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

I saw what I thought was a black mouse on the cooker last night. I took advice at work and was told it might be a baby rat. I made sure that all the food was safety put away in hard plastic boxes (well, not the tins and the jars, obviously) immediately. Today I bought a humane mousetrap. It's baited with peanut butter. Interestingly enough, I couldn't put too much peanut butter in, or it went off. It's a sort of bent pipe with the entrance on the floor or other surface and the bait in a raised section. The mouse smells the food, goes in to have a munch and tips the trap and bang - shut. That's the theory, anyway.

I came across a neat homemade mousetrap on the web: http://www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk/products.htm

We'll see how successful it is. I reserve the right to put bait down if it doesn't work, though.

Mice and rats reproduce faster than you can catch them in your humane mouse trap. You need to buy an ultrasonic rodent repeller. But you won't be able use it while you're minding the hamster.

Do they really work, Gnomon? The hamster goes back at the end of next week, so I might get one if there's still a problem. It might be just one that came in out of the cold; on the other hand, it might be the tip of an iceberg. I don't think it is, though, or I would have seen droppings and evidence of food being chewed.

Well, the humane mousetrap hasn't been disturbed. Not sure whether that means that the mouse has left. The night before, I saw it three times near the cooker.

He might just not like peanut butter.

The chances are they are attracted by the hamster food. It's unusual for mice to come into a house at this time of year - they usually arrive in the autumn. The ultrasonic gizmo we have certainly works, but I borrowed it. I don't know whether they're expensive.

Traveller in Time bug hunting
"If it is the same device as we have got against bugs, it will not be expensive. "

Hi, ,

Our <> for the cats works a treat, so I see no reason why the others shouldn't. It's a clever bit of kit. It is most definitely worth a try. There are lots on the market, with varying prices, but for health reasons it might be worth it, for little 's sake.

If you catch anything in your humane trap you are going to have to take it a VERY, very long way away or it will just come back. Especially if Gnomon is right and it is the hamster food that is attracting it! I agree perhaps peanut butter is not to its' taste!!!

I have to say I can tolerate mice, but r-a-t-s, no way



Websailor

Well, the trap hasn't been sprung - not even empty - so maybe either the mouse/rat baby doesn't like peanut butter (although the instructions that came with the trap said to use peanut butter). Or maybe it strayed in and has now gone out of the house again. Maybe I'll have to wait to see. Meanwhile, I think I could do worse than do some research about the electronic gadgets.

Webasailor - is your gizmo to shoo cats away? And it works?

Yes, , it is for shooing cats away and it does work. I was plagued with 14 a little while ago, and two in particular were taking 'my' birds!!

I have two at intervals down the garden, and most of the moggies haven't come back. Three who seem to regard it as their territory still come, but crawl around anywhere to avoid the sound, which is quite funny, and they don't stay long! I move te gizmos a little occasionally to give them a surprise. The only ones it doesn't work for are white cats who are apparently deaf, and any other cat who is deaf. One visitor is a very strange and we think may be partially deaf, though young.

The reactions when I first put them in was hilarious. The most arrogant one, Ginger is very subdued now. but it doesn't harm them. I can't hear it and it doesn't interfere with our foxes of badgers.

Websailor

Interesting. Who's the supplies, Websailor?

I'll email you the details. Wouldn't want to break House Rules would I, now big brother is watching?

Websailor

Thanks for that Websailor. I'm happy to report that I've not seen hide nor hair since the first encounter.

Is it a case of hamster, and food gone, so intruder is no longer interested I hope so.

Websailor

News! I came in today to find a dead mouse on the carpet. The mousetrap was worse than useless and the environmental health people gave me some bait. I've kept the hamster well away from it. It was a mouse, not a rat, I think. It was a very dark shade of brown, almost black. It was very pretty. I hope it was the only one.

Well at least you know now what you are looking for, if it has any friends!!

<> That really made me laugh! What a shame the trap didn't work then you could have taken it a few miles away and released it.

Websailor

I found out last night - it has at least one friend! I saw it coming out of the living room. When it heard me, it shot back in. I resited one of the bait boxes. It's a bit more worrying when there are more than one. There might be a whole family of them. Ick!

Can you tell if it is a House Mouse, a Field Mouse or a Wood Mouse? They are all different, but the House Mouse is more of a nuisance. Is this one blackish as well? I don't recollect any of them being described as black.



Websailor

It was definitely almost black, Websailor, however what kind it was. I've not had sight of the second again, though.