Yuck...I Found a Mouse in the House! Now What?

Updated on September 26, 2011
N.G. asks from Arlington, TX
14 answers

This may be a stupid question but I've never seen a mouse before in our house! I do NOT want to live with rodents of the non-pet kind! :) I've only seen one, but who knows if there is more than one. How do I get rid of it/them and make sure they stay away? Would an exterminator help? I want to get a cat to help keep them away but it's no guarantee that I'll get a mouser, and I'm allergic. What have you tried that worked?

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H.G.

answers from Dallas on

We did too! We have seen 5 little bitty grey ones and killed 4 of them. Im with you and I want them gone. We git some of them on the old fashioned snap traps with peanut butter. If you have seen one I guarantee there's more. You've got to find out where they are coming in and put steel wool or something in the hole. They will not chew on it! Good luck love. I still hold my breath hoping I don't see anymore! Oh and I've never had a mouse in my house before this either!

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C.S.

answers from New York on

TRAPS! We tried the catch and release kind, but when you release them, they find their way back. Now, I buy the heavy duty plastic traps. The mouse goes in, off with its head, and you throw it out without having to see the little critter. I know it sound awful, but I cant have any rodents in my house!

I dont like to use poison b/c my neighbor has cats, I worry about them catching a poisoned mouse. And, I have kids on the house, I dont like the idea of using poison around them.

Also, we went around the foundation of the house and filled in any little cracks we could find.

You could call an exterminator, but they are going to cost a lot of money. Try it on your own, and if you cant get it under control, then call.

Good Luck!

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'm sorry, but you are probably right. You don't have just one mouse. They are social creatures and you probably have several.

Get some sticky traps and place them in the area where you saw the mouse. Get some rodent poison and place it in hidden dark areas where you saw the mouse. Place the poison and sticky traps where kids can't get at it.

Good luck to you and yours. Bad luck to your little "friends."

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J.D.

answers from Cincinnati on

Those sneaky bastards. We've been gettin them once a year. The last one we had got in my stove and chewed up my cutting boards, must have been mineral deficient and had a pooh fest in my broiler pan and in the cabinet where I keep my pots and pans.
If you don't have small children you could use the poison, I think its called D-Con but not sure .but you don't know where they'll end up dying. They hung out in our kitchen under the sink and that runs all the way to under the bath tub. Glue traps can be messy especially if you have kids. My son was trying to help and got the glue all over himself.

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C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Hey Girl!! Long time no see!

When I lived in Belgium we would get mice every time they plowed the field next to our home!!

Traps work best...and you are right - you most likely have more than one...it freaked me out because they loved to eat the foil under my stove top - that's how I found them, I came down to fix breakfast and heard a funky sound and went to fix some scrambled eggs and it scrambled out from underneath!! YIKES!!! I think I screamed loud enough to wake the neighbors - my husband had JUST come home from his mid-shift ...what a site!!!

So we got traps and set them behind the stove and had someone come in to look around...

GOOD LUCK!!

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

OMG!! We are experiencing the same thing....We have set all kinds of traps....Caught three and hope we are done with them...We think they got in by way of carpenters doing our home repair work and we had a large party. Since we live by a forest preserve area they run rampant...Could have been stuck in the carpenters tarps and supplies...Who knows...all I know is that they got into my house!

Anyway, get several kinds of traps. Even if you get the sticky traps fold them into the box shape and put a tiny dab of peanut butter on them to attract their attention. I also like the plastic ones...Very trigger sensitive...put a tiny bit of peanut butter on the center and set them up asap. We also got the cheapy wood ones....We've set 20 traps....No more caught in three days but I am still holding my breath...LOL! I am creeped out by it!! Yuck....but what are you gonna do...if you find that you can't get rid of them...call the exterminator as the last resort....

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

1 mom found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

You are correct, if there is one, there are more.
We ended up using sticky traps. The little mice just keep coming back if you catch and release. The other thing you must do is figure out how they are getting into the house. They can get through a hole the size of a quarter. Patch up the entry way they are using.

We had a cat and I swear she would invite them in.. She would play with them!!!!

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C.P.

answers from Columbia on

Mice are usually driven inside due to crappy weather or cold. First, go buy some of those "no touch" traps (not the glue kind) and put them along the baseboards of your house. They'll run right up against the wall. Then check for entry points. They'll slide under a door that isn't well weather proofed, or under your garage door that has gaps next to it. I'm sure there are other entry points.

If you have dogs or other pets/animals, be sure their kibble is stored in plastic containers. And ensure that your kitchen is mouse-proofed too. Check the pantry for boxes such that they might be interested in.

Mice are just a part of having a house. Get them trapped. It'll be okay!

A.G.

answers from Dallas on

N., we live near you in Mansfield, and since we're on a small farm we have field mice from time to time. Lately we've had more than usual, and we were told by our exterminator (he sprays for bugs every few months) that they are coming inside looking for water because of the drought we're having.

Anyway, we usually see "evidence" of them under our kitchen sink, so we keep a traditional trap set under there. Every month or so we catch a mouse. I'm usually fortunate and my husband will dispose of the mouse for me. He throws it out into the field next door. The last time we caught one my husband was working late and I couldn't stand the thought of the dead mouse under my sink, so I got rid of it myself. It was awful!

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A.S.

answers from Boca Raton on

If you've seen one you've probably got 5-10 hanging around somewhere, waiting on info from the scout mouse. They are extremely resourceful and adaptable.

We had an invasion after we remodeled our kitchen (had never seen rats in the house before). Have you done ANY work anywhere? Have you heard any noise in your attic at night?

I figured out where mine were coming in because I chased it (I'm talking humongous rat - that's how crazy I freaking was). We then sealed the hole behind the new fridge. Later we sealed up the hole in the attic where we think they came in to the house itself.

To cut down the population we set bait traps all around our property with poison. I hate doing that, but when it's my kids or the rats who do you think is going?

It made me so upset I threatened to move out of our house until my husband could get it resolved.

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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

seriously? you have never had a mouse before? Lucky! we have a field behind our house so we usually catch four to six every fall/ winter. Make sure your dishes are always done, put food in mouse safe containers (they can eat through plastic, so glass and metal) If they have a foood source they will keep coming back. (this includes pet food) unless you are infested an exterminator is a waste of money. I like the spin traps because they can't hurt my son if he touches them. DO NOT get bait. the mice eat it and die in the walls and you will have to live with the smell.

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M.2.

answers from Chicago on

Ahhh...I just had my first experience with a mouse in our house and even though it's been trapped, removed and 'put to sleep' (trying to put it nicely) I'm still totally freaked out! My husband was up north in the middle of the woods at a deer camp over Labor Day weekend where they see several mice actually in the camp throughout a weekend stay (YUCK us ladies do not go to the deer camp ever) so we're pretty sure that's where it came from. I didn't actually get a good look at the mouse because the two times I saw it it was so fast that it was just a blur. It took my husband two nights to catch the darn thing (we had 16 traps set downstairs) and from the moment that he confirmed we had a little 'friend' living downstairs with us I wanted to pack up my suitcase and kids and leave until it was caught but since I'm a grown-up I 'stuck it out' LOL. Good luck to you and I hope you only have one little guy that gets caught and soon ... although from what I've read it's very rare to only have one (sorry)!! Also, my husband is going back to that deer camp this weekend and I've already told him that NOTHING is going to come into our house until it has been thoroughly gone through outside twice!! I would seriously consider 'banning' him from that place if he brings home another 'furry friend'!!

K.C.

answers from Dallas on

don't use the glue traps. they stick to everything and the mouse can run off with it if it's caught in the right position or it chews it's own leg off or whatever may be caught. i've seen it :( we got the snap traps, but the re-usable one and used gloves when working with it. they smell human on it...they won't go to it. use the honey peanut butter...had much better time with that.. we used the poison too right before i had my son since i HAD to have them out before he was born...and it's been almost 2 years since... and no sign. we also have a cat that is a mouser..sometimes lol. he likes to play with them and hide them (under the couch...in my laundry basket of clothes..omg... yuck) good luck & hope you can get rid of them soon.

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