Field mice

Hello and thank you for your reply. I apologize but I am a bit confused about what a field mouse is. It seems that that term is applied to several different kinds of mouse including house mice and deer mice.

I caught another one. They do appear to be deer mice which I heard carry many diseases. I have 4 traps. Is that enough?

I have sealed off any opening I could find on the exterior of the house and I am not sure how they are getting in. I had always heard this kind of mouse lives outside normally.

Could these have decided to take up living inside the house all day? I don’t want them inside. How do I get rid of them? Are there likely hundreds by now?

The idea that there could be dozens or more somewhere in the house is sickening me. What is the best course of action for ridding my house of deer mice?

You may want to make a call to your local pest control to have them investigate the issue.

The best course of action for preventing them in the house is to seal up any and all holes where they can get in. We had them in our new construction house. We went around the entire house inside and out and sealed up any hole we saw. We got 5 mice and haven't had any in the house since which has been 2 1/2 years now. They do still cause problems though. We have a detached garage. We caught 4 in there just recently. They do a number on car engine wires. My husband had to have his car serviced 3 times in 3 months due to those buggers. They’ve chewed up various foam parts in my car.

I believe I have sealed up any holes into the house that are dime sized or larger at ground level. That said, I heard they are good climbers and there is a vent to an attic fan on the side of the house. Could they be coming in through that even though it is 3 floors high and not against the roof? Additionally, I have never seen any evidence of them on the 2nd floor. Only in the basement and kitchen. My concern is that there could be dozens by now in the wall voids that got in from a broken window that was fixed several months ago.

Aside from the attic fan vent, there aren’t any more ground level (up to the second floor windows) exterior points of entry I could find when I surveyed the exterior of the house.

That being said, there are dozens of holes in the interior walls and ceiling in the interior of the house. Especially in the basement and kitchen. These rooms also have a lot of spaces near plumbing where something could travel from one room to the other but not outdoors. In some parts of the basement, there is a very accessible void where the pipes and wires run through the ceiling (and up to the kitchen). The same goes for the kitchen which is the other room I seem to be finding the mice. Still, none of these pipes or wires lead to the outside of the house and the garage is detached. I am quite stumped.

Still, I will try to seal up as many interior cracks and spaces as suggested I can. Unfortunately though, some of these gaps near the plumbing between the kitchen and basement are quite large and may need drywall. I also bought about 15 more traps.

Get a cat. If the cat you already have is not doing his job, get a dog. When the cat is gone, gid rid of the dog and spread mouse bait. (Don't get me going if you have children.)

OR

No pets nor kids, put bait out. All rodents potentially carry disease. Forget what species you have, the method is the same for "Field" or "Deer" Mice. You can never be positive you got them all nor can you be positive you sealed your home 100$.

You must accept the idea that if you put out bait, they will die... and hopefully they will die where you can find them. If someone suggests that catch and release will be effective, they are being moronic. An exterminator is an alternative, but I assure you he or she will just do the killing for you at a huge cost - they will not cause them to move outside not to your neighbor's house and they will not give them a Viking's Funeral.

Oh yeah, if you're hoping the poisoned rodent will go outside to die behind the rose bushes, remember that your poison will be ingested by the owl, bald eagle, or snake that devours the mouse, that's on you!

I do have two good for nothing cats. To be fair, they are almost 20. I also have a house rabbit which complicates things significantly. One project that will hopefully provide some help is a massive decluttering in the basement as right now it is way too cluttered which is just an invitation to mice as they like messy papers and textiles.

When I had my two older cats, I decided to not use bait for the mice out of concern for the cats.

They have bait in containers that are mouse accessible and cat not accessible - however if the cat came upon a mouse that already been poisoned it could be fatal to the cat.

Small mouse traps did not work for me at that time.

Have you checked for holes leading outside with a flashlight at night?

I shined the flashlight in the basement at the upper walls all around and DH walked around the outside looking for light to shine thru.

Our last house the first owners had 2 dogs. We didn’t have dogs and when we moved in the mice had the run of the house! Had a lot of gaps to fill.

A mouse that size can get in thru a hole the size of the tip of a pinky finger. I grew up in the country and have a weekend cottage, meaning I have battled mice for 40 years.

first step is to seal the entry points. Use rodent proof chalk or copper mesh, mice and rats will chew thru almost anything else.

engage a professional pest service. We have cats. On a good day, they would kill a mouse. On an average day, they would chase the ,ice around. On a bad day, they would bring love mice into the bedroom and into the bed to “show” us their catch. No joke.

a professional pest company will explain options, the bait inside pet proof traps is actually blood thinner that makes mice crave water with the idea they will leave the house in search of water, meaning they die outside.

deer mice are alarmingly large in comparison to field mice or house mice. It looks like you have field mice.

One thing about poison. Anything that eats the poisoned mouse will likely die too, or at least get sick. Your cat or dog or a hawk.

Cats don't always work. I had a cat that would catch stuff outside and bring me presents. But one day sitting at kitchen table I looked to see what my cat was so interested in. We watch a mouse go to cat food dish, grab a piece of kibble and run off. My cat didn't do anything. I guess he figured if it was in our house it was off limits for killing????

Izzy

Did you not read the responses above? Wow!