If you’ve got a problem with rodents, it’s important to know what kind you’re dealing with. For instance, there are differences between mice and rats, and even within the mice population. Field mice are one of these types you might encounter. They are named as such because you often find them hanging out outside, whether it’s the yard, a field, or the woods. But they definitely don’t stay outdoors. Field mice like to find their way inside your home where they don’t just wreak havoc on your property – they can possibly destroy your health, as well. Learn the basics of field mice, how you can get rid of them, and how to keep them from coming back.
Eliminate Them Out of Your House for Good
If a field mouse got its name from living outside, why do they love the indoors of your home so much? Well, your house is warm, dry, and full of food – why wouldn’t they want to live there? If you’ve got a field mouse, you’ll be able to identify it by its large eyes, and large protruding ears. It will also have a light underbelly and darker back that can be anywhere from brown, to reddish, to gray.
They can get in your house through very small spaces, and once there, will cause a whole host of problems, ruining any of the following:
- Insulation,
- Electrical wiring,
- Furniture,
- Food containers,
- Storage boxes,
- Clothing.
Not only can they ruin property, mice sometimes carry a potentially fatal respiratory disease known as Hantavirus. Also, their fleas and ticks can carry illnesses like Lyme disease. Do mice carry fleas? Read this to know. Needless to say, you’ll want these rodents gone, and fast.
Some ways you can get rid of mice in your house include:
It’s up to you which one you go with when it comes to getting the mice away from your home, and all are effective options.
Home Remedies to Eliminate Field Mice
Maybe you don’t want to go out to the store and buy pest control, or maybe you just don’t want to use anything with chemicals. Either way, there are things you can do to beat your mouse infestation using only natural methods.
- Peppermint oil: Even though humans enjoy the smell of mint, mice absolutely hate it. And since it’s a strong odor, it will carry across distances. Take some peppermint oil (or wintergreen, or spearmint), and pour it onto cotton balls. Leave them around your home in places like your pantry, kitchen, along baseboards, and any place you might find mice activity. For more information click here.
- Cat litter: If you have a cat, or know someone with one, you could use their litter to keep mice away. Since cats are their natural predators, mice will smell cat urine or feces among the litter and run the other direction.
- Cocoa powder and plaster of Paris: Plaster of Paris is a cement-like powder that dries into a hard solid when mixed with water. Mix half plaster, half cocoa powder, and set it out in small piles. Since mice love sugar, they’ll be attracted to the cocoa and feast on the substance. Then once they drink water, the plaster will expand and harden in their stomach, and kill them.
- Cement: Similar to the use of Plaster of Paris, cement powder can be used to get rid of mice. Mix the powder in with sugar, cocoa powder, hot chocolate mix, or peanut butter, and set out in small servings. Once the mouse eats some, they’ll want a drink, which will harden the cement and kill them.
- Instant potatoes: Potatoes that come in flakes or powdered form can be used as mice control. When a field mouse ingests the potatoes and then drinks water, they’ll expand dramatically inside their stomach, tearing their stomach and intestines.
Pest control for mice doesn’t have to involve harsh or damaging chemicals. Ingredients from your home can work just as well as store-bought ones. To learn more about home remedies to get rid of mice, go here.
What About When They’re Outside?
You won’t just find mice inside your walls. They are often investing your yard, as well. But why should you care?
Well, mice like seeds and berries, so they’ll ruin your garden, if you have one. They’ll get into patio furniture and tear apart any padding to use for a nest. Also, their droppings that will be scattered across your property might carry dangerous diseases.
Something else most people don’t think about is their outside vehicles, including cars, RVs, and boats. When it’s cold outside, mice sometimes nest on a vehicle’s engine where they can chew up the electrical wiring and even an air or oil filter. Many cars, RVs, and boats have sustained damage from mice who’ve found a home in them. Learn more about how to get rid of mice in your car in this article.
Traps inside your house have been used for decades. But what about your yard? Learn all about outdoor mouse traps here.
Get them out of your garden
If you’ve got a garden and want to keep mice out of it, consider using plants.
Here’s some things you could plant that mice hate:
- Peppermint,
- Lavender,
- Onions,
- Spearmint,
- Wintergreen,
- Oregano.
A cat prowling your yard can also help to drive mice away, but watch out! Sometimes cats like to kill mice and leave them at your doorstep.
Don’t just repel mice, get rid of them completely. Learn how to kill mice by clicking here.
They’re in your backyard
Mice in your yard are hiding, but where? A field mouse will live where there is brush and soil appropriate for burrowing, as that is where they’ll make their home and nest. Logs and tree stumps can make a good place to hide, as well. Something else that’s important to know is that mice outside tend to live by themselves more often, unlike indoor mice who live in groups. This means that there may be many hiding places you’ll have to tackle at once.
To get rid of them in your backyard, there are several different methods, just like inside your home. You can always call a professional mouse exterminator, or you can go about it yourself and use traps or poisons made for outside use. There’s even natural methods you could try, like plants, cement powder, or essential oils.
Keep field mice off of your property
To keep mice from coming in your yard altogether, consider using plants as repellent, and planting them strategically. Make a border around your property that mice won’t want to cross. You can also create a mixture of peppermint oil and water, and spray it around your property line.
Having mice in your yard is bad enough, but in your house is even worse. Learn how to keep mice out of your house here.
Don’t just chase them away from your yard – kill them
Sometimes it’s nice to be humane and simply trap mice and release them. But it can also be time consuming, and doesn’t always work. Also, it means you’ll have to be in close contact with live mice, which can be hazardous, considering the diseases they can carry. When you don’t want to deal with a live mouse, it’s time to kill them off.
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Basic mousetrap:
These spring-loaded traps are the most common ones you’ll find. A wood board has a powerful spring hinge in the middle that is connected to a pressure trigger. If the smallest amount of pressure hits it (a mouse touching it), it will set off and send a metal bar smashing to the other side, breaking the neck or skull of the unsuspecting field mouse. Put bait like peanut butter on the trap before you load it, then carefully set out all around your yard.Be careful when dealing with mice. They can carry Hantavirus, a potentially deadly respiratory disease, along with Rat Bite fever, and Bubonic plague. Their fleas and ticks can also give you a disease like Lyme’s disease, and their feces can give you bacterial infections and food poisoning. Handle mice and their droppings as biohazardous waste. - Intruder mousetrap:
These traps are similar to the classic ones, except that the mouse gets stuck inside its box-like structure, meaning that you don’t have to risk touching the dead animal. - Bait stations: These are boxes that have poison inside of them. The mouse will be attracted to the bait, go inside and ingest it, then die soon after. What are the best mouse traps? Read here.
Where are your mice coming from? You’ve got your doors sealed, your windows shut, so it seems like there shouldn’t be a problem. So how do mice get in house? Find our here.
Controlling Field Mice
To control mice from getting into your home, there are different things you can do:
- Entry points: If the mice can’t get into your house, they can’t become a problem. See if you can find evidence of mouse activity like droppings, scratches, or the sound of their squeaks. Once you’re confident of where they are getting in, move on to the next step.
Blocking: Put steel wool inside any cracks or gaps that you find, as mice can’t chew through it. There are also special caulks you can use that mice don’t chew through, and other materials you can get to. Read more here.- Repellent: Using smells like different types of mint, cat litter, and other fragrances can keep mice from wanting to get near your property. Use repellent around the outside and inside of your house. Further details can be found here.
The #1 way to get rid of field mice
To kill field mice, the best way is probably using traps. The great thing about your standard spring-loaded trap is that they are cheap, meaning that you can get lots of them and increases the kill rate. 
Other traps you can buy include glue traps, which are sheets of ultra-sticky glue that mice’s feet will stick to. Unable to get free, they’ll die on the trap.
So if you’ve got a problem with a field mice infestation, don’t take too long to decide on a course of action. With the right methods, you won’t have to deal with the pests for very long at all and can go back to your clean, safe, home again.
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My favorite thought of a Mouse was when the Neighborhood Mouser crunched it’s skull with it’s teeth. Beautiful. If you have ever had a mouse infestation it’s annoying loud at night and they do thousands of dollars damage to wiring, insulation, cupboards etc. Catch and release my butt!
I totally agree with you I would kill them to I don’t think there is nothing cute about them
I use this type of trap and have killed 5 so far. I hope I killed the entire family!
I just moved to the country this winter. Now that the snow is almost gone I am finding a lot of holes in my yard along with paths like snakes would make if they were moving. Are these the sign of mice in the yard. I haven’t had any in the house, basement or garage, or at least none that have eaten the Decon.. Any answers out there?
You have mice or rats or snakes.
They are moles in your yard. Use yard guard mole prevent found at most Home Depot or lowes. Just follow directions
It could also be a vole. I am late to this post but voles can make snake like patterns in your yard.
What you have is a mole, very different from mice
Lynn you have moles they look like mice with web feet.Don’t come inside that I know of but make tunnels in your yard with holes where they enter or exit the tunnels.
What you have are mole runs; they are very difficult to catch; when I first moved into the country I bought all kinds of pellets, traps, etc. but nothing helped. After a while I just gave up. I have 1-1/2 acre of property and these crafty little buggers have dug an entire interstate system in my yard. They are blind, but once in a while they come to the surface. You can observe the hills that they dig at the end of the tunnels and if you have a cat, it may be able to catch it. You should ‘Google’ ‘Moles’ to find out what they look like.
Happy Hunting!
Voles or moles r ur problem. They burrow in search of grubs. Treat ur lawn with grub killer every year and u will have no moles.
Those are voles. Trust me; they will destroy your yard. I am thinking about getting a Rodenator Pro. Look into it. It is awesome for getting rid of golphers and voles.
Rather than mice trails these could be “voles” Check them on the internet for further details.
Moles hate vibration… we just moved but at our last house we had them really bad. Our neighbor said that they did too but then they went to the dollar store and baught some of those cheap windmill things that you stick in the ground… just place them around your yard. We got about 7 or 8 for a half acre yard, and within a month they were all gone!
I will have to try it. The moles have been tunneling all over my yard eating violet tubers and such. The mice move into the holes they dig.
most likely moles or voles depending on where you live
The best way to keep moles out of your yard is to religiously use Grub ex religiously every spring. They won’t live on your property if their only food source is eliminated. I have been doing this for the past 7 years with great success.
Mice…yes its that time of year again,
l am schitt scared of them.
Have got traps down but they seem to find ways around them.
Cant use bait because of dogs
HELLLLLP…looking for a quick fix
Use the peppermint oil
Peanut butter
According to You tube’s Mouse Trap Genius, mice rarely go 30 feet from their nest. I caught and released mice to my front yard last year. Later, I got to catch them in the house all over again. This time I took extra precautions and released them over 300 feet away. I also found that mowing the grass short thirty feet from the house starting at the house foundation helps too. Mice don’t like to go where they are exposed and the short grass would allow hawks, dogs, and cats to see them. Also the mower is loud so starting at the house foundation scares the mice away from the house. I searched around the foundation and found a small hole in the foundation vent screen which I plugged up. So far my efforts seem to have paid off. Inside the house I keep 4 Tom Cat live catch mouse traps set all the time to catch the occasional straggler mouse before they have a chance to get established.
domcoft, before you release them paint a bright orange strip up its ass so you will know when you catch it again, release it what a idiot, I guess you like ticks and spiders, I tell you what go kiss a snake and let us know how much it loves you, really get a grip, stop worshiping creation and worship the Creator
I think it is best to learn to manage the natural world around you, not destroy it. If you want to kill the mice in your home or on your property that is your business. I have no right to judge you. I just prefer to manage my property differently, so please do not judge me. Spiders have their place, as do snakes, and mice. Ticks, I wonder about ticks. Mice eat insects, grubs, and other pests. They in turn are food for cats, dogs, owls, hawks etc.. Mice can’t get into your house unless there is a crack or opening at least 1/4 inch wide. Find and fill the holes and you will keep the mice out of your house and probably lower your energy bills too. On looking around my house I found a gap around an outside vent that had been pulled out by the cable installer that chose to run the cable beside the vent rather than drill a proper hole for it. Not only did he pull the vent out to create a gap for the cable, he did not put the calk back around vent to fill in the hole he created.
I use the Standard Victor Traps they have the latch with the loop, fill the loop with peanut butter and voila dead mice also buy an Ultraviolet Flashlight and UV Safety Glasses, at night use the flashlight to find mouse pee trails and you will be able to determine where they are nesting place traps on the pee trails. #1 lure for mice is dog crumbles put dog food away at night #2 set traps in fall as a precaution because I have mice every year and have inspected around my foundation but can’t find an obvious entrance. Here in Canada once the cold hits mice seek out shelter. They prefer the outdoors in summer. A neighbourhood mousing cat will have many admirers just ask Mr. Socks.
Live traps from Home Depot! They worked for us. Then release About a mile away in a field.
I have good luck with a .410 ga bird shot and when you shoot one the noise seem to make them move, This tactic works well also when you hear them in the ceiling or walls and it’s easy to patch the hole with some joint compound
This made me laugh
LOL. I was married to a man like you! Okay this is my plan of action, peppermint oil in a spray bottle pray every freaking thing! Next, aluminum. Next some big I’m talking major big mean ugly Tom Cats! I want one on the inside and one on the outside that way they’ll have it covered! I don’t believe in releasing them nasty vulgar disease varmints
I bought glue traps but the field mice in my house ain’t sticking to them they found away around them too. What else can I do.
Place a very tiny amount of peanut butter on the sticky trap. You will catch the mice! Refresh as needed.
Make sure you have the traps along the wall. Mice walk along a wall. If you have the sticky traps out in the open they will avoid it.
There is a poison used on the farms, it, s called one bite. They eat it and go outside and look f or water then when they drink they swell up and die.
That’s the same as Dcon; you don’t want to use it because while they search for water, they may find it inside the house and die within the house.
The best trap I have found is a new type of spring trap made of black plastic, it’s easier to set than the standard wooden one. I also have spin traps made by Tomcat but I have never been able to catch a mouse with it. So I don’t recommend that type of trap.
Dnt the blow up after swelling
Do not use poison, owls and other birds also other rodent killers end up dying because they eat the poisoned dead ones
good..if they die so be it..we have to kill it off.i have such a phobia..and I mean not the typical woman scary type..a phobia to the point i cant move,get sick,throw up..my son is downstairs spraying ammonia n putting glue traps big for rats..we heard put peanut butter in the middle so they plant all four feet.this is our first mouse since he was 6 and he is 22..i left n stayed at the hotel but no sign of him since the 16th til last night.the tom cat bait traps well he didnt go near them that was 125$ to frontline pest control..
Think like a mouse.
Read all you can …to learn.
Be persistant. Try different traps; sticky…snap trap…
Different locations. Look for signs.
Pay attention to time of day.
With snap traps MAKE THEM WORK FOR IT SO THEY GET CAUGHT.
Once I had luck on top of range by tieing a little piece of dental floss coated in peanut butter. It worked.
Change postion so you take advantage of their paths next to walls.
Google it.
Tead read read
and don’t do what I did and leave the door open for a long time while you’re carrying things in and out.
they will come back in.
sometimes they have the tiniest and sneakiest little places to hide right outside your door ways
it’s a great reward when you get one of the little rat bastards though.
you will be able to sleep again.
Good luck
Get mad stay strong & beat the little s***s.
you can do it.
Right on, Gigi! Who gives a rip if owls, foxes, dogs and cats eat your poisoned rats and die? It’s just collateral damage, right? Like when school kids get their legs and arms blown off from when precision bombing is a bit imprecise, right? You bet. Can’t make an omelette without you break yourself some eggs, right? Right. What fun! Maybe it’d be even funner if a toddler slurps up some of the goodies you’re putting out for rats … or if you get some on your fingers and absent-mindedly lick them off. Or, heck, just take yourself a big ol’ spoonful of it. I hear it tastes kinda sweet! What fun!
Stay at a filthy hotel though?
Poison is effective however expect decaying carcasses in your house, you will nose when they died inside.
And then what happens if a hawk or an animal outside gets the poisoned mouse? Poison just isn’t the way to go if you’re responsible. Also if the mouse doesn’t go outside it just does a horrible death, rots and stinks inside the walls forever. I can always tell if a person or business uses poison, their place smells of rotten death..
I have field mice my house very clean I have no food at all lying around
I keep our house very clean also. . There’s no food or anything ever laying around (I’m a little ocd ) anyway we bought an old farm house in the country and keep getting mice I never see them or hear them only see mouse droppings we’ve tried all different traps it seems these mice are very smart abd that scares me:/
Sylvana, I too have field mice and I believe they have formed a bond with my 18-year old tomcat. He allows them to eat his kibbles and not only that, I made the mistake an stored some of the sunflower seeds for the bird feeder in my entry way closed. Oh, do they love bird seed. They have also shredded my shawl and mittens that were in the hall closet and I find cat food inside every open box under the sink as well as in drawers. I have traps sitting with peanut butter on them but they’re not interested because they are field mice.
I think I will need to use the black plastic trap I have been mentioning before and put some sunflower seeds encased in peanut butter, perhaps that’ll work. I’ll let you know.
Big Tom cats work best.not the traps..real Tom Cats
Well I made a house for it so its a box and I put food in there so the next day the food was gone and I lift the cover and It was in there asleep and I tried to hold it but it jumped
If you touch a mouse you will get very sick so you’re gonna have to go to the doctor soon.
Yes..don’t you guys know that mice carry diseases? ?
Man these little vermin! !! I now have one that has BROKEN a trap…. straight up beasted it apart… I cannot use any chemicals or poisons… I know for sure they are mice…. I’m gonna try that steel wool idea…. genius….. I usually don’t get them in the summer… it’s usually a fall winter thing for us…. I wish I wasn’t allergic to cats… I’d go out and buy a mancoon…. we aren’t dirty people… just live by woods.. they are only ever signs of them in the garbage cabinet. … and the vinegar cabinet next to it…. I’m gonna steel mesh and wool up my house!!!!
It’s a shame you’re allergic to real cats.. I grew up in the country. Mice are a real fact here. You can’t play around with them. They carry diseases they multiply very fast and before you know it you’re infested and can’t get rid of them no matter what you try.. the only thing that keeps them at Bay is what my grandmother always did. She always had cats, mice hate cats! When they made the Tom and Jerry cartoon way back when… It is a fact they hate cats! Lol my grandmother never had an infestation of mice because she kept cats. And that’s a fact!
I cannot catch the little mice! They eat the bait right off the victor traps. The poop insite the D-con round traps and do not get caught!! Help!!! I have a toddler and pets…even 2 cats, and can’t catch these vermin! I read that they will chew their legs off if caught in the sticky traps…..true???
Usually in sticky traps they can’t move enough to chew their legs off. Most end up with even their jaws stuck to the trap, (not to mention the Tom Cat stickies are so sticky that if you try to pull a mouse off, it will usually skin them or you’ll end up pulling them into multiple pieces. Awesome traps if you like to get some verbal revenge before ending their little liveszz
One Bite and they will be rotting and stinking inside you’re walls for a very long time.
And sticky traps are just so inhumane. Just imagine that kind of death being stuck like that for yourself. Awful
You have rodents in your house that could carry disease or cause damage to wiring or other things and you’re worrying about being humane?
Just don’t accidentally stick one of those sticky traps to your eyeball, anonymous. Or, on second thought, DO stick one to your eyeball. Thanks!
Do you love rodents? Best rodent is a dead rodent. They destroy, contaminate and carry disease. If you have a better way to handle them then state it.
I use chocolate. Just melt a small amount of chocolate in a teaspoon, then pour it onto the bait spike and let it set. I know it sounds fiddly but trust me it works…..I caught 7 mice with the same piece of chocolate!
They can do that but I have had good luck with the sticky traps. We put peanut butter in the middle and a trap with pb on one side of it just in case. This year seems worse than normal for mice. There is something out there called Great Stuff Pest Block it is a spray insulation that has a taste that pests supposedly don’t like I believe one of them is mice. I am going to try that next to fill some small holes outside.
Glue traps.
You need new cats. The mice eating kind. They are out there.
I would like to know the name of the mouse food that they eat then go outside to die. Thank-you
There really isn’t a foolproof poison that will cause them to die outside. You may find dead mice inside too.
he is correct, any poison makes them thirsty so if you poison 1st don”t have children, 2nd don”t leave water anywhere inside your house, hope they go outside looking for water, the drought is what is bringing them inside this year so bad, we have lived in the same home for 7 years and this year we have a mice problem it is very dry the food the mice eat outside is gone and the mice are looking for food, sugar food is most desired to a mouse, and most people i think, we don”t eat sugar products and the mouse we saw two times will just walk on the packages of food and not try to eat into the packages that are not containing sugar, it is very annoying, personally, I going for a bazokia or how every you spell it, when it goes off to the mouse he won”t have time to care about the spelling
It’s called”one bite
Decon
buy tomcat black trap and put some cheese and penut butter inside . they love that.that way they could get catch. but make sure use disposable gloves to open .dont touch with bare hand they wont get caught if u touch them . they can smell urs hands
Don’t expect to have company for a while because your whole house will smell like decaying death. I can always smell if someone uses poisons, their place really stinks. Live traps work great. Plus you don’t have to worry about killing unintended victims.
It is not decaying death you are smelling it is mouse piss and some poisons dry up the corpse so there is no smell just mouse fur left leaving behind a dust bunny
There is a type of poison called Ferret and after they eat it they go outside. We have been using it for years and it usually keeps them out of the house as long as you remember to put it out every couple months. This winter has been bad though, nothing is working so far.
but does it killl them because i dont want to hurt them just get them away from my house.:O
I have mice in my garage not the house. No food but they get in under the garage door. I keep finding them inside a plastic tote – I smell them because they get into the bin and then cannot get out. It is a great way to kill them but I do not want them at all in my garage because next thing you know they will be in my house.
Any ideas?
Get a grown cat or borrow one. (No kittens) I never get any in the house except when my cat brings a present for me from outside. But I did have some in a big shed. Never saw them just the droppings. They can fit into any space. One day I left the door to the shed open and curious cat had to explore. No more mice. Traps didn’t work cause they r smarter than we think. The cheese is gone but they don’t get trapped and I think poison is dangerous especially w pets and kids… Good luck
I have done everything they suggest! I don’t have a “messy house,” I don’t leave food laying around, and we have 2 cats! They eat the bait off the traps! The go in the ones that they go in and never come out…the poop, then walk right out!
A skunk can get where the cat can’t get they are great for rodent problems just not allowed in all states
Let’s follow the logic here … you’re worried about an odor problem from mouse piss, or from poisoned mice that die inside your walls. So, you turn a skunk loose inside the house to catch the mice … hmmm. (I know, you probably meant a skunk that’s had it’s stink glands surgically removed. haha.)
I have been having trouble with field mice in the house this week…I kept the sliding glass door open for the dog guess they got in through there..I have been using peanut butter….works good
Im scared to drink out of an open soda can thats been out of site for two mins I mite choke on s mouse
soda will kill a mouse, they can”t burp, it”s bad for you too stop it
I’ve had a mouse problem for a long time now. Finally found a mouse trap that works. It’s called “Jaws”. It’s a plastic trap with a small cup that I put peanut butter in for bait. The trap is pretty sensitive. Once the mouse is caught…dead, you just squeeze the trap open over the toilet and flush. Then squeeze a little more an the trap is reset. It’s ready to go back to work. They never get any of the peanut butter. I’ve used the same bait for at least 8 months or longer. I have 2 traps within 12 inches of each other. Sometimes I find one in each trap. I’ve tried poison but they die in the walls of my house, they stink, decompose and then maggots turn into large flies in the house. I keep a clean house and sealed off the areas of the house I can get at. Trapping seems to be the best way so far.
I agree with Daryl. The trap you describe is the one I’m using, it makes a helluva noise when it goes off but it’s very effective because of the little cup that you fill with peanut butter. Unlike cheese, they can’t grab the peanut butter and run but have to dig out the bait and that’s when they meet their ‘demice’ 🙂
I like the loud traps, makes me feel warm inside, it will scare off the rest of them I hope, the bazoka is very loud, but it does make quite a bright flash to look for others,
I have had some luck with making a mouse swimming pool. You take a bucket fill the bottom with some water (since mice can’t swim) u can either float seeds on top or smear some peanut butter on the inside of the bucket. Place a stick or narrow “plank” up to the bucket. Mice don’t have depth perception to they walk off the end of the plank into the water and drown. There are no poisons needed no traps to hurt yourself with and it’s pet friendly. You let may know know it over to get the peanut butter but won’t get sick!
I guess I could get used to the girggling sound and get a warm feeling with it, still somehow the SMASH well anyway
Mice are great swimmers. They just can’t swim forever.
Ok ive killed 5 mice today. But not before they took me forna run for 2 weeks. So I also am a neat freak super clean. But that doesnt matter its getting cold and those little rat basterds want warmth. So heres what I figured out. They will eat shit right off snap traps with out even setting it of. But here is the trick buy some cheap stick of chedder cheese from like aldies or jewel. Than take a half suger cube size of cheese smush it with your fingers on the metal part that the mouse is supposed to step on. What this does is makes the mouse work at it intill it snaps his little mouse head off. Hope this helps.
heads will roll, little furry ones I like it, you score high
Just make sure you don’t touch the bait with your bare hands! One of the most common mistakes people make when setting mouse traps is not wearing disposable gloves when handling the trap and bait. Mice have a very strong sense of smell, and anything you touch with your hands transfers your natural human smell onto it and since mice spend their entire lives trying not to be detected by or come in contact with humans, they won’t dare go near anything (especially close enough to eat it) if it smells like a human. This is why they will chew into a new bag of food in the cupboard but won’t go near the peanut butter, cheese, or piece of chocolate you manhandled while squishing it into a piece that will fit in the little bait cup on a plastic mouse trap. If you’ve set traps all over your house with bait that’s known to be irresistible to mice and are s ratching your head trying to figure out why your not catching any mice, it’s because you touched the bait with your bare hands which literally turns the “bait” into a deterrent they’ll avoid at all costs. Just a side note also, I live in Arizona and am surrounded by open fields with literally no water sources mice can access. Plus I live in a mobile home that was built in the 80’s that was vacant for 3 years before I moved in. Needless to say, I have had a constant battle with mice getting into my house for years and have tried every trick in the book in the process. What I have learned is that spending money on commercial made bait is a needless waste of money on something that A, usually doesn’t work in the first place, or B, the mice are smart enough to figure out its poison and won’t go anywhere near it after the first few nibbles. So your left with a worthless bucket of poison you paid $60 for that you now to to figure out what to do with without inadvertently killing the wildlife, getting your kids sick, or poisoning you or your neighbors pets. You have to rotate the bait you are using on a regular basis because mice quickly learn when the bait is bait and wont take the risk again. There are a few very effective, if not unconventional, home methods of rodent control which I was surprised to see included in the article above. I do NOT recommend using glue traps anywhere within earshot of anyone in your family. Yes, they can be very effective, but you need to be prepared for what happens AFTER the mouse is caught. It’s not a quick and silent death like with snap traps, oh no. You have to wait DAYS for the mouse to finally die of starvation and dehydration, and listen to the sound of that animal fighting for its life for days until it’s too weak keep crying out in pain from dislocating, breaking and ripping its own legs off its body as it desperately fights to save its own life only to have to concede defeat when they become so exhausted and the pain becomes so unbearable they no longer have the strength to lift their head, only to have to lay there for days, broken, bleeding, just waiting to die, spending what must feel like an eternity of pain and hopelessness slowly dying from hunger and dehydration. Anyone capable of empathy won’t be able to sit there and allow any living creature to suffer like that. And the sound… They cry out in pain and everytime they move and the sound they make sounds exactly like a small child crying as you hear them getting weaker and weaker. So now you have to make one of two choices. You have to sit there and listen to this animal fighting for its life until it’s too weak to cry anymore while knowing it’s slowly going to starve to death, OR you can decide no living creature should ever have to spend the last 48 crueling hours of it’s life alone, dismembered, bleeding, and suffering even more pain while they slowly starve to death and succumb to dehydration. Which means you now have to figure out a way to put the mouse out of its misery. I am saying all of this from experience because it was one of the worst experiences and choices I’ve ever had to make me in my life. I HATE mice. They carry diseases and illnesses that have effect my health and my dog’s health. They have destroyed my house, the walls, my food, and cost me thousands of dollars and countless hours of my life. But I am an animal empath and I feel when an animal suffers as if I were the one suffering. I literally sat on my couch with tears rolling down my cheeks listening to this mouse cry like a child in pain for what felt like the longest hour of my life knowing the only two choices I was going to have to choose from. I’ll spare you the rest of that experience, but you need to be aware of the consequences you’ll face if you choose to use glue traps in your house. If you’re ok with out of sight, out of mind then using them in the garage, barn, or other structure separate from your home might be tolerable for you. While still not as instantaneous as the snap trap death, I do know from experience that mixing quick-crete (a powdered concrete available at most hardware stores that is activated with water), powdered instant potatoes, and plaster of Paris mixed with a dab of peanut butter, soft cheese, or Tbsp of various types of seeds crushed with a mortar & pestle are all very effective methods of rodent control that don’t have the risk of causing harm to children, pets, or other wildlife because there is no poison or toxic chemicals involved. This method actually helps both kill the mice currently in your house, and because mice will take food and stash it away for later, when the bait mixture kills off the current mice, any mice who enter your home in the future will likely find these secret stashes and eat the bait, effectively killing the new infiltraters even if you don’t have any active control methods setup. Unlike other traps and “one bite” baits, the expanding powder mixture with peanut butter (when rolled into balls just a bit smaller than a marble) will get stashed in places only mice can access and stays there for the next generation to find, killing them potentially before they have even had a chance to find the harder and riskier to find food in your cupboards. While not exactly a humane way to kill mice, there has to be a line drawn for the healthy and safety of you and your family (and pets) without making the mice suffer for days waiting to die from hunger. Glue traps are less effective and cause unnecessary suffering when there are far more effective methods of control, especially one that has a residual effect that helps any future invaders as well.
Last season I trapped 31 mice and then set them free. So far this year I have trapped 14 mice and freed them. I drive them at least one mile away from my house and let them free into the woods. I do not have the right to kill any living creature and refuse to do so. A humane trap is the way to go!!
domcoft do us a favor move to another planet, we all have rights to protect ourselves, do you not read, have you no understanding, please let me ask you a question, lets say a 10 ft tall grizzly bear came into your house and your not a anti gun liberal and you have a high power rifle do you shoot or be eaten? Honestly sometimes, get a grip, who runs the Earth, man or rodents, I guess your type sees Orkin as murders? Grow some balls , protect yourself and others not rodents, when one bites you and you get sick or die well anyway who knows
Mice can kill ! They chew through you wiring and burn down your house !
Any one know how to stop this ?
Lots of traps
one guy said you can teach them to sing in the church quire, another said you can teach them to do back flips into a bucket, me I’m so pissed off at the little farts, I liked the one about snapping their heads off, it gives me a warm feeling inside, I’m saying all this folks to get you all used to the idea mice don’t like us, mice don’t care if you die, mice don’t care if your house burns down, so can we get along with the program of getting ride of them first? Isn”t your life, house and property worth more to you that a mouse?
If they are field mice and they stay in the field that excellent. However these buggers come into the garage and chew the wiring in my car, so I trap and kill them , less they become mutant Engine Mice….
I’ve killed 9 in less than 2 weeks, , none for 2 days but I check every morning..
he makes a great point her I think we should all think about, we are not hunting mice in the field, we are talking about protecting what you spent your life to pay for, what you lay your head down in to rest to get back up to go spend your day working for so you can return to your home to rest for the next day of work. the mouse was not invited to your house. It is a home invasion and should be treated as so, this is a not brainer, and some of you act just like you got a no brain, I know God gave you one else you could not type, I can type I just don”t spell well, anyone know how to spell Bazoka, I just love that word, and yes it makes me feel warm inside, thank you
Good ideas but I can’t get it·The field mouse is to hard·Its been there for 20 weeks·The field mouse has been getting into the house every where·
Mice are absolutely disgusting they carry diseases they poop every where there urine is very potent and can harm people if digested. I am terrified of them because they are so gross. Why would you want a scavenger for a pet?
I have two small kids live in an apartment called the owners won’t do anything I’ve tried traps peppermint oil glue traps snap traps they seem to bypass all the traps we can’t have pets any suggestions? ?
I never had a mouse at all my house always clean no food droped I had pest control come in mouse traps down and poisoning me and my daughter is scared go in my kitchen I have allergy off cats I donet know what to do still alive
Fuck mouse, I seen one once, went to home depot the next day got a snap trap, caught the dumb creep the same night, I think we only had one, cause I havent seen one , or seen evidence since
Heeelp! I’m at my parents with a bum ankle and the field mice…ugh! My 1 year old plays here. I’m vacuuming 3x a day. They have 4 dogs. Back door often open. Think there’s some holes in the fireplace masonry. Caught about 6 this week. I used to be humane. As a ftm, I want them gone by any means necessary! Anyway, I’m afraid my mom is a bit of a hoarder. It’s not dirty, just cluttered imho. Dog food gets dumped by 1 dog…and found in couch recently. I have a 1 year old who makes crumbs out of anything…truly freaking out. How do you sleep at night?
You have an infestation mice can reproduce after 3 months being born and they have lots of little ones check out the victor website there is this electrical trap that can hold 10 at a time. The trap uses electricity produced by batteries 10,000 volts which knocks them out, the muscles constricts, the mice die of dehydration because they can’t regulate their body temperature the holder at at the top drops the mice into a holding tank.
I can’t how to do it
I hate them bastards but if I set a trap in the kitchen I usually catch them them bitches I have one who comes intoo my room every nite I have a trap set in my room but that lil creature go all around it! Could it be I eat and live in my room!
Mice and Rats smell human scent if you touched your trap, it could be that your scent is giving your intentions away the mouse will not go near it, (solution) use gloves when you set your traps.
I know a lady that died from mice poop. All she did was breathe it in while cleaning. So yes kill mice that are in your house people come first. Thanks
Water and ammonia. Onlynif you dont havenkids Nd pets
I tried this and it worked but I got rid of the mice in a month
Don’t kill mice? I can’t go home because there is a humongous field rat in my house and I’m scared it will hurt my baby or get him sick. So if somebody says don’t kill them they obviously haven’t had one take over their home. It turns into war it’s us or the rat.
kill that bastard.have my first mouse and even with my phobia i am not going to let this bastard win..i had an exterminator put down the tom cat bait traps.did nothing..i use the rodent foam near mulch n house..i use rubber mulch..had trees pulled up out front.looks a mess n foam is everywhere but i dont care.saw drippings near hole from gas pipe from stove.used the foam mopped n then squired boarder og kitchen with ammonia n water.sprayed border of my house outside with it.havent seen it my son said since the 16th til last nite..no dripping on top 2 floors…we just put down extra large traps so that he has to plant all fours..will see..i am leaving for the weekend cause of my phobia..real bad phobia..sprayed ammonia at bottom of stairs so he wont come to the kitchen level.
i still ordered the brans Pic mouse kill traps.i saw where all reviews were 4-5 stars..and my son used gloves…
i have feild rats in my hen house. these things are HUGE. There killing my baby chicks in a very brutal way. They have a huge tunnel system all though out my yard. I’ve tryed poisen in the holes and under the hen house but scared to do anywhere else cause of other pets and children. my cat is killing like 1 a week or so but not knocking a dent in it. i bought the extra large spring traps and they avoid them.they wont go any where near them i think im going to have to sit out there with bird shot and ping them off one by one
Use gloves just like I told the other poster human scent, rats and mice will not come near a trap if human scent is on it.
You do not have mice, you have gophers or large rats.
Starting to get too many field mice in our small garden they seem to be coming from neighbours who has wooden decking near our fence, they dont bother her as she doesnt see them ( or want admit to it), putting poision down now as counted at least dozen, was so scared just stopped counting an sat an cried! Was told they breed every 14 days!
nothing to do with the deck they like the garden.everone has wooden decks..plant mint and spray ammonia around the perimeter every fresking day n nite…
Why do you think there was the Black Plague and the Justinian Pandemic, because of rats and mice carrying fleas that boarded ships from China and braught to Europe, the fleas would jump onto a human giving them Plague, the plague would cease during the winter then come back during spring and summer when the weather was warm.
I read that the black plague was introduced from North America by Viking fur traders. One record was found that recorded a fur loaded ship that came into port with all the crew found dead.
Got One! Victor Electronic Mouse Trap oh for the Love of Peanut Butter, it was his demise,I almost gave him a name.
Omg I literally clean my house and mop my floors every night but I been
Seeing a mouse thing run by me like it belong here. I pray its just one. I need natural things to make it stay away!!! I’m so scary its ridiculous. Could never use a trap that kills them and I gotta remove it I would die. I’m gonna try the peppermint oil. And mint leaves I like it anyway I hope that’s enough to keep them away. Freaking heck. Its spring going into summer y r they inside???
Sheesh calm down :p
Lol nooooo I can’t wait to try this peppermint oil and mint leaves I need it to work!!!
inside looking for water n food..
Go to gander mountain or dicks sporting goods and buy coyote urine and pour it around the outside of your house around foundation.
How many babies do field mice usually have at one time? I caught one on glue trap in my kitchen couple days ago, and since then hadn’t seen any more droppings in the kitchen, but last night in the basement bathroom was a baby field mice but it was barely alive, and then just now another baby in my tub in the bathroom upstairs bizarre,….
I use the Tom Cat Live catch Mouse Trap because it works great for me.
I smear the circle in the end cap with honey roasted peanut butter and then put just a dab about a half inch on the floor of the entrance. When it snaps shut it must scare the poop out of them as they always leave a pile of it behind. I always rinse the trap with cold water to rinse the poop out after each use. Don’t use any soap and rinse your hands thoroughly before touching he trap so as to not leave human odor behind that might scare them away. What they say about if you see one mouse you have many more is true. The first few nights I caught and reset the trap six times between midnight and sunrise the next morning. It took a week of this before I got the problem under control. Over the years I have learned the mice come in in the spring time to nest and breed and in the fall to escape the cold. During the mid summer they usually find enough insects, worms, etc. outside the house so they do not bother with trying to come inside.
Tootsie Roll or air heads caught 5.so far have a dang field across the street they think my fish food is there buffet .
i need help bad my house is full of feild mice set traps caught four noe biteimg thought my ceiling in kitcen to
My bedroom so scared of them wat the best thing i
Can do to get rid
Best thing even though some people thinks its mean. Buy sticky traps. Than go to store buy brillo pads and clog all entry ways that they come in. Mice can’t chew through brillo pads. Than go to your local sporting goods store(gander mountain, dicks sporting goods ect…) And buy fox urine. Spray all around outside of house. Don’t use inside it stinks really bad and is in healthy. And that should do trick. Also make sure every night to empty your trash out of your house. Don’t leave food out.
I saw a field mouse run from under my kitchen door to sofa then back again don’t know how its getting in the air fents on the outside of my house don’t even come into the house so god knows how or where its come from but twice now I have found wood chippings only small like little pieces of bark on kitchen floor I clean every day, now when it gets round about 10pm I block off the room door and go upstairs dont feel very comfy now downstairs help any ideas on what to do
I have a friend that uses 5 gallon buckets with just enough water and sunflower seeds to trap and drown chipmunks. They destroy his plants and “Donald Duck has won the battle.
I am going to try the same thing with mice except I am going to slather peanut butter under the lid of a loosely fitted lid on a 5 gallon bucket. There will a hole for them to access the bucket and aroma but they will likely cliff dive into the water. Lift lid, dump in hole in the ground and repeat.
I am sick of “feeding” them dcon, All they do is squirrel it away and have a slow death. Besides they bleed out all over everything, it’s awful. Nasty little rodents breed faster than you can kill them. My cat is dog tired!
ive got a yorkie and 2 mice tried taking up residence in our home he hunted them and I killed them ain’t nobody got time for rehoming those nasty things
I really don’t get why some of these people are saying “don’t kill them. Sticky traps are inhumane.” What should I do then? Let it run wild and eat all the food while getting my nephew and niece sick? Screw that! A pest is a pest, and all pests must die before it makes someone sick.
And maybe to piss off some of these mice lovers, once it falls into one of the traps, i’m gonna take the trap, release it from the trap with vegetable oil, then toss it to my cat and watch it tear the lousy rodent apart.
My husband cleaned out the garage and apparently the renters before us and the owners before us had a problem with field mice, NOT THIS MOMMY HERE!!! I bout peed my pants last night. I’m deathly scared of cats and highly allergic if I had a cat it would have been all good. By husband has a bad habit of keeping the garage up allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll day and night and even a skunk came up to the open garage the other night. There are also these silver bugs/roaches that are in all of the millions of humongous trees in our yard. So now between the silver colored roaches, the families of skunks, and the mice I’m ready to move!! I could honestly care less about killing it. I have very bad asthma and don’t want any of these rodents or spiders or bugs running around my house. I’m a very clean person and I clean every single day with bleach, pinesol, Lysol and Lysol wipes. I like allllllllllll of the suggestions and will be visiting my local Menard, Walmart or Lowes after work. Thank you
There’s a mice going in my bunny’s shed, was shitting in my rabbits corn and the cob toy, if I see the infested ugly creature is getting stamped on!! Cheeky cunts had to bring my rabbit in! Left a plastic bag on the floor let’s hope it chews it and chokes on the fucker, dirty things they are
My husband just crushed 3 field mice with his foot! He does this often. I hate those damn things so gross! We live in a ranch do theyre EVERYWHERE!!
People who are whining for a stupid mouse have never had to remodel their home down to the studs due to mouse infestation.One mouse can multiply into 50 before you know it. Living in your walls, ceasing floor boards ,chewing wires causing 1000$ in damages, we live my a farmers market, and they come back every year. Poison, poison and lots of professional grade traps if you don’t want a cat.
I set with a beer and a B.B. Gun,,, its fun and it gives me some thing to do,,, after the shooting,, I go around replacing the windows the B.B. bounced back and it!,,, that gives me some thing to do also !
They are the nastiest creepiest pest ever! Im so grossed out by them…we live near a field so we get them and i want to move because i am petrified of them…i will do whatever to get rid of them..i thought i was clean but obviosly not clean enough so now the ocd is about to kick in just found bunch of mice droppings in our basrment and its absolutley disgusting!!!!!! Im so sick and disgusted right now!
I too am having problems with mice and am working at ridding my home of them all. However, I am completely amazed at the comments on this blog which is, I assume, to post suggestions to help others. I have read a few reasonable suggestions. But in addition have also read rude comments, foul language (Courtney you need your mouth washed out with soap…the “C” word actually stands for “Cant Understand Normal Things”), horrible suggestions for a truly bothersome problem which does indeed carry a true threat of disease. If you have time to sit on this site and respond rudely to those who are truly looking for a solution perhaps you should get a job with pest control and put your suggestions to good use!!!
Hello all
Every fall I have to do my yearly 1 mouse kill, I live in a mobile home and the enterances available to them are numerous. But I must say this to those who think catch and release is best.
In the 14th century us people had a deadly problem called the “Bubonic Plague” or “Black Death” they ( the victims human) were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name:
How was the plague contracted you might ask? You usually get “septicemic plague” the same way as “bubonic plague”—through a flea or rodent bite. You can also get septicemic plague if you had untreated bubonic or pneumonic plague.
All those in favor of starting or encouraging this horrible disease , or imposing it upon your neighbors go ahead and catch and release your little tiny rodent potentially disease ridden friends.
That is absolutely irresponsible . not to mention these other lovely diseases spread by these little vermin:
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM)
Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever
Salmonellosis
Tularemia
Do some research on these illnesses as I have done and you might think twice before readmiting these disease bearring creatures back into the neighborhoods. That is unless you can honestly guarantee that the ones you have released are not carrying the above diseases to your local communities.
I veiw them as potential threats not only to myself but anyone who ventures into my home. I will use whatever means necessary, and humanely available to destroy these animals before they can unless any deadly bacteria or viruses in my home or around it.
If you do not think this is possible just ask the decendents of those killed way back in the 1400s , ooops forgot 20,000,000 + people died from the black plauge so its gooing to be very hard to get any kind of statistics from them huh !!!!
It is not wrong to manage problematic situations, but it is gross negligence to your fellow human beings to know a potential threat exists, but then allow that potential threat to possibly multiply, and eventually effect, harm and or kill your fellow human beings by releasing that threat back into the environment.
Sticky trap, then a rubber mallet. No mercy at my house.
Agree!! (Love the name! I use ‘Just Celia’ a lot)
Have to use peppermint oil, not extract. Use a LOT. Soak cotton balls aand place in all cabinets, closets, etc. . Reapply oil monthly. Switch the types of traps every few weeks. Those suckers are SMART! Mix DRY plaster of Paris with dry cocoa. They love sweets, especially chocolate. They eat it, drink water and die. (They may die in the hose tho. Make sure water is not available). Instant potatos work the same way but some seem to like sweets more. Plant mint around perimeter of the house. Fill all holes and cracks with fine steel wool covered in silicone. Even the tiny holes/cracks. There is expanding foam that has critter replant in it. Can’t remember the name of it. For bait on the traps, you can use bacon bits (home cooked bacon, not the dried kind out of a jar), sticky candy, maple syrup, etc. Ise strong smelling bait. Canned cat food works well. Also, mice leave phenomenon trails. (Nasty critters!) Clean all areas they have been in. I use Odo-Ban disinfectant. Use an ultraviolet flashlight (used to find pet pee) to be sure every surface is clean.
It truly is a battle. We live on 5 acres with woods an 3 sides. We seem to have won the battle so far. We have a brand new mobile home. You would think the thing would be sealed up thight. Nope. Those danged things can get in through very, very small holes. Spray the outside perimeter of the house, along the bottom, from the ground up about 3-4 feet with ammonia. Reapply every month or so. Good luck! You can win, just be very vigilant.
I have field mice so I can get instant potatoes n let them find it.
The best form of getting rid of rats and mice outdoor next to house is PCP air rifle. A .22 caliber will do. Get a Benjamin marauder with night vision. It is pretty quiet. Set out your bait (cat food in a can or fried bacon …. sit and wait at 30 yards . Make sure you have a back stop like a mound of dirt or sand . Set your bait in front of that.
IF poisonous cakes of mouse killer makes them thirsty…WHY not glue tiny pieces of dry sponges to the bait portion of the snap type traps…add a couple drops of water to the sponge, load the spring and place the trap in a convenient location that you can check/empty/re-moisten every day?? Common sense to me if you really want them gone after you seal up and clean up your home.
I have this tiny rodent my husband saw it once but it was too fast we have tried peppermit oil, tom cat traps, sticky traps with peanut butter, cheese, even the rat x poison, this rodent is smart avoids everything I keep everything clean and no food left on counters or crumbs on the floor, this is the first time I got this problem and I’m so tired of it, it gets into my house plants and every morning I found dirt all over the floor, I’m trying the trap that will electrocute it I hope it works I think my mistake was not wearing gloves I learn something new here hopefully this works, I’m not afraid of them but I think they are disgusting creatures.
I have voles similar to mice they are outside in my garden and have rated away my lillies and a portion of my lupines which have taken years to establish
I do not like killing so snap traps are out
I do not like poisons so that’s out
A old timer walks by every so often and I asked him he being a farmer he said “I see you have lavender…. which borders your walk no trails or tunneling near them”
He went on to say when you trim in the fall place portions of the clippings in the pathways of these vole and follow the paths to the holes place some Down and around these
I said that’s in the fall what about now?
He scolded me as impatient “just wait s minute I am getting to that”
He said right now and every trash day sprinkle cayene pepper alongvthe paths and holes and also all around the garden area next year you will have no mice squirrels chipmunks or voles
He continued on his way
It worked so far been about a month!
All natural smuckers peanut butter, not Skippy or Jiff . Applied to any trap and rub peanut oil on the trap as well. This will be highly effective. Also try cooked bacon and rub the residual bacon grease all over the trap to mask human scent. This really works.
I’m celebrating small victory, today. I had two mice spending the winter. I woke up and found one of them drowned in the toilet. Several days ago, I applied damp vinegar soaked tissue to the bowl multiple nights. This removed the limescale, leaving the bowl smooth and slippery. One mouse held the territory at the front of the house, feeding off a big bag of sunflower bird seed tucked away in the corner of the entry. The other mouse is hunkered down in my kitchen, causing me a lot of grief and severely constraining my lifestyle. I spend a lot of time cleaning and washing and using obscene language. The peppermint oil and the other trap options have not worked. After spending time reading the comments, I will attempt (once again) to plant glue traps with bait in the center this week. Thanks for your suggestions.
I use a combination of water and super super hot sauce and let it sit in a spray bottle about a week. Then spray it in areas they may be getting in. Haven’t had problems since. I spray it every week or two. Takes just a few minutes. Of course, I’ve filled every hole with fine steel wool and have put expanding spray foam and used that same sauce full strength over the surface of it. Also had to trim every tree around the home to prevent mice, rats, squirrels and raccoons from getting in. I call that combo the salsa of death. Hahahaha!!! That’s stuff is so strong I’ve used about 1/4 bottle on my food in 20 years. It literally takes your breath away.
need help