Pepermint?? Mouse problem help!

Majecot

28-01-2005, 02:34

I know a while back there was a thread on this regarding ants and how peppermint repelled them.

I am not having an ant problem, but it winter here and the problem I am having is mice!! Those little buggers seem to be moving into every corner of the house!!! I am thoroughly disgusted by it!!! I hate killing them but we have no choice. ( and I sure as hell don't want to touch them!!) I WILL NOT LIVE WITH A RODENT!

I opened up the dresser in my craft room where I keep a varitey of craft supplies the other day. I discovered evidence in EVERY drawer. They have been eating my paper, my yarn, they bring dog food into the drawers. I have had to thow out hundreds of dollars in yarn and supplies. I am sanitizing my crochet hooks and scissors for petes sake!!

I read that peppermint repels rodents so I have placed pepermint in each and every drawer, after laboriously cleaning them out (YUK). PLEASE some one tell me this is going to help.
Any other suggestions for natural solutions??? My house is an old farm house, and we are on four acres, so I expect to see one once in a while, but this is rediculeous.

Bluemanticore

28-01-2005, 02:51

Majecot, sorry to hear about your mouse troubles. I wish I knew of something that keeps the rodents away, but at the moment, the only idea I can think of is this: Get a cat. Best of luck.

BlueManticore

Chronata

28-01-2005, 03:14

oh Majecot, sweetie!
It is really horrible when you feel invaded by the mouse population!

This very thing happened all the time when I lived back home...
I once had to put some of my art work on sale due to mouse damage!

We wanted to take the natural repellent route...but found that nothing really worked...not even peppermint!
We ended up using live traps, baited with peanut butter. We caught a few, released them outside...and I am sure they found thier way back in!

Does it help to know threy will be gone as soon as it is warm outside again? :)

Dark Inquisitor

28-01-2005, 03:58

It's them or you.

The best solution is to get Mice Cubes from Walmart, and some D-con. It's a smoky colored plastic rectangle with a one way door. They cost about 1.50 . Get a bunch before it's too late.

You mix peanut butter and D-con into a little blob and put it in the far end. Then you do a little rub of peanut butter on the door and wipe it off so they can smell it. No mouse can resist the peanut butter for long. They go in and can't get out. (But at least they die eating something yummy.) Put the cubes along the baseboards all over your house. It sounds like you have an infestation going.

When you find one dead , it is very nice because the cube is smoke colored and you don't have to view the gorey details. I have found the best way for collection is to approach with a square of alluminum foil (I like to hold it so I can't actually see anything) and just smoosh it down and cover the whole cube, folding it under. Then, into the trash.

Of course, you could just bait with peanut butter and no poison and let them go live. But, they will be back.

After you stop catching any, it is always best to keep a baited cube in the areas where you caught the most. Try to find out how they are getting in . Stuff any cracks with steel wool, for example, gaps around pipes. Don't exclude the roof as a source of entry. Some mice will go up a tree, onto a branch, and then onto the roof.

Don't panic. The cube has never failed.

Majecot

28-01-2005, 04:07

Thanks guys.. I was pretty distraught over the whole situation! This place has so many weird nooks and crannies it is hard to see when the little buggers come in from.

Christmas befor last we discovered a squirrel living in the basement. I was quite a trick getting him out with out the dog getting him. I was thinking I was going crazy, I was finding little piles of dog food in strange places daily...on top of the speakers, behide the stereo, in our boots in the closet.

Now the mice are taking his food. Our poor dog is stressed over them too.

I have never had to work so hard keeping a place clean ( at first I thought the fae were playing tricks...lol)

I almost feel like moving and letting them have the house!

I think a trip to Walmart is in order for sure!

Dark Inquisitor

28-01-2005, 04:18

Thinking some more on this topic, you should really put whatever is sacred in plastic containers. Like silverware !! There is nothing more sickening than seeing droppings in the silverware drawer.

Here is the worst:

In the old house, there were only 2 mice in 20 years . One night I heard a noise and went into the kitchen to investigate. As I drew near the counter, a mouse popped out of the toaster at me !!! Talk about nervous breakdown !! I had never even given the toaster a thought, but there are usually crumbs in there.

So now, my new toaster is always encased in a plastic container when not in use. And luckily in the new house, no mice have showed up in the cubes at all. But my toaster will never go undefended again.

Majecot

28-01-2005, 04:37

shudders Don't I know it!!!
I have also replaced all of my seasonal keepsakes in Rubbermaid cotainers too! Nothing worse than opening something up to find beady little eyes looking at you.

I have some knitting projects in the works that I have to replace the yarn for. I usually have several going at once, and am in and out of those drawers all the time... that is why I was so surprise they had been in them and done so much damage.

I shall be getting some of those cubes today, along with some steel wool.

Two winters ago we had a problem with them, same time as the squirrel... I found them in the front hall closet where we hang the winter coats.. I pulled out my favorite coat and four of them were in the sleeves...I have never been the same since. I was the typical woman on the chair!!! My family never laughed so hard.

I am still trying the peppermint too... my whole house smells like it... better safe than sorry!

Moonbow

28-01-2005, 04:51

Maj

Just a thought, be careful where you put this D-Con (never heard of it) because of your dog!!

We had mice about a year after we moved into our new house (brand new!) and we could hear them scurrying in the attic, so we used poison (yep I know it's cruel, but if you have ever had mice you would do the same).

The worst damage they did was in the shed (including eating the shed) they ate a kids paddling pool (yep all of it shredded and stored in the lawn mower) and parasol and a sun lounger. They also ate through the electrical cable on the mower. Then they started on the shed floor. They are incredibly distructive and carry germs. They tend to travel the same routes and it's usually along the edges of rooms - around the skirting board, and..... they urinate as they go - eeeyuuckkkk.

I'm not afraid of these little creatures, they look very cute..... but don't be fooled. There is nothing worse than laying in bed and hearing them scuttling around the floor..... and.... they climb! :)

Dark Inquisitor

28-01-2005, 05:03

Just a thought, be careful where you put this D-Con (never heard of it) because of your dog!!

We had mice about a year after we moved into our new house (brand new!) and we could hear them scurrying in the attic, so we used poison (yep I know it's cruel, but if you have ever had mice you would do the same).

The D-Con pellets go into the cube mixed with peanut butter and the blob sticks there, so a dog shouldn't be able to get it . But I guess you could take extra precautions and wedge them under heavy stuff a dog couldn't move. Or put the cube into an old cookie tin with a small hole cut in it. One of the advantages of the cube is that you catch the mouse , and it isn't loose to crawl back up into a wall and die on you after eating the poison.

People do have varied opinions on using poison , but I have been a vegetarian for more than 30 years so I count that as making up for any mice killer sins I am committing.

How terrible for them to be in the sleeve of a coat !! Why do they always know just how to get you??

My daughter told me a story she heard from a coworker who thought she had seen a mouse run past in her house. Time went by, and she never heard or saw anything else. Then she and her husband decided it was time to turn the mattress. And there were acorns under it !!! They must have had a chipmunk who thought under mommy & daddy's bed was the best place to store them !!

I have friend who also found a hole in the side of her mattress where something had gotten in. She kept having sensations of something moving !! I bet they like the body warmth. Ugh.

Dark Inquisitor

28-01-2005, 05:55

Thinking more about the dog situation, the cube can be used with just peanut butter and no poison D-Con at all. The mouse will just suffocate eventually . So even if the dog could manage to get the peanut butter out , it wouldn't hurt.

contradiction

28-01-2005, 06:45

imagine waking up to the sound of the alarm clock, roll over to hit the snooze button, and have one jump up, and land square on your face. trust me it's not a pleasant morning. anyone who does not believe in killing a mouse will change their mind after that.

Bluemanticore

28-01-2005, 06:49

I really hate the idea of having to kill the mice to get rid of them, but if you can't kill them by at least making them food for another animal like a cat, there are poisons out there that are not fast acting, where instead of killing the mouse on the spot, it gives the mouse time to crawl off to its nest and die there so you do not have to find a dead mouse anywhere. You know the poison is working by checking it and seeing if any of the poisoned pellets are gone. I am afraid I don't remember the name of the product, though. Hppe this helps some.

BlueManticore

kwaw

28-01-2005, 07:10

I suffered an infestation of mice a few years and had a terrible time getting rid of them. In the end I bought a device that makes an utra-sonic sound and it worked; probably not very good if you have any pets though. A friend of mine stays some weekends and has a guide dog, it was whimpering and restless until I remembered the ultra-sound device and turned it off.

Kwaw

HudsonGray

28-01-2005, 08:02

Know anybody with a ferret who would like to come over & 'clean' a room out for you? I'd recommend cats too (since the dog isn't helping any - put his dry food into a metal container with a lid, or one of those large 5 gallon plastic bins with snap on lids). But you can use the traps, you'll just likely need a LOT of them. Mice have up to 6 babies at a time if not more, and several litters a year. You could be talking a LOT of mice!

I've got cats. There were only 2 places I've lived that had any mice come in, the cats really had a ball 'hunting' and would run triumphant into the living room with them! Course I'd grab a kleenex & take the dead thing away from them, and the cats would go right back to the place they caught it (I'd check for holes around there) hoping for more. They weren't too thrilled when I took their toy away. Eventually mice decided housecats were bad territory and those two places were squeeky clean, though the lady below us complained every spring and fall about mice coming up through the plumbing into her bathtub and sink.

Majecot

28-01-2005, 13:00

They sure don't seem to be afraid of the dog, in fact, we are now going to have to take his bowl up at night ( he is one of those eat when he pleases types)
I did get quite a few of those mouse cubes, and trapped the whole place }) Peanut butter shall be my friend, that and Walmart.
I feel a little like I am gearing up for war...no D-con tho I am afraid Bingo might decide to snatch one up if he hears it. No much stands in the way of a 95 lb dog.

I put the peppermint in my craft dresser last night...so far so good. My yarn has never smelled so good...hehe

contradiction-did you ever feel clean again after that??? I am still coping with the trama of them being in my coat!! (Did I mention they were feasting on my Party Lite candles???)

TygrEyes

28-01-2005, 14:51

Oh, those little buggers! They can also eat wires in your car. I've never tried it but the mechanic told me to take a plastic container, fill it with moth balls & tuck into an area where it won't fall out under the hood. He swears it works so maybe that will work for you. It wouldn't smell as nice as peppermint, though.

Dark Inquisitor

28-01-2005, 15:15

I feel a little like I am gearing up for war...
(Did I mention they were feasting on my Party Lite candles???)

They are sick little beasts. They even chewed the bars of ivory soap I use to clean paintbrushes !!

It IS war !! Bugs and mice have been the enemy of women and homes since forever. It would be nicer to have a mouse charmer to psychically tell them to go away though. I don't know of any , but I imagine it would be a skill much in demand.

As for mothballs, they are not good to have open in the house with you. They contain naptha, a poison chemical not good for people. For example, if you were to have a bossy sister who came over and threw them in your crawlspace, the whole house would stink with it and they would have to be retrieved . (!%$%!!)

contradiction

28-01-2005, 21:36

i did finally manage to stop feeling the blasted thing on my face after a few days. that was almost 20 years ago, and i can still remember quite well how it looked just before slamming into my nose.
as for the moth balls, we discovered a rather large snake living under the house this summer, because it was a rat snake i would have been glad to have it there, but it had nested right in the middle of an area i had to get to do some wireing. i took some moth balls, and inserted them in the vent holes around the house, except in the corner where the access door is located, the next day no snake, did not see any mice for a while either. did have one chew through the dryer vent a few weeks ago, a few more moth balls, under the house around the perimeter, no more mice, there are times we can smell the moth balls, but it is not bad. i had forgetten this until it was mentioned here. i would not recommend doing this because they can make people quite sick, but it has worked for us. i have used them very sparingly. just one or two in each vent hole. placing them outside the house on the ground might work just as well, for a few days, a good rain, or snow, and they will be useless.

if you can stay with some friends for a few days, you might try putting some out, closing the house up for a day or two. then air out the house completely after removing them. this might make all of the mice leave, then you can start with an empty house and preventive measures, rather than being in the minority. but, it might also mean washing all clothes, and anything else that could hold the smell. and, the house will have to be completely aired out before moving back in. i wish you the best of luck.

HudsonGray

29-01-2005, 05:12

I'm not sure if a house can ever be completely mouse proofed since if they can get their head through a hole the rest of their body can slink in behind without a problem. Any opening the size of a dime is then suspect. But steel wool is a good 'stuffer' for openings that they can't chew out. However you'll always have the vent openings and the chimney in the roof that can't be blocked.

Dark Inquisitor

29-01-2005, 05:27

i did finally manage to stop feeling the blasted thing on my face after a few days. that was almost 20 years ago, and i can still remember quite well how it looked just before slamming into my nose.

BLECH !!! I bet you can't stand to see mice on tv, or those closeup photos people think are so cute. I certainly can't !! Even people's rodent-like pets are horror movies to me now. I can't walk by those cutesy mouse figurines without shuddering.

Majecot

30-01-2005, 03:01

I am so disgusted!! Those wiley little creatures do not seem to mind peppermint at all!!! I was on a board (somewhere or other) where people were singing the praises of it as a mouse repellant. POPPYCOCK!!

I guess I will just keep putting the traps out till every last one is gone...or leaves me alone.

Dark Inquisitor

30-01-2005, 07:08

Have you caught any so far?

Even though there were no mouse droppings in this house after being unlived in for almost 2 years, I am still keeping a baited cube in the kitchen and the basement . Hoping that it will alert me immediately if any mice try to get in ! I figure they will always go right for the peanut butter first. I look at it empty everyday and heave a sigh of relief.

Clearly, there needs to be a support therapy group for mouse trauma.

Rosanne

30-01-2005, 08:23

Last night on TV there was an British programme about a small land holder, who was having among other things, a mice problem. He had been catching them, marking them with lipstick and putting them in the barn. He kept getting the marked ones and others back in the house. So he called on the Local mouse catchers. They did the following, much to my amusement. They sat around a small table with several Cyrstals and a small bowl of sage(which they lit) and the female mouse catcher visualised and spoke to a mouse and said something like"Please leave this house and go with love and live in the barn, where there is food and warmth. Do not tell your family to come back to this house..." The three people around the table were required to see the mice leaving with love and going to the Barn. I thought 'yea right thats gonna happen'. The cameraman returned to the house some weeks later and the mouse problem was fixed.No more droppings or signs anywhere. I was impressed, but the cynic in me asked"was the cameraman required to move the evidence before filming?" Oh me of little faith. Regards Rosanne ps The Doco series is called 'Escape to River Cottage' BBC