Sticky traps just make me feel so sorry for the mouse. I know, but they do. I don't know a way of quick dispatch that wouldn't involve violence (except a trap) though. Catch and release would not solve the problem. :( I also understand that mice can be so disgusting.

I know the feeling Kathy as I caught a mouse last night. I had heard it the night before so set one of my trusty traps.

I got 2 in my attic. I wish I knew how they were getting in. I told DH we need a mouse cam to attach to one and then maybe we'd find out.

I keep a supply of good ol' victor mousetraps handy. Youtube how to set them, it's easy when you see how.

There are now bates available that have a tasty treat they eat. So far we’ve found a couple of dead mice outside that we think were taking residence in our garage and attic. Apparently (and I can’t swear its true but it’s what I was told) the mice eat it and by the time it takes effect, they have left the nest to go running around outside. I was a bit worried when our pesticide company put a couple of the bates in our attic but we no longer hear rummaging so I guessed it worked.

We use sticky traps. I hate them,they are so cruel because they either starve or chew their limbs off to get free. But they work. So,we came up with a compromise. They get stuck on the trap,SO shoots them with his pellet/bb gun,so they die quickly and they get tossed. I don't like poison because lots of either feral or free roaming pet cats (not ours,we don't have any cats)often come on our property.(They like to sleep in a chair we have in the carport or in SOs boat.) I don't want them to eat the poison or a poisoned mouse.

The one time I had a mouse I
put out a snap trap, it got caught, but it was still alive. I decided to drown him trying to save him from suffering anymore. It was over in a minute or two but it felt like forever. One of my least favorite things I've ever had to do.

.

SAD!

I'm anti mouse in the house, too, but very anti long, prolonged, agonizing deaths, even for rodents. In the past, I've lived in a couple of homes where mice were happy to visit and managed to get them with snap traps. The big challenge was making the homes mice proof in the first place, almost impossible in older homes.

I hope you at least killed it quickly Kathy and didn't just toss it alive out to die slowly.

I wish I didn't read this. It bothers me how cruel people can be towards living creatures.

We used snap traps forever, but so many times they caught the tail or a leg and we ended up chasing them attached to the trap! We even tied ribbon from the trap to a cupboard handle so they couldn't take off, BUT one of them chewed thru the ribbon!

DH dispatches them quickly. 90 yo neighbor would drop them in the rain barrel!

We used to live in the country in Illinois. This time of year, they came into the house (mostly the attached garage). No problems like that in Florida, too darned hot for them.

Not only do the neighborhood cats can eat the bodies or even live poisoned ones but so do all creatures that survive on them. I have too many hawks and owls that I hear calling everyday to use poison. Several years ago Bald and other Eagles were dying because they were eating things that had poison in their bodies. A slow death caught in glue is not something that I would wish on any creature. A good old mouse trap or mouser are my killers of choice.

I love "The Better Mousetrap" by Intruder. Just press to set and squeeze to eject. They poke their head in and that's the end for them. Years ago we had a round Victor trap with 4 or 5 holes. That was a good one too but harder to get them out of it.

I am not opposed to killing the mice if it is quickly and with the least amount of pain possible. We did have a problem with them in the garage a couple of years ago. Used a live trap and I released one at the end of our property every morning for two weeks straight. Might have been the same one... I told my husband we should paint the tail or something. We sealed up whatever we thought could be an entrance. There are also more snakes around now, so maybe this solved the problem.

We've used different traps. The plastic ones, where they are supposed to go in and get killed, don't always work; mice have lived and chewed their way out. Victor traps, well, one got caught under the sink but didn't die. I'd been planning to make slow-cooker beef stew for that night, but couldn't with the mouse rattling under the sink; I told DH we'd meet him at the restaurant across from the train station when he got off the train, have dinner, and he could dispatchthemouse before we went in. The sticky traps, well, I got one and after reading the instructions, took it back to the store. I just couldn't.

Meantime, DH has done a good job with the BB gun. But of course, then I have to vacuum up the bbs.

There are plenty of owls, hawks, and coyotes around; they must be going after the chipmunks and bunnies instead of mice.

How did you end up eating mouse poop toast?

I’m with you, Chi. Kathy please kill the poor little mouse; those sticky traps are cruel and I feel badly I used them in the past on cockroaches.

We had a mouse problem at work and an exterminator was called. He set out several sticky traps along the baseboards and in the break room and left. I took one look at those traps and into the trash they went. Until then, I had no idea such a thing existed.

As the temperature plummets all sort of critters attempt to get inside. Bats/mice/spiders..NONE are welcome and if they are found will FOR SURE DIE. Sorry if that offends but nature is very cruel and survival of the fittest is a REAL THING and these guys were just too dumb to survive!!

IMO, sticky traps should be banned. I don't care what the creature is, it is a living thing and doesn't deserve to suffer. I, too, wish I didn't open this post.

I’m trying a product called Rat-X, putting it out for the first time yesterday. Not sure how effective it is. I don’t like setting Victor rat traps. I’m so afraid I’m going to get my hand snapped.

https://www.ecoclearproducts.com/our-products/ratx/

Edited to add: the "treats" I left out are gone this morning. Trick or treat, guys!

Tennessee,

We came home from Florida, late in the day. We had stopped for dinner a few hours before. Also stopped at the local grocery store for bread, milk, etc. That night before going to bed I made myself some toast. The next day I was cleaning in the kitchen (my counters are very dark, almost black) when I wiped the one by the toaster I looked at the paper towel and there was mouse POOP! Next step get out the Clorox wipes and clear the counter. I was disgusted. Then I opened the bottom of the toaster to clean it. Yep! Quite a bit of mouse poop! So I ate mouse poop toast the night before! Toaster directly to the trash! Bought new toaster, and when we leave for Florida I clean it out, place in a plastic bag and stick in an upper cupboard til we get home.

I do clean it regularally now, just to be sure it is "safe', although I seem to have lost my taste for toast!

Up here in northern Michigan field mice always sneak in in the fall.

Kathy g in MI

p.s. check your toasters folks!

arcy_gw

As the temperature plummets all sort of critters attempt to get inside.
Bats/mice/spiders..NONE are welcome and if they are found will FOR SURE
DIE. Sorry if that offends but nature is very cruel and survival of the
fittest is a REAL THING and these guys were just too dumb to survive!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bats are protected and it is illegal to kill them in many areas. You are supposed to call someone who is licensed to remove them, or let them out of the house yourself unharmed instead of killing them.

We occasionally have had one in the attic or garage and catch them with a snap trap. I have also set out some glue traps in the past and will use them again. The reason? I just had to spend over $500 Friday to have wiring repaired in my car due to rodents chewing a couple of sensor wires. We have been here 18 years and never had rodents chewing wires in any of our vehicles. And they seldom sit more than a couple of days without us driving one of them. I guess there is always a first time. So we declared war this weekend, and set out both snap traps again and glue traps.

I have read recently in a car magazine that the wire coatings in some cars are apparently now made with a plastic made from grain. While I think it is odd that companies would waste various plant oils making plastic it is possible. It is not surprising that rodents of all types are trying to eat it if food oil is used in manufacturing. What is surprising is that anyone was dumb enough to think this was a good idea.

Declaring war is the right thing to do.

I once had a rodent take up residence in the one car parked outside and eat wire insulation. It turned out to be a good head's up about increased rodent activity in my neighborhood and on my property. The wiring damage was just an indicator, the rodents were the real problem and we wound up having some get in under the house. The car had to be fixed but we "declared war" by plugging holes, stepping up the trapping and keeping vigilant. That's made the problem disappear.

I suspect the use of a plant vs petroleum based plastic is an effort to be a bit more green. Nothing wrong with that.

I wish I hadn't read this too. I don't blame you for not wanting mice in the house, but sticky traps are just plain cruel. Snap traps are fast and effective. I hope you didn't toss the mouse outside to die a slow death.

Also sorry to hear Arcy is killing bats. She thinks they don't survive because they're dumb. Arcy, I suggest you read up on bats. Mice and spiders too.

I am anti-mouse. Period.

Mice ate the wiring in my DD's car about 2 years ago. She was driving on the interstate when all kinds of lights started blinking on her dashboard, and her brakes began to go out. Those d@mn mice almost caused a horrid accident! Fortunately, she was able to get off the road and stopped with out crashing.

It took over 2 months to get it repaired. The car was only 5 months old, and as it turns out, the coating on the wiring was soy based. (I think it was soy) The mice had a field day!

Other than poisoning, whatever it takes to get rid of them, is fine with me.

Every now and then, people give me snakes to release. I was sent 2 "water" snakes. They were in a pillowcase, so I took them down to the bayou. Looked in on them, and it was 2 Texas Rat snakes....so I released them by my storage building. Same lady who sent them to me, had rats eat the wires under the hood of her new truck.

We used to get pet food donated to us....hundreds of pounds at a time. Never had a mouse in the house, but there was quite a mouse problem in the storage container. One rat snake totally wiped them out. There wasn't one mouse, spider, roach, silverfish, or bug of any kind in there. Snakes do so much good. I know most people are afraid of them, but it is very easy to tell non poisonous ones from poisonous ones. In another storage building, the geckos completely cleared out all the spiders. I went in there looking for a brown recluse....used to be able to find them....not a spider of any kind, but lots of geckos.

^^ We had a HUGE rat snake who lived in our storage room, but he ventured onto our neighbor's property and the neighbor killed him, plus a couple others. Then complained about being overrun with rodents, DUH.

Neighbor has been gone for a few years and we have rat snakes again. A juvenile got into the house a few weeks ago and scared the heck out of the kitties. Snake was captured and put back in the yard before anyone (mainly the snake) got hurt. :)

We live in the country. Field mice are inevitable. We have black and rat snakes and leave them alone. But a mouse can and will get in, even when you do you best to plug holes. When the temperatures start to fall, it happens. We don’t always have our garage door closed in the middle of the day when we are home and working outside, so they could slip in any time.

I cleaned out the garage last weekend, found a snake skin in one of the corners. I didn't find the snake.... NEITHER did I find any evidence of mice.

I figured it was a fair trade off. :-D

Lily,

You remind me... my son's cat once brought a mouse in the living room set it down, as it ran away picked it up again, took it to the bedroom. Brought it back into the living room set it down, picked it up, went back in the bedroom. About the third time we figured out it was a live mouse, not his toy mouse?! We got it away from him, set it outside, and it never came back. Wonder why he decided it would be best to avoid our house?

;)

kadefol that comes under the paragraph too damn bad!! When you have a bat flying around your house, panicked because it can't find a way out, circling your room--then we'll chat. Doors open, lights off these things are too frenzied to find their way out. 9 our of 10 times a tennis racket is the only solution. Perhaps you prefer rabies shots. Good luck with that!!!

Arcy, perhaps Kadefol was taking issue with your phrase

'if they are found will FOR SURE
DIE. '

You were referring to bats, mice and spiders. I think disposing of some critters should be done on a case by case basis.

I think bats have some sort of sonar and I think many would be able to find their way out, and I think the dangers of a bite are probably multiplied if you are getting close enough to them to kill them with a tennis racket. After all, some bats I have heard live in caves and manage to find their way out every evening to hunt, and then to find their way back inside the cave at dawn. So it is not as if negotiating openings like doors is something they are unable to do.

arcy_gw

kadefol that comes under the paragraph too damn bad!! When you have a bat
flying around your house, panicked because it can't find a way out,
circling your room--then we'll chat. Doors open, lights off these
things are too frenzied to find their way out. 9 our of 10 times a
tennis racket is the only solution. Perhaps you prefer rabies shots.
Good luck with that!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To repeat what I wrote, killing bats is illegal in many areas and you can either remove them from your house unharmed or you can call a professional to trap them and remove them for you. We've had bats and birds in the house and have never killed any of them because there is no reason to do so.

Lily, I agree. We used to have lots of bats flying around every dusk, but the drought decreased insects and therefore decreased the bat population, and that awful white nose syndrome is decimating them rapidly. Sure hope they find a treatment for it.

Arcy, if you have an ongoing problem with bats in the house I suggest you get yourself a long-handled fish net. If the bat won't leave through an open door or window, use the net to scoop it out of the air, and then flip the net over. Take it outside and flip it back. Bat extricates itself and flies away.

I've dealt with lots of bats over the years. We once had one stuck in small space. As a last resort, I sucked it up with the vacuum cleaner hose. In those days vacuums had bags. I brought the bag out to the porch, made sure the exit was open, and went back into the house to watch. First one bat "arm" emerged through the top of the bag, and then the other. It was cute and entertaining, although not so much fun for the bat, I'm sure. We were happy that he was unhurt.

Bats are both valuable and fragile. They miscarry easily. I don't see nearly as many outside as I used to, and it's sad.

We had bats flying over the ponds every evening at our old place. Now we live much farther in the country and I never see any. I did see one, one time, and it was in the house. It got out on it's own. I love to see bats but I don't want to handle them, although friends that rehab do. I would never kill one. Heck, I don't kill anything unless I have to.

Rabies shots...YIKES.

Told this before but in 2008 I ventured into my ancient attic to find stuff for Halloween. .I reached into a box searching around, pulled my hand out and my finger was bleeding. I felt nothing but was on blood thinners. I searched around a bit thinking maybe broken glass was in the box and what did I see...a bat. It didn't fly just stayed there. Rabies shots..tons of them in the gut flashed thru my mind. I reached down with my other hand to grab the bat because it was better than getting all those shots...it bit me again and flew off. Again I felt nothing but had some bleeding.

I had to get the shots. I think it was a series of 7 given a few weeks apart in the arm. The shot itself wasn't too bad but within a short time an hour or two every muscle and bone in my body screamed in pain and I developed a fever. Just as I started to feel better I had to get another shot and it started all over again.

I don't know how much rabies shots cost but the CDC donated mine.

The doctor told me it was a blessing I discovered the bat or I probably would not have gave the first bite a second thought. Bats are huge carriets of rabies.

I was told by the state police in my area that its against the law to kill bats by setting traps, poison ect but not against the law to kill a lone bat that enters your living space.

As per the CDC, most bats don't have rabies. To be safe, bats should not be handled by anyone except professionals. Of course, if you are inadvertently bitten by one and it can't be tested there is no option except to take the shots.

While I don’t want anything in my attic and turn to our expensive pest control company to deal with things that are, the bats have a house of their own, hung on the siding by the roof. Every once in a blue moon we can see them flying at dusk.

I just read this a couple of hours ago and thought it might be worth posting.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/metro-detroit-family-talks-importance-of-vaccinations-after-dog-catches-rare-disease

That's very sad, lukki, especially because of the ready availability of a lepto vaccine. That and bordetella are two vaccinations some vets describe as optional that really should be given to all dogs with the prescribed regularity