That is what stopped me from using poison when we had a couple in our house the other month. I tried those humane traps, but the mice never went for them. I put in a couple of old-fashioned mousetraps, baited them with peanut butter, and killed a mouse each night until they were gone. I kept the traps out for a week after I got the last one, just to make sure there weren't any stragglers.

They will find their way into your house if there is the smallest entry point. There are always more than you can see. And they will breed. They will live in your walls and inside your floors. Kill them while you can and be done with it. The old-fashioned traps bring instant death, so it isn't as inhumane as poison or glue-traps or drowning.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

I know you said you were allergic and humane, so that greatly limits your options. I don't have a whole lotta sympathy for them just because of all of the damage they caused in the past here at work.

As you might imagine, 100 tons +/- of grass, veggie and flower seed, 40K sq.ft. of dry, heated comfort and plenty of toilets as a water sourse make for a rather enticing little world for them to live in. Paper fertilizer and insecticide bags were also favorite targets. We tried a half dozen exterminators over the past 20 years with combinations of poisons, glue traps, poison water bottles, pellets, etc. All with little more than moderate success. We still lost $6-7K per year to the worthless vermin.

About a year ago, we figured what the heck, we've tried everything else why not try some cats. We pulled out all of the poisons and got a couple of cats from the humane society. They did more in 6 months than all of the exterminators did in a couple of decades. You used to be unloading pallets of seed onto trucks and you'd either come across a nest in the middle or there'd be a handful of mice scurrying out. No more. We still get a little activity in the unheated part of the warehouse that the cats can't get to and, unfortunately, activity in our climate controlled storage area (for hybrid$$$$ and more volatile seeds, germination-wise) has increased because the cats can't get there. The glue-traps have helped a little there.

When they start costing money and you see the evidence from the mice and your accountants, they ain't as cute.

The only issue now is we occasionally have to pick up a little headless mouse carcass and since there are so few mice for the cats to play with they now bring in chipmunks, birds and squirrels! Often not entirely deceased.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

That is a very, very bad idea. I had a rat problem and tried that idea. It worked fine until they chewed up my year book, pictures, furniture. Mostly stuff that can't be replaced. Then it was war!
I used peanut butter in a spring trap. Believe me they never knew what hit them. It breaks their neck or back instantly.

Do Not let them live in your house!

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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I'm here to tell you, this is so very very true. I can also tell you it takes about 2 weeks for a dead mouse in the wall to stink itself out. Kind of funny watching the dog stare at the wall for hours though.

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2002 E320 4-Matic
2008 Subaru Outback
2009 Subaru Forester

Inexplicably, our cats like to bring their imported prey into one of the ladies' rooms. They kind of put them in a corner and lay in the doorway, ocassionally harassing them or chasing them around.

Initially we thought it was rather unpleasant, every now and then you'd hear a squeal from an unsuspecting user. But after thinking about it, we fiigured it was better if they left the chipmunks and squirrels there rather than between some pallets somewhere. I've caught a whiff of plenty dead mice over the years, I don't want to know what a larger rodent carcass smells like!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Over the years, I've caught mice in some interesting ways. One time this rental I was living in had an infestation. I took a plastic grocery bag and put some old pizza crusts in the bottom and covered them up with trash. I then poked a hole in the bottom of the bag and placed it in the corner of the kitchen where I'd seen them running around. Pretty soon, I hear a rustling so I ran and grabbed the bag and held it over an empty trash can (tall kitchen variety). 6 mice plopped out in the the can.

Another method I used was to scoop them up in a large plastic cup. I would spot one running behind the stove and I would grab my cup and kneel down with it positioned along the bottom of the cabinets because I knew that's where they liked to run. When they came around the corner, I'd scoop 'em up quick as a flash. You'd think they'd run as soon as they spotted me but if you're still they just keep coming!

Lately though, I just use this:

http://www.victorpest.com/live_mouse_traps.htm

The top one. Just put some peanut better in the bottom and it's a guaranteed trap every time. The only thing is that I had to tape a coin to the top of the trap under the door to properly balance it. Started with a penny but had the most success with a nickel. Mice got greedy I guess...

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

They are cute and furry, until you find they have eaten the seat on your W126...They will shred cars, and build nests in really bad places.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

There's a reason why no body is busy building a better mousetrap . . . it's because the existing ones are so effective, nearly 90% or higher. It seems that mice don't have a large foraging range, so where you see them is pretty much their 9 digit zip code for placing the trap.

There's that whole disease thing too.

And also, you don't let a dog ***** in your house, why would you let a mouse?

I agree the glue traps are evil, but a mouse does nothing good for you and a whole lot bad when it is in your house. Kill it quickly/painlessly, but kill it.

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1984 300TD