you'll see the tracks.

* a cat's most favorite game is sticking it's paw into a small hole in the side of a card board box because it see's activity coming in and out... the cat nip mouse dangled in front of it.... or taped on a wood stick and wiggled from the other side.

*mice are seed eaters...so feed the birds outside away from the house to attract them back outside...

poisons suck imo because then you have dead smell as poisoned mice rot inside the wall or some other inaccessible place.

*there's nothing sweeter than the sound of a mouse trap going off.
i use swiss cheese on the BOTTOM of the trip lever and peanut butter on the top... and it never fails. i have no mice anymore.

*most people dont realize it but mice claws are so small and sharp they can litterally run right up the side of a house. i've seen it many times. the very smallest havaheart trap will work if you set the trip lever to the lightest overlap - like a hair trigger...

My exterminator is coming out tomorrow and he is going to lay bait and sticky pads in the pantry. My wife emptied out today and cleaned everything. It got into the past and unopened cereal boxes. I like the idea of training the cat with casting a line. My kids tweety bird rod will work perfect for that.

Problem is the 1/10 rule. I was told if you see 1 you probabaly have 10.

You have to stop them from coming in. I had a small corner broken off the cellar door years ago and the varmints made it up to the second story of my 2-familiy.

Snap traps and seal their entry spot. Good Luck. It does suk.
My daughter saw one and she still remembers it clearly (15 years later) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year I went around my whole house and sealed up EVERY possible entry spot with expandable foam, and had 0000 all winter.
My lawn shed may be a different story, as they have nested in my lawn tractor, and a few other things

I have to do the same thing Ron...With all the friggin cats in the neighbor hood I think the mice find shelter inside...:rocketem:

Now we're talking! Jasper bagged one a couple of minutes ago. A little guy though, not the one I saw last night. He was clearly the Mom or Dad but it was still nice to slam the thing down with my hiking boot! I'm having my house checked tomorrow for any and all access points. My house is a 100+ years old so it's going to be a pain, that's why I'm paying someone to do it.

my cat FatJoe just got one....while watching the Deadliest Catch I heard "squeek...squeek..."....sure enuff Joe was playin with a mouse....STOMP....game over...:gorez: