More mouse trouble.

[caddyman]

Just when I thought I was winning, I find that I may just have relocated the little bastards.

In a flurry of activity, I have just tossed out all dry goods in my kitchen with the exception of the single box of OXO veggie cubes the mice hadn't burrowed into. Over the next couple of days I shall have to remember to get something to line the shelves with again, once I have stripped out the stuff that's already there and cleaned the shelves with bleach to get rid of the unwelcome little presents the bastards have left.

Unfortunately the big blitz on the kitchen will have to take place the weekend after next, as I am away this weekend coming. It is clearly going to be a job that requires a significant amount of time, and I am not going to do it when I get in from work The partial and changing disruption to the place is too much to be hassled with during dark winter nights when there is very little room to maneuver in the first place.

So in the meantime, there will be no teabags, no sugar, no anything dry. Tins and bottles only for the time being. There will, however, be more portions of poisoned grain. That should speed up the de-mousification process - there will be nothing else for the little buggers to eat, so they should get through that much quicker. Luckily I rarely cook anyway, and the kitchen gets used mainly for storage and making coffee (and tea, usually, but not again until I am satisfied that I am the only person using the place).

So I need to get more traps, too, so I can turn the kitchen into a fortress, like the bedroom.

This is going to give me the excuse I need to get rid of a LOT of stuff.

Comments

[jennanne.livejournal.com]

My aunt use to have the same problem. She had to put her dog food in a plastic Rubbermaid container and come to find out they were coming in through the doggie door. It's a pain, I know. I use to stay at their house a lot before I got a computer of my own. I would catch them late at night playing in the sink and even one night as I was typing away on the computer one poked it's head out from behind the monitor. eehhh It was bad!! Then we started putting out traps which would go off at all hours of the night scaring me right out of my chair. But the best part is winning the battle with them. I wish you luck!!!

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Thanks. ;-)

So far they haven't tripped any of the conventional traps, but they are taking the poison. I'll be getting more glue traps - they get on to them and can't get back off. Trouble is, you have to kill them yourself on those things...

[irdm.livejournal.com]

New market in cat toys???

[jennanne.livejournal.com]

I remember those glue traps from when I use to work in a warehouse. I could hear them squealing the second I got near them and once we even caught a small snake. For some reason that was cool and we were able to get the snake off and set it free, I do wonder if it lived through all that.

[keith-london.livejournal.com]

*shudder* My moth problems pale in comparison. Are you sure they are mice not rats? Mice can be cute. Simplistically, mouse = "Mickey Mouse". Rats = "plague".

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Well, unless they are pigmy rats...

Trust me, there's nothing cute about the little buggers pooing and peeing all over the place, and chewing their way into whatever takes their fancy! :-(

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

I recommend a mouse scarer like we've got. Cheap, clean and a five year guarentee.

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Wossat then? A cat?

Bit awkward with a dog in the house, especially when the dog isn't much bigger than the mice, and belongs to the landlady...

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Nope. It's a little ultrasonic device which plugs into the mains socket and (apparently) makes a noise they can't stand.

It didn't seem to work at first, but in conjunction with getting all our dry food into high cupboards, it did for our mouse problem. It's also helpful in that if you trap or poison, you still have a problem with mice coming in from other rooms - this just keeps them out of your room...

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

I got one of those a while back, but it's been unplugged for a couple of weeks as I needed the plug socket for something else. I must get and plug it back in.

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

While you continue to have mice, Glass Jars are your Friends. Mice will eventually get through rubber containers, but a glass jar with a sturdy airtight lid is generally too much effort.

I'm not just trying to shift my immense jamjar collection (jamjar, anyone?) it really works.