askchapo

Uuugh

I live in the woods so mice are a constant companion, always shitting all over my trailer. I've been mouse-proofing things by using metal screen to physically block them from getting in cabinets, drawers, under the sink, etc.

And yet still, every day I have to take some little shithead from the humane trap on my morning bike ride and drop them off a mile away

They're super cute but they shit so much oh my Gawd.

The main thing to stop them coming in is to find where they're entering the house and block it off. Wire wool and expanding foam will make a barrier they can't chew through, but they can squeeze through some extremely small holes so you need to go round everything and be really thorough.

I tried all kinds of humane traps, they never worked for me. My mouse problem only ended when I got cats. Unfortunately one of them got caught, after that they just vacated the premises pronto.

Btw when you catch one of these squeakers you are now contractually obliged to photograph and shame them in a post for Hexbear consumption. This is in site terms of service under "seeking hexbear advice", it's a requirement.

an adult mouse isnt much bigger than my thumb. they're pretty small. if you see two mice, there's a good chance you have more so i'd keep trying with whatever traps you can think of. i'm sure they can spread disease of some kind, and they definitely pee all over everything, so i feel like you should be more bothered by them than you seem to be :) your gf having a meltdown seems appropriate to the matter.

i know you dont want this but i'd just let the cats have a go at the mice. i've had success hunting mice in my flat with my cat, as a team of sorts (though the cat doesnt quite understand that we're a team)

Peanut butter in a no-kill trap. Then drive several miles away and release.

The trap you want looks like this:

Mouse runs inside, runs to the end of the trap, steps on the plate to get the food and the door at the far end closes. Very simple and humane trap. Put peanut butter where the balls are. Guarantee you catch one in a single day if it's in a space they visit.

Paper towel roll into a bucket. Google how to set it up but it works every time.

Aside from catching them and getting them out of the house, the other thing you need to do is find every place they can be entering and seal it so they can no longer enter, and keep your place so clean that there is nothing luring them in.

Once you get them out, you absolutely gotta mow a perimeter around the house and pick any crap laying against it.

The reason mice run around the edge of the room is that they’re trying to find cover to stay out of sight. If you have a good ten feet of mowed grass between your house and the rest of the world, mice won’t cross it as much and you won’t pick them up from elsewhere.

Same for junk laying around. I had a couple of stacks of tires and some chainsaws under an awning against the house and they got in that way. Put up a shed a couple dozen feet away and kept that part clear and they’re not around.

I'm like, 90% sure it was a coincidence but my friend gave me some of those ultrasonic rodent repellents and I've seen much less evidence of mice since then. So it may be worth giving them a shot

There are humane traps you can use. Basically they work like a regular mouse trap (or gopher trap) but instead of killing them you just bait them and the trap triggers a door so you can go safely release them.

Here's an example

I have used similar traps for decades they are very effective, and bonus points you get to see your little mouse squatter up close and personal before you let them go on their way.

The traps are all pretty much indefinitely reusable so you should only need a couple at most.

I honestly had no idea people didn't know about humane trapping it's super effective.