Me = Defeated by mouse

old time brooklyn · July 2008

Nothing's worked. My next options are:

1. Poison
2. Riddex
3. Cat

Thinking of getting a cat. Old school. Where could I get a grown cat around PH with hunter's credentials? Pound or some other organization? Or maybe someone will contract their own furry assassin out to me for a week? Help.

apollonia666 · July 2008

Subject: Re: Me = Defeated by mouse

Old Time Brooklyn wrote: Thinking of getting a cat. Old school. Where could I get a grown cat around PH with hunter's credentials? Pound or some other organization? Or maybe someone will contract their own furry assassin out to me for a week? Help.

Check the pets board -- there are usually some great grown cats up for adoption. And they're often being fostered by the people who post about them, so they may have some ideas about how each cat's mousing skills are.

You might not even need a good mouser -- I have two cats who have never caught a mouse but I've never seen one in any of my apartments, in spite of other people in the building having mice. I suspect just the smell of cats in my apartment keeps them away.

And if you adopt a cat that needs a home, that's a great thing.

god · July 2008

Did you try peanut butter on the traps? That works great.

opossumqueen · July 2008

fill in holes! Move appliances, radiator covers, etc. to find holes.

That will help a lot, but I hear a cat is the best bet, plus you get a new pet!

modsquad · July 2008

All you need is some used cat litter. The more the better! I guarantee it'll work.

hairstudio1724 · July 2008

Have I got the cat for you!

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44009&start=0

Jazzy will be on the Kensington Kitties bus this afternoon on 7th Ave. near Carroll in PS.

alafairnadia · July 2008

everyone in my building has a mouse problem ... except the folks with cats. and I haven't found any dead bodies/smelled rotting hidden bodies. so cats are the best for this.

just get one from the pets board - I got one of my babies from there.

smokin joe · July 2008

we have cats. they work.

we got ours at barc, a non-kill shelter in williamsburg. they always seem to have plenty of kittens for adoption.

http://www.barcshelter.org/about/index.html

brooklynlager · July 2008

Subject: mice are not cool

just don't get glue traps. oh dear, oh no, anything but the glue traps! i lived a bit south of prospect heights for awhile and had my own studio apartment in lefferts garden for 6 months where i had a horrible mouse problem. my studio was small so the fact that i was seeing mice really got to me. i killed about 4 mice with snap traps before i complained to management, they sent an exterminator over after i left a few nagging voice mails (i was hoping they would treat the entire building or try to get to the source of the problem). the guy came over and simply laid down a bunch of glue traps. i kid you not, that was all he did besides looks for holes wich i had already done. i woke up the next day with a mouse still alive stuck to a glue trap. he was struggling to break free but could not, was one of the saddest, darkest things i have ever seen. i had no choice but to scoop the still alive suffering mouse into a empty bag, run outside to the street and stomp him out of his suffering. it should be noted i am a vegetarian and animal lover, it was a really shitty thing to do but better than just letting him die starving stuck to glue.

my advice to you is to get a cat, failing that, set up a lot of snap traps, like 4 for every mouse you think you have seen and use peanut butter for bait.

another quick mouse story, when i lived in bed stuy we had a mouse problem too. probably caught upwards of 5 or so, one time a snap trap got stuck to the mouses tail/butt and i found him slowly limping around my room. i went to grab him and he darted for under my bed, i snagged him just by the trap which he was still connected too. i ran for the front of the apartment, he was squirming on my hand and eeeking. when i got to the open window i chucked him out into the street. when i left 30 minutes later for work the mouse trap with mouse still attached had been run over by a car.

i am glad my current dwelling is mouse free!

apollonia666 · July 2008

Subject: Re: mice are not cool

brooklynlager wrote: my advice to you is to get a cat, failing that, set up a lot of snap traps, like 4 for every mouse you think you have seen and use peanut butter for bait.

But of course, if you do that, make sure the traps aren't anywhere where a cat can get to them and hurt itself.

nor'easter · July 2008

Every exterminator will tell you a cat is your best bet. Not to be sexist here, but I've always heard that females tend to be better hunters, and my own experience attests to this. my girl is a lean, mean, mouse-killin' machine. it's what they're made for. the only problem is that your kittycat may show her love by leaving dead-mice gifts for you - keep your eyes on the floor....still better than live ones. good luck -

alli · July 2008

My girl kitties locates all of the critters in the house. She's much more of a hunter than the boy.

Oh, you're lucky if your cat gives them to you dead! I was sleeping and my girl jumped on my belly with a live one in her mouth and gave it to me as a "present".

I jumped out of bed and couldn't find it (no glasses on).

I had to remember to thank her ;-)

filmlover44 · July 2008

sneakyonstmarks · July 2008

I have a mouse running around, thw weird thing is is that i dont know what he eats. I put everything away and stil he keeps coming back,

siren · July 2008

Subject: mice

I've had more mouse education issues than I'd like. Aside from a cat (and in addition to this), you MUST fill in all holes and cracks. Ideally with both mid-grade steel wool, and caulk (or spray foam filler- but only after steel wool). This also helps w potential roach issues too.

I did it myself, but there are various people out there (I can recommend one) who do both cleaning and moving stuff out of the way to fill in cracks. If you have huge gaping holes, there are a few exterminators out there who will also do this.

Which cracks, you ask:
-around ALL pipes that go into walls (bathroom, behind stove, behind sink, etc). You'll need someone to pull forward your stove to do this.
-behind any built-in drawers or shelves or kitchen cabinets (many of these are put in front of totally unsealed walls, w gaping holes.
-the area between your floor and your walls or floorboards. Use a screwdriver to wedge in steel wool. Top it off w caulk. This includes any cracks or gaps in the wall too- in closets as well. You'll need to remove things one by one and check w a flashlight on each wall.
-Your front door. Pick up an adhesive rubber strip to put inside your front door, on the bottom and possibly the sides.

Whether or not you get a cat, you ideally need to eliminate all possible sources of mice first. Otherwise they'll just keep coming.

Also, it goes without saying that all non fridge food should be either in glass containers, or very very well sealed.

---------------
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I'm giving away FREE stuff (& also selling Ikea/Pier 1 furniture):
http://newyork.gumtree.com/newyork/92/24884292.html
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thecameralady · July 2008

I would advise against using poison. It's been my experience that mice will crawl into a hidden space and die-and you won't know it until your nose is assaulted by the stench of a rotting carcass.

I feel sad about seeing a live mouse in a glue trap for about five seconds. Then, I figure, if it came down to between me and the mouse, the mouse has to go. Sorry.

poppy13 · July 2008

Also helps if the cat came from off the streets. My cat pounces on anything that moves in the apartment. Tiny, tiny bugs don't even make it out alive.

bohuma · August 2008

Subject: Cat a sure fire solution

Check this article from the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/nyregion/21cats.html?fta=y

Just the smell of a cat is enough. I have had two cats for nearly seven years, I have not seen a mouse in all that time. These cats came with me from Australia. When I lived in Melbourne, all the apartments in the building had terraces, the only terraces that didn't have pigeons nesting on them were the ones where apartment owners had cats or dogs. Not just for mice.

Cats have evolved as small mammal specialists, i.e. mice. If you have an existing infestation of mice a cat will resolve the problem, but you should seal up holes and remove the food supply as best you can. A cat probably won't resolve a rat infestation, but can prevent one. Adult rats, particularly in groups, will beat up on a lone cat. A single cat however will kill all a rat's young, so they tend to move into the apartment next door if they smell a cat. Two cats will be more than a match for a couple of rats.

madman · August 2008

Here's a shot in the dark.

I've know of a healthy mature female cat that needs a new home. If anyone is interested, drop me a line.

Me = Defeated by mouse

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