Mouse in the House

[NickFitz]

Murine update

Based on the ever helpful comments of the denizens of CUK, I have now obtained a couple of the Rentokil Advanced traps, which seem pretty good: definitely very sensitive, and they provide a nice little cup-like depression to receive the bait. This makes it possible to get a piece of Marathon well and truly moulded into place, which means the mouse will have to really get stuck in to get any, thereby triggering the trap.

These have been placed around its usual play area (at some cost to my back, due to the twisting required to get into that corner), flanking the more humane alternative of a capture trap, also primed with Marathon and looking like a gaudy version of something from B. F. Skinner's lab. When I describe this as "humane" I mean "humane to owls" as, if the mouse chooses to go in there rather than get killed by the traps, it will be released several miles away in the country, where it doesn't have a hope in hell of surviving anyway

If neither of these alternatives is chosen, the glue boards are on their way. They're hard to get in the shops due to hand-wringing animal rights idiots claiming they're cruel, so I had to get them from Amazon, who thankfully can't be picketed in any worthwhile way and wouldn't even notice the effects of a boycott by a few lentil-weavers

[RSoles]

Word of warning.
I don't know this trap, but is it a modern, plasticy type of thing?
If so a big lump of lead glued to the bottom would be an advantage.

I've got an old house, so lath-and-plaster walls with a vertical cavity accessible from between the floors/ceilings.

I set a brand new plastic high-tech trap and managed to catch a mouse, but the trap didn't kill it.
Mouse drags trap along floor and drops into said cavity. Gets stuck half-way down inside downstairs wall.
Mouse struggles, makes a hell of a din rattling the trap( most inconsiderate) for three days until it finally goes silent.

A further week of bad smells coming from under the floorboards.

I went back to the old trusty skullsmashers after that.

[NickFitz]

Win!

The glue boards arrived from Amazon today, and have done the job immediately

For reference, my intrepid mouse-trapping exploits can be emulated as follows.

You will need:

1. Glue boards (I used these from Amazon; ordered three two-board packs, used one board).
2. Pair of rubber gloves.
3. Plastic lidded container large enough to accommodate glue board + mouse: mine was about 12" X 8" X 7".
4. Vegetable oil.
5. Plastic or paper bag large enough to accommodate board sans mouse.

The order of service is then as follows:

1. Put glue board(s) somewhere the mouse frequents. In my case, it was coming out of the chimney via the air gap under the gas fire, so I placed it immediately underneath there.
   
   
2. Wait until your mouse's usual time for commencement of evening revelry; mine stuck to its normal scheduled start at around 18:45 BST, but check with local mice as they may get going earlier or later.
   
   
3. Be startled by slight clattering sound immediately followed by lots of alarmed squeaking. My mouse had never made a sound in the week it's been here, but it more than made up for it when it slipped out of the chimney and its feet got stuck down.
   
   
4. Quickly put on rubber gloves, carefully deposit board + mouse in plastic box (mouse side up) and ensure lid is on firmly.
   
   
5. Rush out to car, remembering to take vegetable oil and bag (and box of mouse) with you.
   
   
6. Drive a good distance away - they home over surprisingly large distances; most people recommend at least one mile, if not two. I went to a large layby about ten miles out in the country. Better safe than sorry.
   
   
7. Upon arrival at mouse disposal point, leave your headlights on as you carry the box out in front of the car (the light will make it run away from the car; you don't want it hitching a lift back).
   
   
8. Empty mouse + board onto road, preferably near verge so it has somewhere to run to. Be careful opening the box: mine had managed to get all but one leg free at this stage.
   
   
9. Carefully pour vegetable oil over board so it flows over those parts of the rodent that are stuck down, and the area of the board in front of it. The glue will immediately dissolve in the vegetable oil, and the rodent will bugger off away from you at high speed.
   
   
10. VERY IMPORTANT: wrap the board up in the bag you brought, and dispose of it in a bin. My layby had a bin to hand, but if necessary take it away with you. If you leave it there then not only are you littering, but you also create a hazard for voles, shrews, birds, vipers, and other denizens of the area.
    
    
11. Return home, but don't get rid of your traps just yet: there may well be more than one mouse. I'm pretty sure mine was alone, but another glue board has already been deployed under the chimney, just in case there are more and they were only sending one out at a time.

Job done... unless it isn't

[Paddy]

I have an idea for a new business model. RentACat. I could lend Nick a cat for a few weeks - all his issues would go away(our cat can catch squirrels so a mouse presents no problem).

I could go on Dragon's Den with this one.

Why would some pay £10 a week to rent a cat when they could buy one for £30 and drown it after use? I’m out! Duncan B

[TimberWolf]

A good result for all concerned.

[NickFitz]

A good result for all concerned.

One hopes so, although I do wonder how the mouse, which has probably never been outdoors in its life, is going to cope with being dumped in a layby on a cold, rainy night, a long way from the nearest building.

People say "Oh it'll die, it can't cope out there" and so forth but, as far as I can determine, this is based solely on assumptions: I can't find any actual studies where house mice have been released into the countryside and then observed to be beaten up by gangs of voles and so forth.

Maybe it'll manage to sort itself out with some digs in the verge and live a perfectly happy life for its remaining eighteen months or whatever it has left before dying of mouse old age. Or maybe it's already been eaten by a rat. But we can't just assume that it'll fail to cope with life in the great outdoors. It seemed pretty bloody canny while it was in here.

[stek]

One hopes so, although I do wonder how the mouse, which has probably never been outdoors in its life, is going to cope with being dumped in a layby on a cold, rainy night, a long way from the nearest building.

People say "Oh it'll die, it can't cope out there" and so forth but, as far as I can determine, this is based solely on assumptions: I can't find any actual studies where house mice have been released into the countryside and then observed to be beaten up by gangs of voles and so forth.

Maybe it'll manage to sort itself out with some digs in the verge and live a perfectly happy life for its remaining eighteen months or whatever it has left before dying of mouse old age. Or maybe it's already been eaten by a rat. But we can't just assume that it'll fail to cope with life in the great outdoors. It seemed pretty bloody canny while it was in here.

It's dead. Eaten by an owl.

Worry about the the other 75 meeces you have!! I had 40-odd when I thought I had one!

They breed, obviously with another non-gay mouse...

[mudskipper]

One hopes so, although I do wonder how the mouse, which has probably never been outdoors in its life, is going to cope with being dumped in a layby on a cold, rainy night, a long way from the nearest building.

People say "Oh it'll die, it can't cope out there" and so forth but, as far as I can determine, this is based solely on assumptions: I can't find any actual studies where house mice have been released into the countryside and then observed to be beaten up by gangs of voles and so forth.

Maybe it'll manage to sort itself out with some digs in the verge and live a perfectly happy life for its remaining eighteen months or whatever it has left before dying of mouse old age. Or maybe it's already been eaten by a rat. But we can't just assume that it'll fail to cope with life in the great outdoors. It seemed pretty bloody canny while it was in here.

Some evidence here.

I'm glad you didn't kill it.

[NickFitz]

Worry about the the other 75 meeces you have!! I had 40-odd when I thought I had one!

Another one gone an hour ago. I'm spoiling those owls

[TimberWolf]

Another one gone an hour ago. I'm spoiling those owls

Are you sure it wasn't the same one?