Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mice

Our mouse is a very very very stubborn mouse

oinopaponton — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:56:10 -0800

Ways to make death more appealing to a stubborn house mouse? We caught one mouse in a snap trap a few weeks ago using the peanut butter "appetizer" method mentioned in an earlier post. The friend (or friends) it left behind, however, is proving a bit more clever. It is totally uninterested in our other peanut butter-baited snap traps and apparently has not yet succumbed to the poison we put out a week ago (which promised to kill them in five days).

I don't think we have that many mice, and I kind of think there's just the one left. I've only ever seen one at a time, usually every other day or so. I don't find more than a few poops at a time. It somehow hasn't gotten into our food (we check regularly). While we've plugged up as many holes in the walls as we can, it's a really old house that had kind of a half-assed renovation job. There are holes around the heaters, and probably holes behind the fridge and oven that we can't even get to.

So: Is there a way to make our mouse control efforts more effective? I feel like the little bastard's just mocking us at this point. Will putting peanut butter on the poison pellets work? Is there some other food that a picky mouse will love? I'd like to avoid shelling out the cash for something like the rat zapper, especially if our little buddy will ignore it like he's ignoring the snap trap.

I live with SuperMouse.

janepanic — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:32:18 -0800

i have a question about disposing of rat poison. i have had some trouble with mice in my kitchen. after a few futile weeks with perpetually empty traps, i bought some warfarin yesterday and followed the package directions. i bought gloves; i sprinkled a little in some disposable plastic dishes and secreted them around. i then went to bed. this morning i woke up and it looks like the mice had a party in here with it. this is probably my fault for not using the right kind of containers, maybe?

anyway, my question is this: what do i with it at the end? i am planning to leave it out for at least a week, but after that i would like to be able to just clean it up quickly, dispose of the dishes, etc. can it be vacuumed? (my vacuum does not have a hepafilter). i don't want to get it all over the broom. trying to get it back into the original box/bag seems icky at best.

any advice would be appreciated. thanks!

I don't know how to deal with this

granted — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:45:46 -0800

There is a half-dead mouse in my room. Instruct me on what to do as if I were a little child. My very excited cat woke me up this morning to show off the seemingly dead mouse he had left in my doorway. I'm not proud, but when I saw it I groggily thought, "fuck this," and went back to sleep for another hour. When I woke up again, it was gone. I theorized that one of my roommates had done the responsible thing and picked it up, or the cat had carried it off again.

I got home this evening and curled up in bed, and then my cat seemed very preoccupied with something in the corner of the room, and then I heard terrified squeaking. My "don't kill the innocent creature" reflex kicked in and I yelled, "NO!!" and sprayed the cat with the spray bottle and he ran off.

So long story short, either the mouse from this morning or a different mouse is half-dead in the corner of my room. I feel totally paralyzed. I can't bear to watch/hear my cat finish it off but I don't want to just leave it there to die a slow painful death. Finishing it off myself is out of the question. I am scared to scoop it up and take it outside, because that just means it will die a slow painful death out of eye/earshot, and that makes me feel like a Good German. I am the only one home and it is almost one am. Tell me what to do, please. This is really embarrassing.

Exterminator in NYC

alice ayres — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:59:33 -0800

I need a recommendation for a reputable exterminator in NYC. I would like a recommendation for a reputable exterminator in NYC that also would not break the bank. Maybe if the exterminator has experience with closing holes that would be very helpful. I believe that the cause of this sudden infestation is critters are coming from nearby residents.

My hope is that someone has a great exterminator specializing in mice + roaches that he/she can vouch for.

Keeping the mice away!

Draccy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:28:13 -0800

Say hello to my little friend: How can I encourage a mouse that seems to live in my glovebox not to visit anymore? I live in a relatively rural area on the Massachusetts border of Connecticut. My car is parked outside by necessity, near a wooded area. I have recently found that napkins kept in my glovebox have been shredded by an animal. To compound matters, feces has been left behind as well. I'd like to use a non-lethal way to discourage the animal or animals in question to stay away from my car, and still be able to keep tissues or napkins in my glovebox for emergencies.

I'd really appreciate any recommendations that you have!

Help me find my ideal micro mouse.

agentmunroe — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:30:16 -0800

I like small mice and I cannot lie... Help me find the ideal mini mouse for my laptop. (WARNING: Mouse geekery contained within!) (Egads, I wrote a ton on this! The important part is the list if you don't want to read my insane mouse ramblings...)

I've been going through a variety of laptop mice over the years, but have recently settled upon this cheap tchotchke from a 2006 conference as my surprising favorite. I've had very mild hand problems over the years and generally prefer the way smaller mice feel in my hand. Attributes specific to this model that I enjoy - it's light and maneuverable, and while the optical sensor is a bit picky, the wheel and mouse buttons are rather stiff, which I love.

Or loved, since I plugged it in this morning and while the sensor lights up, the cursor refuses to move (verified on two computers). Since I liked it so much, I'd like to replace it with something similar. - I wouldn't mind "upgrading" if that's a possibility, or picking up the same one if I can find someplace where I'm not buying 25 of them.

Key attributes, in order of importance:
- something the size of the Tomax mouse
- awesome surface-fu (great optical tracking abilities)
- as close as possible, the attributes I mentioned (small, light, stiff buttons/wheel)
- wireless is a plus, but not required - I realize the battery will weigh the mouse down. Bluetooth would be awesome, but I don't care about it that much.
- cost is not an issue, as I don't mind spending money on something I'll use nearly every day (over $100 would give me pause, but I'd likely still buy if it matches the other criteria)

As an example of something I'm not a huge fan of, I also have a Logitech V470 - it's a bluetooth laptop travel mouse that works well with my MacBook Pro. The main thing is it just feels too large and heavy compared to the mouse, but the buttons are more easier to click as well, which I don't like as much. The wheel is fine, though.

So, now that I've written a small treatise - any suggestions on mice I might like, or leads on where to buy the TOMAX one without getting a caseload? Any assistance appreciated!

Roasted Rodents?

saradarlin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:45:22 -0800

There are mice nesting in our BBQ!! What do we do? We use the BBQ every week or every other week and in between uses mice keep rebuilding the nest that we keep removing. How do we get them to stay away? If it matters, we've been keeping the cover on the BBQ between uses and this only seems to be a problem in the spring/summer and not in the winter. We cannot get a cat and have no mouse problems in the house. Any tips?

Bluetooth mouse that goes into wired mode?

floam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:38:56 -0800

I'm looking for Bluetooth mice which can be used while being recharged. Been bugging me for years. I don't understand how the big mice makers have somehow skipped over this, but you basically can't buy a wireless mouse that you can use while you charge it. You must set them in cradles. (or swap out fricking AA batteries!) The solution is simple: have a USB cable plug into the mouse to charge it and use it as a wired mouse until it's done.

I found, last year, exactly one company that did make a mouse that does this finally. Unfortunately it looks rather cheap. So: can anybody else find another manufacturer that makes these? My only rules are that they be Bluetooth (not using an RF dongle) and that they be usable as they recharge. I'll probably buy the Radtech one if they're truly the only company with common sense.

Is it just me or do Bluetooth mice and keyboards suck?

wfrgms — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:36:12 -0800

Is it just me or do Bluetooth mice and keyboards suck? About a year and a half ago I bought a Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 keyboard and mouse combo. It was on clearance and I think I paid about $80 for the combo.

It was near Logitech's top of the line so I felt like I was getting a good deal. Additionally, I've had good experiences with Logitech products over the years. I find the "build quality" and "feel" of their products superior to other manufacturers.

That said, out of the box I had immediate Bluetooth-related problems. The keyboard would spontaneously lockup on certain key presses. So I would be writing something like, "wfrgms rocks" and the s-key would suddenly repeat, "ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss" and this would go on for minutes. It was especially frustrating when the "delete" key would repeat causing a loss of written work. I also experienced frequent disconnects.

The mouse worked well enough, but occasionally would become very lagged. (Additionally, but unrelated to the Bluetooth question, the mouse would only charge in its cradle if positioned "just right," tipped to one side and balanced so that it would take a charge.)

I poured over the Logitech forums and found many other people experiencing similar problems. Some solutions seemed to involve installing the Bluetooth radio dongle onto a USB extension cord and positioning this within a foot or so of the keyboard and mouse. I did this and it seemed to get rid of most of problems, but they would still come back randomly.

Normally I would chalk this up to a bum keyboard and mouse (or Bluetooth radio dongle) but recently I acquired a Logitech V470 Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks for use with my netbook. It works fine most of the time, but suffers from occasional random lag.

Additionally the entire pairing and passkey process seems needless for such simple devices. Not to mention that at work and in various other environments I've encountered similar problems with Bluetooth keyboards and mice.

At the same time I've used, in passing, RF based keyboards and mice and found them to work just fine.

In short, I've began to think that Bluetooth sucks. In fact, I've put away my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and I've been using corded options for the past few weeks.

Is it just me? Will Bluetooth ever work better? Or should I just resolve myself to USB?

Keep the mice out (or I guess in)

cmm — Sat, 09 May 2009 12:02:37 -0800

Mice coming in through the garage because the wall board doesn't come down low enough. What do I fill the gap with? My garage's north wall is shared with the rest of the house. It's kind of shaped like:



     *---------------*-------------------*

     |                                   |

     |                                   |

 ----                                    |

|

|

Where I put *, mice have eaten through wood or there is a gap in the wood and they've eaten through the insulation. The wallboard doesn't quite come down to the concrete so you can see wood in some places. They can now travel to and fro the house easily.

This is good news for the cat. I'd prefer it to stop.

I was thinking of putting a plastic/vinyl wall board (wall base/cove board, whatever) at the base of the wall to cover this up. But logic is stopping me for a couple reasons.

The wall board is not uniform distance from the floor. In some places it is as little as 5", in others it is as much as 8". So I'd guess I'd need to find 10" wall base. But mostly I just see 4" and 6".

The wallboard is also bowing out in a lot of places, making it so that the wall base is going to angle in. This seems odd. I figured it would adhere to the concrete, but I guess I could nail it to the studs behind the wallboard pretty easily. But then I'd want to seal it to the floor I guess or maybe just glue the very bottom to the very base of the wall where it meets the floor.

Does anyone have any experience putting plastic baseboards down in their garage?

I need a handheld trackball

reenum — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:51:12 -0800

I'm looking for a handheld trackball mouse. Recommendations? I've recently had pain in my wrist and forearms, so I think it's time to move away from the traditional mouse.

To this end, I've been looking at trackballs. I had one of these Fellowes Micro Tracs back in college and don't like that sort of trackball where you place the trackball between the thumb and forefinger.

Rather, I'm looking for a trackball like the one pictured here. However, I've never heard of the brand that is in the previous link and want to make sure I get something that works well and won't have to be sent back after a day.

Any suggestions?

Is the house safe for kitty?

Gor-ella — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:23:11 -0800

A friend of mine is interested in getting a cat, but is wondering how safe it is because they have been putting out poison for a mice infestation. Suggestions and thoughts? What we would like to avoid is the cat getting poisoned, particularly by eating mice that have seemingly been unaffected by poison for months. Google says secondary poisoning is possible and reading about it made my blood run cold. My questions are: how likely is this to happen? Is it inadvisable to get a cat? What strategies can people suggest to provide a safe environment for kitty?

My thoughts so far included: cleaning up all the poison that has been put out, waiting a period of time between last poisoning and introducing the cat, and not letting the cat eat mice if it catches any.

A Better Mousetrap?

kensch — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:13:06 -0800

I live in a communal dorm in an urban city, and have a bit of a mouse problem. Standard hall procedure is to put in a request for an exterminator to place poison and glue traps. I'm looking for an alternative to these that will allow me to safely, ethically, and humanely dispose of the mice. I consider the glue traps used to be inhumane regarding the pain and stress that it places the mouse under, as well as the resulting starvation. As well, I question the effectiveness of poison in this situation. Snap traps would not work in my room, and no-kill traps would cause a problem for me to release the mouse.

Given this, I've been researching alternative pest control measures to solve this problem. From what I've read online (as well as on this site), the effectiveness of ultrasonic devices is questionable. It seems as if the electronic traps that "zap" the mouse may be the closest, however, I don't know if this type of device will achieve what I'm looking for. What has your experience been with the electronic-type device, or do you have a different recommendation to approach this problem?

Thank you, I'd love a dead mouse!

fatbird — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:08:49 -0800

How should I respond to my cat's offerings of mice? They're not real mice. Bergamot is an indoor cat, and my girlfriend knits little mice for him to play with (stuffed with wool and catnip). He loves them, and takes his time over several weeks disemboweling them, savaging them, worrying them to little bits that we find strewn everywhere. So far, so good.

I work from home, and when I'm sitting at my desk, I'll hear him chirping at me. I'll look over to see him sitting in the door of my office, singing to me and holding one of these mice in his mouth. He'll drop it and back off. This is identical, I think, to the way that outdoor cats kill things and leave them at your back door.

Assuming I'm right, how should I respond to him? Ignore him? Pick up the mouse and throw it down the hall (sometimes he'll chase it and bring it back, making it a game of fetch, but not anymore)? I've tried getting down on all fours and sniffing it, then picking it up in my mouth and meowing back at him like I'm a happy cat for having received a gift of food (shut up, I'm trying to relate to my cat). Nothing seems to spark a particular reaction from him, and I'm left with the nagging feeling that I'm a moron for not understanding a fairly obvious bit of cat etiquette.

His young companion, Maggie, has starting doing this a bit too, so I feel tremendous pressure to figure this out. Berg's a year old, Maggie is eight months, and they're both fixed. They get along famously, grooming each other in a way that's both obscene and thorough, so I don't think Berg's behaviour is competitive in any sense. Other than mice, he's the more standoffish of the two.

Why is my optical mouse suddenly sucking?

jbickers — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:06:08 -0800

Why does my optical wireless mouse suddenly suck? I've got this awesome wireless, optical mouse that I've loved for some time ... but in the last few days, it's started behaving really spotty. Jerky, erratic on-screen behavior, not registering mouse clicks ... totally useless.

It's gotta be something to do with the surface, because the portion of my desk where I use it is eroding and the paint is wearing off. When I pick the mouse up and use it on another, more pristine part of the desk, it works fine.

So, that means it just needs a homogenous-colored surface to work on, right? But that doesn't help either. I've tried a white sheet of paper, the back of a legal pad, and I just got home from Target where I bought a monochromatic mouse pad "guaranteed to work with all mice, even optical mice." Nothing - it still is totally crappy. The only thing that makes it work is using it on one of the other areas of the desk, which is totally not doable in the long run (left side, etc.).

So, is it the mouse? Is it me? What am I doing wrong here? (Fresh batteries, BTW)

Fuck Ratatouille. (I'm sorry. I still love you, Pixar. Don't cut me off.)

spec80 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:08:17 -0800

There are mice in my apartment. Hijinks ensue. Now what? I live with my boyfriend and 1 roommate in the 2nd floor of a 3 floor apartment building in Brooklyn. I have only had experience with outside mice coming in my parents home in the suburbs.

Here's an approximate timeline because I am in slow burning freak out mode and I don't think I can make a coherent paragraph.

A week ago: BF finds rice grains on the kitchen floor. Looks at rice bag, finds holes, throws out the rice.

Saturday night: Roommate is in 3rd bedroom/office, sees mouse along the wall and then flatten itself to get under the door.

Sunday: I buy traps.
Trap 1 - Inside cupboard where rice was. Lots of droppings in there.
Trap 2 - just outside the cupboard. There is floor space between that cupboard and the stove.
Trap 3 (bedroom side) & 4 (kitchen side) - opposite ends of the door where Roommate saw the mouse crawl.

Sunday night: Caught a mouse (Trap 4)! Yay. Relief... Oh shit. Caught a second mouse (Trap 4). Boo... Waaaaah We are doomed, caught a third mouse (Trap 3 - saw the possible source hole). Researched online. Sprinkled cayenne pepper around the hole, under the stove burners (mouse droppings there), behind the heater near Trap 4. Called the landlord. Since the cayenne, I didn't get any mice so I thought - yay cayenne pepper.

Late Sunday night: Roommate sees mouse on countertop near edge of wall.

Monday: Caught a mouse (Trap 3). Landlord is here now. He checking for other holes - he closed up on in Roommate's bedroom that is near the heating vent just in case. He and his brother moved the stove and there were no gaps in the hole for the gas and there were mouse droppings back there. He's going to come back tomorrow and bring poison (currently, our dog is in Pennsylvania) to poison up the hole and then seal it up. I also found 2 droppings on the middle of the counter so I guess they are getting bolder.

1. Anything else I should do? BF is going to get peppermint oil, more traps and steel wool but I won't get it until later tonight when he comes home (I am home sick today and I don't feel well enough to go out). The hole is currently caulked up but it still needs time to dry. Should I insist that our landlord get an exterminator or hire one on our own? Or try home methods first? My paranoia says exterminator, but my wallet says try the other stuff first.

2. How do I stop being overdramatic because I feel like I am the only one doing anything even though BF did contact the landlord and Roommate has helped me in disposing of the mice. Being sick also isn't helping my disposition. I am acting like a whiny, bitchy baby asshole yet I feel like they are being blase about the situation. I'm trying to put the situation in perspective thinking of historical times where mice were everywhere - the thought wasn't comforting.

3. Is it a dick move (to the cleaning service) to hire a cleaning service once we know the mouse problem is over to deal with the mouse poop cupboard?

4. I think I am going insane because I keep on hearing squeaking and freak out at any squeaklike sound a la The Telltale Squeak. Anything I can do about this? I am really trying to have a sense of humor about this, but it's been a struggle. (i.e. Jokes about Willard, then actually remembering the movie Willard)

Mice don't pay rent, so they can't live here any more.

brina — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:44:34 -0800

How do I choose an exterminator who will make this episode of Tom and Jerry end once and for all? The brownstone I live in is infested with mice, and our exterminator up to this point has been unhelpful. They spray and leave bait (the kind in those plastic packets), and the mice run around our home like it is a playground.

My landlady has given me free rein in choosing a new pest control company, and I'm wondering what questions I should ask regarding the strategies and chemicals the companies use.

Note: No one in this house owns a pet or has small children. At this point, all the tenants are at their wits' end and would be happy to cooperate with a good pest control expert, even if he asked us to stand on our heads for three days straight -- as long as we knew it would put an end to the reign of the mice.

Another note: We're not into glue traps or other slow torture devices. In fact, we're all of us pretty squeamish.

There is a mouse living in my stove. He was not invited.

serialcomma — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:56:34 -0800

There's a mouse in my stove. At least, I hope it's a mouse. I've heard something clanging around in there for the last couple of nights. (It's perfectly silent during the day.) I've been able to keep the noise to a minimum with the occasional sharp rap on the stovetop, but I haven't actually seen the pest myself. There are no signs of mice elsewhere in the house, at least that I've noticed.

What are my options for getting rid of it?

1. Set traps, open the oven door, and hope the intruder finds its way out into a trap.

2. Leave it in the oven, where it will eventually die due to lack of food, and I won't have to deal with a living creature. Then remove the coprse. (Actually, is there any potential harm to it being in a gas stove, provided I don't turn the stove on?)

3. Call the landlord, ask them to send an exterminator, and let a pro deal with it.

Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Need to Fill Some Holes

suasponte — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:46:52 -0800

I need help plugging potential points of entry for mice. Problem is, I can't reach the holes There is a 6 inch space alongside our staircase running the entire length of the stairs, between the banister and the wall, in which I suspect there are mouse holes. Lacking a photo, the space is best described as a "U" with the stairs on one side and the wall on the other. Not only can I not see whether there are holes without using a small mirror, but if there are holes, there's no way for me to get steel wool into them. I can't use the foam spray available in hardware stores because the combination of my hand and the bottle won't fit into the space.

Is there a foam spray that comes with some kind of extension tube? Any other ideas?

DDT for bed bugs?

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:01:20 -0800

Using DDT for bed bugs? I recently found out that I have bed bugs in my new apartment. Obviously, this is extremely upsetting to me, as I’m a college student and work a lot so I don’t have the seemingly endless amount of time or money needed to get rid of them. I have contacted my landlord about the bed bugs but they are not being very forthcoming about helping me. They say they will only pay for what seems to me to be a crappy exterminator. I’m afraid that this will only make the problem worse.

My parents are seriously upset about this. They want me to move out right away. I keep telling them that that won’t solve anything; it will just spread the problem. They live outside the US, and my mom is coming to visit in a week (she’s not staying with me). She excitedly called me this morning to inform me that she bought DDT which she is planning to smuggle into the states in a shampoo bottle. I’m on the fence about using this… I’ve heard conflicting reports about how bad it really is. I’m mostly worried about the fact that it may cause breast cancer, and that bed bugs may be resistant to it. On the other hand, my first reaction is that I should spray it EVERYWHERE. How bad is it if used responsibly? How do I use it responsibly? I know that I have to dilute it, but how much?

So far, I have built up supplies to treat the problem on my own (caulking material, mattress cover, diatomaceous earth, and bed bug spray that kills on contact) but I’m not sure where I should start, or if I should event attempt to do it on my own. I’ve read bedbugger, but I don’t really have a set plan. I want to use DDT because it has a slow half-life and I’m sure other apartments in my building are infested. If I use it smartly, along with caulking every crack that I can find, I can lower my risk of being reinfested, right? Am I being really irresponsible by doing this?

I’m not sure how bad my bed bug problem is right now, I’ve seen three bugs, and I’ve gotten around 10 bites that I know of. I also can’t isolate my bed as it’s a loft bed.

I know this is long but I just have one more thing to add: I also have a mouse problem. I think there’s only one, but I know that they can act as an auxiliary food source for bed bugs. I want to get rid of it before I start treating, and then caulk up the hole that I think it has been coming from, but my traps weren’t working so I got sticky traps. Again, my landlord was supposed to come but he didn’t (three days and counting). If a mouse gets caught on the trap how do I get rid of it? I’m terrified…

I read the on bed bugs but I want to know if using DDT would even be worth the health risks. I’m afraid I’m being really shortsighted but this is my first apartment ever and I haven’t been able to sleep or eat very well for the past week (midterms+stressful work+ bed bugs+mice=HELL). I feel like I need a set plan so that I can feel like I’m actually doing something to control it, I’ve been avoiding dealing with it for far too long.

Were the NOD mice really stolen from the Japanese?

kisch mokusch — Fri, 25 May 2007 19:36:18 -0800

I was told a story once, about an American stealing Non-obese Diabetic (NOD) mice from a Japanese lab, and smuggling them back to the States. But I can't find the story anywhere on the web. So the story is as follows:

In the 70s, Shionogi Research Laboratories in Japan developed the NOD strain of mice. But the Japanese didn't want anybody else to have them. So an American scientist actually stole a breeding pair and smuggled them into the US (in the early 80s, I think). The mice apparently spent the journey in his top pocket. Once in the States, the mice made there way to Jackson Laboratories, and the rest of the world finally had access to the strain. The Japanese tried to get Jackson to return the mice (or destroy the line), but were told there was no chance that would happen.

I want to believe this story (how could I not? it's a cool story), and I remember it being told with some authority (by a reputable guy who did his Post-doc in Jackson Laboratories). It's just that I can't find it anywhere on the web.

Has anybody heard this story before? Is it somewhere on the web, or in a book or journal?

3 Computers, 1 Keyboard 1 Mouse?!

matthelm — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:26:50 -0800

I have a system that uses 3 computers, which are all talking to each other. I need to be able to use one keyboard and one mouse to control all three at the same time. Does anyone know of a reliable device?

All the basic units of life.

kisch mokusch — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 03:01:41 -0800

I'm interested in cells. As many different types as can be identified, and the more specific the better. Preferably mammalian, certainly vertebrate (otherwise the the list would be too big!). Sound references desirable (or, failing that, a brief description of which organ they can be found in).

e.g.
Dendritic Epidermal T cells: T cells found in the skin of mice (but not humans). Nat. Med.

Ideally the answers would be from biologists/reasearchers who have experience with the particular cell(s) they mention. I've already seen the wikipedia list, and although at first glance it seems impressive, it has a lot of errors, and is lacking references. So first-hand knowledge is highly desirable.

Quality over quantity.

Got mice?

jellicle — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:52:26 -0800

Got mice? I've got mice behind the drywall and I'm trying to figure out an expedient way of snuffing out their lives. So, it's the time of year when the mice come in from the cold. This is a relatively new house, well built overall, but there are scritch-scritch noises behind the drywall in the basement. I do not see any sign of mice in the living areas of the house - I believe they're confined between the drywall and the cinderblock outer wall. Thus, trapping won't be effective - they're not out and running around to run over traps I place on my side of the drywall, and I can't get behind the drywall to lay traps on their side.

The best solution that occurs to me would be to jab a needle through the drywall and spray poison on their side. (And find the entry point and stop it up, naturally). Is that done for mice, or is that just an insect thing? Any other solutions that don't involve tearing down the drywall to get at the rodents?

I'm aware of the possibility of retaining a professional exterminator, so you don't need to mention that, thanks.

Help Tom catch Jerry

milarepa — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 07:34:07 -0800

How do I turn this into a brutal, relentless mouse killing machine? To be fair, that picture was taken almost two months ago, which makes kitty ~4 months old, meaning that I think it's time for rescued kitty to start pulling her weight around here.

Currently, the cat sleeps with my wife and me, or our daughter, and doesn't seem to show any interest in mousing. However, we don't think she's seen one yet. She's very frisky, and seems like a natural hunter -- we found her on the L.I.E in the pouring rain of all places, so she's definitely tough beans.

Anyway, we live in a small two bedroom, and mice seem to originate in the kitchen. It's not infested, but it's enough to be bothersome. Our idea is to get the kitty a nice bed in the kitchen for a while so she can keep guard at night, at least until she links mouse rustling to something killable.

Is it too early to expect her to be a cold-blooded hunter?

Is there any sort of kitty psych 101 that I should know about -- am I going to give kitty some sort of kitty complex by kicking her out of our bed too soon?

What else can I do to make Master Meshu Meshola a brutal, relentless mouse killing machine without destroying her ability to take impossibly cute pictures like this? Can I have my cake and eat it too?