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Posted by SteveB on April 21, 2008, 11:28 am
> SteveB wrote:
>
>>> Well them I'm baffled as to how that method managed to keep the mice
>>> out of my folks' place a year or so ago. I guess they just had a
>>> less ambitious breed of mice to deal with 'cause they found the one
>>> hole in the concrete, jammed it full of steel wool and sealed it
>>> with grout and there hasn't been a mouse to be seen inside since.
>>
>> If every house in the entire world were just exactly like your folk's
>> place, then it would work. Alas, there are differences. Mice can
>> get into the tiniest holes and cracks.
>
> I'm not disputing that, all I said was if you can find where they're
> getting in then this method is effective at blocking that path, but if
> there are other ways in clearly they'll use them.
>
>> Try Victor Tin Cats. They work great, last 100 years, are simple,
>> don't use poisons, have no springs to be set, and can hold up to a
>> dozen mice each. No dead slimy bloody meeces, no poisoned ones to
>> crawl off and die in the walls.
>
> We also just had a mouse problem at our vacation place. Tried the
> ultrasonic repellers with limited success. Some poison (the kind that
> makes them thirsty so they go outside looking for water) worked with the
> ones that were already inside. But ultimately the solution was finding
> where they were getting in (a hole around a gas pipe) and sealing that.
> No more point of entry, no more mice, no need for anything else. If the
> house was open enough that mice could find a dozen ways in then traps such
> as you suggest would be great, but so far the two infestations I've
> encountered were both solved by finding and fixing the holes the wee
> beasties were using to enter. I know there are plenty of mice outside our
> house, the feral cat who lives in our backyard kills them on a regular
> basis. But since there has never been the slightest sign of a mouse
> inside I remain hopeful that structural integrity is worth pursuing. Oh,
> the cat was caught and spayed and we feed her twice a day and provide a
> heated shelter in the winter; despite this life of luxury she still feels
> motivated to hunt mice. ;~)
I salute you as a builder, investigator, and repair man. For the most part,
the common home has more than one way for mice to enter. Some are literally
riddled like Swiss cheese. Finding all of these is impossible, as access to
the inside of walls and their runways is not possible because of old
construction techniques.
Like you say, all you can do is all you can do, and that's all you can do.
Sometimes it's a simple solution. Sometimes, it's just a spike in the mouse
population due to the time of year, the year, or some other phenomenon that
brings mice to your house when you don't see one for the whole rest of the
year.
I have a mountain cabin, and we've found one dead mouse in there. It's
riddled with gaps and holes and ways to get in there. I think because we
don't leave food around when we're not there that they don't come in.
Each case is different and so is each solution. I do really like my Tin
Cats, though. Only thing better is a water trap, and they are free.
Steve
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