It's time for some major exterminating. I'm not sure that this is a houseplant problem, but a mouse problem! Change your mousetraps, provide a different kind of bait, try several different kinds of traps, or call an exterminator. A large population of indoor mice can be a health hazard for several reasons. Good luck!

I saw the first mouse on Sun..and yes, they've dug in my plants, made holes, and chewed leaves, too..As much as I hate using poisons, I ended up buying D-Con/D-Kon ..it really helps..I set it in rooms where my birds can't get it. I don't like using traps cause I dont want to remove their corpses. Yuck. Soon, more mice will come in and I'll have my hands full. I also buy sticky traps and place behind the stove, etc..it works..Toni

wow, this too has just started with us too! I can't beleive this is happening to others! we put down traps with the favorite Peanutbutter. Not one trap was touched! they just dig the dirt out of my plants. Why do they do this? others can't beleive that the peanutbutter was not touched.nOw we bought a few of the ultra sonic rodent things. they DO work! it chases them out of the house!

We too have tried the favorite PB to no avail. We've tried traditional mouse traps and the sticky glue kind. Nothing! Thanks for the suggestion of the ultra sonic rodent things. We'll try that out.

Get a cat! I only find dead mice around here. Good luck!

Don't spend a lot of money on those untra-sonic things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Something to think about

I considered buying one, but am worried the sound will bother my birds and dog. I don't want anything to harm them. I mean, how do they know this sound will not trouble pets other than rodents? Toni

Well, buying a cat will help with the mice, but the cat will eat the plants too!!!

I have very sensitive hearing and I have heard those ultra-sonic devices. Was a ticking sound and very annoying.
I would bet they would definately affect your dog.

I hate the thought of using any type of poisonous bait where there are pets in the home. Rodenticide baits are very attractive to other animals. It is soooo easy to leave a door open accidentally and to all of a sudden find your pet in the same room with the bait!

Though it is difficult to find all of the places where mice can gain access to the home, I think that people do miss some of the obvious entries. Check those areas under or around the home where pipes enter the home. Crawl spaces may need to be looked at, too.

I lived in a home where I had to deal with some mice one winter. I used a couple of snap traps baited with gummy worms wound around the 'trigger'. They had to work at it a little bit to get to it all, ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: A pretty good FACT SHEET

Wow, I just posted the same problem this morning. I didn't see this post! I haven't seen any leaf biting or droppings though. That's what puzzles me.

I thought I was the only one that had this problem. I thought it was a mouse/rat, however, I haven't found any droppings or holes eaten through my furniture, or whatever. I have tried traditional mouse traps, and the sticky boards and NOTHING! He digs holes in my house plants only - doesn't get into the loose food on the counters in my kitchen (bread, chips, etc). Does anyone have any other ideas?

I recommend the Live Traps (like these - http://www.abundantearth.com/store/mousetrap1.html). They work REALLY WELL, in my experience. We used to have mice and voles occasionally, growing up, and we put these traps out with a little piece of bread/cracker with peanut butter on it, and the next day the little critters were inside the trap! Then you just let them go somewhere far away :) Much safer than poisons. For the plants, you can always spray a mixture of hot peppers & water (I steep about 5 habaneros in a qt or so of hot water, for a few days, for outdoor plants); should stop any rodents!

There's a live trap called the 'Tin Cat' that works pretty well. I purchased one at a garden supply/feed store several years ago. You put bait in it, the mice go in and you just take the trap outside away from your house and lift the lid to let them go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tin Cat

mice dont like peppermint, so put peppermint oil around your plants. I have had the same problem i didnt know mice were digging the holes in the plant dirt but they were i put peppermint oil around and bought a peppermint plant, the stay out of the plants, but Im having a hell of a time getting rid of them, check under all kitchen cabinets appliances they have to be getting in somewhere/ good luck(they make nest under appliances and couch.

I hate the idea of poison, or worse, sticky traps for mice! Live traps sounds better, or a cat that knows how to deal with the problem. Mice need incredibly small holes or crevaces to get in.

I would like to throw my hat into the ring. We have a cactus plant on our kitchen windowsill. My partner fills a bird feeder outside this window regularly, and of course some seeds fall inside the window, which I clean up, but I guess some fall into the cactus soil. One night I came into the kitchen and dirt from the cactus was all over the windowsill.. I thought, 'Is there some kind of insect burrowing?' Days later.. it happened again. Days after that I saw our mouse. I purchased a 'have-a-heart' no harm mousetrap and put it on the windowsill and moved the cactus onto our dining table in another room. The trap on the windowsill has gone untouched. Last night I saw our mouse in the kitchen and though, 'ahh.. tonight is the night he will walk into the trap!" but this moning, the earth in the cactus on the table in the other room was once again dug out. This mouse is absolutely determined to find his cactus plant. But the above discussion explains, maybe because he has wonderful things already buried in it. I have read elsewhere that mice like to 'hide food' in houseplant soil.

I bet he - or she? has stuffed away lots of delicious birdseeds in the pot! Maybe they will germinate? :D

I've had the same problem, but have found the rodents are eating the plant roots and I am SICK of them killing my plants. I cannot get a cat since I am allergic, but I am going to find something that won't kill my plants, but will kill these pests. I have had enough of their shenanigans as they have been killing my plants since November.

I had a mouse issue this past winter for the first time. This crazy mouse would come out every night around the same time and run around the stove top. I was so repulsed and embarrassed to have this situation. It started with the freakishly cold weather in lated December-early January..., so must have come in from the outside. I have a cat and she too was extremely frustrated by not being able to catch it. I bought traps..., USELESS. Glue tapes..., USELESS. I bought poisons but was afraid to use them (cat). I started to think I was hallucinating! Except my cat shared the same hallucination. Well, a week ago, at the crack of dawn my cat is running around my bedroom, jumps into my bed and brings me the mouse..., still alive! I quickly netted it in the bedding and brought it out into the arctic night. Had not realized my rodent phobia prior to this but maybe this is why I was always a cat lover. Now, I wanna get an additional cat! (My cat leaves the plants alone btw.)

I hope it didn't have babies while it was visiting your warm, cozy home........LOL!

Please please don’t use sticky traps...they are so inhumane! Snap traps are at least a quick death. I had a mice problem in my basement over Christmas. I ordered a have-a-hart type trap on Amazon and put it out every night. Caught a mouse every single day, and just released it far from my house. No more mice since. No bad karma.

As for poison, it is very dangerous to wildlife, even when used indoors. Consuming it causes mice to crawl back outside to seek water (however they got in) and then they are eaten by owls, or fox or a neighbor’s dog or cat (my dogs have brought me mice many times.)

Best of luck to you getting it resolved!

I woke up one morning and found most of my plants completely devoured. Even my lush peppermint plant! I thought peppermint was a repellent. Anyhow, we bought a mouse trap where you place a cheese, and once the mouse gets in there, the door comes down to lock her in. Anyhow, we had trapped two fat mice, and let them loose out in the mountains where we live. However, we were worried there would be more coming in to our home, so we set out another mouse trap, and also bought a ultra sound rat repellent device. The next day, the cheese was still in the mouse trap, and there is no trace of droppings!! We also have a dog, and it doesn’t seem to bother her one bit. There is also no noise coming out from the device, so that was really interesting.

Great, I had tried everything, it seemed they were smarter than me. Peppermint is what they don't like. Put that around plants, or buy a peppermint plant. I think I have gotten rid of them. Uggg so annoying aren't they. I have dogs too, they do nothing. I think a couple cats would be better. Lol

Pepermint worked for them not getting in my plants. But they stay in house, no matter what I do. Yes, don't use the sticky trap, I did that once and it was awful I felt so bad for poor little guy. If they werent so cute , it would be better. Good luck

There is no inhumane way to kill rodents. stop the nonsense

I had two beautiful Christmas cacti that were devoured by rats...there was nothing left, not even the roots. Traps no longer working...so frustrating. I have called in the professionals, it has now been two months....so, pretty sure we are working with a new litter. They also ate almost all of my philodendron plant this morning...it was hanging fairly long on three sides....gone! I think I'm going to put a camera up, but if I see more than one or two...I probably won't be able to sleep, thinking about it.

Omg so I just started a few weeks ago on my plant journey and every morning I'm finding holes dug in the soil ..I did see a wee mouse but thought it was my cat digging little holes I've since bought stick traps and place them on the table with the plants ..but nothing and I am still finding holes and on further inspection something been eating leaves on the plants ..

Trust me when I say you don't want to find anything in those sticky traps ... it will be alive, it will scream, it will squirm, and it will be awful. Snap traps are far less upsetting for everyone ... the mouse is just dead, and the clean-up crew doesn't have to deal with a screaming, squirming, suffering creature. I'll admit we did have one snaptrap victim vanish ... it was there and seemed dead (not a close inspection (just noted from across the basement), and then a few hours later when we went to clean it up, the trap had moved a foot to by a crevace in the floor - concrete floor, not a way out, just a crevace - and the it was empty. No idea what happened there ... but there was no screaming, no squirming, nothing like a gluetrap. I've cleaned those up at a workplace ... it was traumatizing ... and worse, there were two.

Exact same thing is hapening to me and my houseplants and there are confirmed mice.

If you have cats keep them away from the plants but spread catnip around mice don't like it and it won't harm the plant

Peppermint oil or crushed peppermints???