h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Our family has always used Kit Kats to startling levels of success.

Good luck.

Now that Kit Kats come in those handy little cubes, they are almost purpose made!

My tip is far less tempting to munch on, but when we had a problem with mice the Pest Control man recommended a small bit of bread with lots of butter on. Apparently they love fat. (Mice that is, not Pest Control men.) And it did work splendidly!

This takes longer to work, but as never failed
get a hamster cage (or the likes) fill it full of straw (or the likes) ( right to the top) and leave it in a dark corner of the room with the bait in the back. and the door open, every day when you get up close the door one day you will hear something moving around inside takes around three to four days normally..

Mmmm, I bet that works to.

She says thinking about the handful of fur she grabbed whilst reaching into a dark corner of the guinea pig hutch the other evening to remove an uneaten chunk of apple. It gave me a bit of a shock when something warm and wriggly shot up my arm, especially since I knew that the piglets weren’t in the hutch at the time!

I like the hamster cage idea!
It just so happens that we have a redundant one in the garage & I'm sure we can find some suitable bedding.

If you don't mind being cruel, I've read about a pretty effective (if somewhat mean) trap.

Apperently, mice can't burp, so if you leave a pan of Coca Cola sitting out, they will drink it and their stomachs will expand until they explode (not so much that it leaves a mess all over the walls or anything. That would be gross. It is all contained within the mouse). The only problem is that this takes a bit of time, and you never know where the mouse will be when it kicks the bucket.

Peanut butter seems to work well, crunchy even better. Or so it was years ago when I lived on a farm. My apartment doesn't seem to have any rodents at the present.

Brings to mind (as does everything these days) a joke;

Dig a deep hole and put wood ashes at the bottom. Surround the top of the hole with green peas. When the mouse comes to take a pea, kick him in the ash hole.

I can confirm that some mice love chocolate - one of the little blighters ate his way through 6 - yes SIX - net bags of chocolate pennies one Christmas. - Maybe it was the gold foil he liked.

I'm afraid I failed on the 'humane' front - I resorted to calling in the local Pest Control Mannie!

I got him back a few months later to deal with the 'funny-looking-squirrel' which was actually a RAT.

I like wildlife - but not in my house!

I recon it's a field mouse. so leaves and dry grass sounds like it might do for beding.

PS If it is It's probably just as keen to get out of the house as you are to get it out. It just don't know the way..

I always have a problem trying to get that man to jump in the tub, either than or the ball goes off the board and rolls under the sofa

or even as well

While not humane, I know an excellent way of getting rid of rats from barns, which I imagine would work on mice in houses- mix jam with polyfila, and leave it where you've seen the buggers. They eat the mixture, then the polyfila sets in their stomachs and they starve to death. No more problem.

I had a problem a few weeks ago, they ate a packet of rice cakes that was languishing at the back of the cupboard but we didn't catch any in a humane trap baited with rice cake. We caught one in a humane trap baited with peanut butter, jam, cheese and crisps. Sort of a mouse picnic! unfortunately we only caught one so we had to use poison instead. I was really against killing them, but they were eating so much food and leaving droppings everywhere. It really wasn't hygienic.

After all activity had ceased we blocked any entry points with wire wool and expanding foam filler. We haven't had any since, so I'm really pleased as I don't like to kill creatures.

Make sure that you check humane traps very frequently as mice starve to death very quickly.

QB

...Especially if they've eaten polyfila

We have open eaves, no soffets, so it is easy for the blimmin' things to gain access to our attic. But it only seems to be a problem in the Spring, so far.

If you can poke a biro for a gap round doors, window, air brickes etc, it is large enough for a to get through.

When H goes up to check the traps he takes an old pair of bbq tongs and wears gardening cloths. He also baits the traps as he hates ! I eat it before it gets near the traps if I'm set the task

I guess I was quite lucky, the had only brought the in the previous day so when I heard the humane (human?) trap go, I let him out up the garden straight away, never been back (probably eaten by self same days later )

*sigh*
Our little visitor is proving rather elusive - it's been upstairs, downstairs (& in my lady's chamber). Today I discovered it's been in my bedroom Christmas store cupboard & of course has been at the chocolate coins.
The trouble is the central heating pipework boxed in all over the house, which allows it to roam around pretty freely. I think we're going to have to dismantle the house to track it down!