Just one (or two-with my wife) amongst many. With our own ways of doing things. Our greenhouses are also winter-quarters for mice and other creatures. They occasionally do some damage to plants in their search for seeds and other things that take their fancy. They will nibble young seedlings or even build nesting places in pots or containers. Mice will be mice... T.

You just bought a home, so you better start getting handy or it will nickel and dime you to death. Hooking up a gas range is an easy easy thing to do. You don't need a $80 trip from a plumber or appliance repair person to do this. Look on YouTube if you need some hints on the how-to. Hook it up and light it off. It may take a minute or two to purge the air from the flexible supply line. If none of the burners will light off after a good while waiting for the air to be forced out, then you may have electrical problems caused by the mice. If the top burners will light, try the oven. That's where the real smell will come if it's been contaminated too badly. If it's just a little bit of poop in the insulation, it will stop smelling after an hour or so and it will be dried out and cooked into more or less safe situation for you to use the oven. What's usually the case though is that the urine in the insulation is the problem and it will smell every time you use it. I'd personally light it off, and if it smelled like more than the usual smell of a stored gas range lighting off (a little bit burnt smelly, but not horrible) then I'd buy a new one. And, put on some coveralls and crawl under the house to see if you can find any openings where the mice are getting in. Grab your caulk gun and go around the foundation on the exterior and look at the window and door trim while you are doing the inspection. (If you have a brick home, don't mistake it's weep holes for damaged mortar.) Caulk not only weather tights the home and helps with your utility bills, it pest proofs it too. Mice can get into an opening as big as a standard #2 pencil or larger. If you come upon any obviously chewed areas or created holes, put your mouse bait there. You will need something other than caulk to close those holes up, but it will depend on what the holes are in for what material you will want. And, your home inspector should have given you a report with many photographs illustrating his points. His "small amount" of poop should be right there in a colored 3"x5" shot as "small" is a term of judgement. His "small" might be your "large", especially if he's inspected heavily vermin infested homes. Typically though, the contract that you sign with the inspector will only refund you the cost of the inspection if you find out that you have more issues than he documented. You would not have any financial recourse beyond his fee alone. Yes, it would be worth it to document your issues to take it up with him in order to recoup the fee, but don't expect anything beyond that will happen.

Vala, I can't use Decon out there, because they can get in thru such tiny places. One of the rv dealers last year had a unit with a horrendous smell come in. The owners couldn't find anything causing it. Come to find out that they had put Decon in it for the winter. The mice got into the supposedly sealed, airtight "basement", the underneath part of the rv. I do use it in the house, tho. Marie, I have everything either out of it for the winter, or in sealead containers if it was something I could leave in. There is no evidence of them where that is, tho. Everything was wiped down with Clorox anitbacterial wipes last fall. Will definitley be scrubbing things this spring! We are hoping to go to NC for Merlefest again this year, so I will be starting soon. Mammie, don't worry about them! It would be no differnt than in a house. I only have had a problem two years. This one and one year when we had the trailer. I also hate mice. And snakes! DH knows he has to keep decon in the garage, cause I freak when I see them! I am sure you would really enjoy an rv if you got one. It is expensive to rent one, but you could do that to see if you like it. We tow a small pickup truck behind it so we have something more economical and easier to manuver for our sightseeing. Wanttoretire_did, our feeders have been empty all winter. Guess that means I need to cut down all of our pine trees. I'm not finding bird feed shells. Instead, I'm finding the shells from the seeds in the pine cones! No, we won't cut down the trees unless they need it. Only if they are in danger of falling down and hitting something. Tami

Just to be clear… For every one or two mice or rat your cat MIGHT kill, their litter is attracting 4-8 with the prospects of double and, or triple that soon after. Its been mostly understood that cats will deter, kill, or solve your rodent problems, but in fact theyre doing more to atttract them, by their strong litter odors. If you think about it, most people who aquire a rodent problem often times than none, are cat owners. Rodents have a good scence of smell and theyll be drawn in quite easily by the most foul or strong scents for feeding. They do carry diseases and can be very unhealthy for humans and pets. We had a rat issue last year which were coming from the neighbors house. He, as a matter of fact has cats. But they were sneaking into our garage and into the attic, of our house. My husband went around the entire house and sealed any possible entry they could possibly go through, and in the garage, where they made a hole down at the bottom of the wall, and underneath where the stucco is built out and into the lining of the inner wall. After the exterminator came, we never had the problem thereafter. Now my only problem is keeping those cats out of my front yard and garden. Coffee grounds seem to be a fantastic solution. It seems to be a deterrer of mostly all unwanted critters. so far, its almost like an invisible fence. lol Take care. Hope this helps. ps “Tom Cat” mice pellets in a tunnel trap outside helps rid mice.