Mice in house. Plug hole or leave be?

[Jotel me this]

I catch one mouse per week from the same hole in the basement wall. I read somewhere online that if you know the entrance point and plug it up, it can actually make things worse because the mice will try to find a new place to enter, and then you need to go crazy trying to find the new hole to set traps.

Is that true? I have four rooms in my basement, and mice come in from only one specific hole in wall; never caught mice in the other rooms ever.

Is it better to keep the hole open and just catch them consistently and without the headache of trying to figure out where theyre coming in?

Or, do I plug the hole and hope the mice just stop coming in and move on to easier targets in the neighborhood?

Thanks

 

[peakbagger]

Mice follow trails of other mice. If you know where the entrance is from the outdoors, stuff if with brillo pads. Obviously the alternative is a cat. Mice move in when the temps change. Rarely is there just one mouse, usually a female will move in and nest.

 

[Jotel me this]

Mice follow trails of other mice. If you know where the entrance is from the outdoors, stuff if with brillo pads. Obviously the alternative is a cat. Mice move in when the temps change. Rarely is there just one mouse, usually a female will move in and nest.

Thanks. Interesting you said that. On the outside of the house I noticed a dead mouse right at the outside of the hole. I bet like you said, other mice smell it and enter the hole. Ill plug it up, I wonder if spraying bleach on the house could get rid of the mouse trail.

 

[peakbagger]

They can get in small cracks, so can cold air. If you have a energy audit with a blower door test, they can seal up the cracks and cut the air infiltration way down and make the house less mice prone. The one caveat is some of the sealants used is not mouseproof so if they are known areas , metal hardware cloth works pretty well. Brillo pads also work pretty well, I think its a combination of the soap and the steel wool is what stops them. If you have rat issues that is different story.

 

[Jotel me this]

They can get in small cracks, so can cold air. If you have a energy audit with a blower door test, they can seal up the cracks and cut the air infiltration way down and make the house less mice prone. The one caveat is some of the sealants used is not mouseproof so if they are known areas , metal hardware cloth works pretty well. Brillo pads also work pretty well, I think its a combination of the soap and the steel wool is what stops them. If you have rat issues that is different story.

Hopefully I never have a rat problem. I do have some bushes which should be removed that are way too close to the house.

 

[VintageGal]

I use very fine steel wool. And I'm looking for a couple of barn cats!

 

[Newbie78]

Steel wool and silicone. If you saturate the steel wool with the silicone it will not rust out.

oh, and mint. Mice don't like mint. Mint oil, mint leaves...

and yes, they will likely find a new hole. Or make one...we had a mouse chew a hole through a 1/2" hardwood plywood bathroom cabinet drawer in one night. Well it was at the edge of the drawer partly in the rabbet and partly not. I could not figure out where that noise was coming from until the next morning when the damage was done. She wanted to move her babies out of that seldom used drawer in that seldom used bathroom.

PS, not all cats are mousers. Very few, actually. Cats that are fed eventually get bored with mice. They almost never give up on more challenging prey, like birds.

weasels make the best mousers. They are also friendly, smart, and cute.

 

[Jotel me this]

Steel wool and silicone. If you saturate the steel wool with the silicone it will not rust out.

oh, and mint. Mice don't like mint. Mint oil, mint leaves...

and yes, they will likely find a new hole. Or make one...we had a mouse chew a hole through a 1/2" hardwood plywood bathroom cabinet drawer in one night. Well it was at the edge of the drawer partly in the rabbet and partly not. I could not figure out where that noise was coming from until the next morning when the damage was done. She wanted to move her babies out of that seldom used drawer in that seldom used bathroom.

PS, not all cats are mousers. Very few, actually. Cats that are fed eventually get bored with mice. They almost never give up on more challenging prey, like birds.

weasels make the best mousers. They are also friendly, smart, and cute.

Do you think it would be better to leave the known mouse hole open? I feel like i have a 'good' thing going here. Mice know where to come in and so do i, so I get to dispose of them before they multiple in the house. If i close the hole, they may find a new way in which I wont be aware of until its too late.

 

[brenndatomu]

And I'm looking for a couple of barn cats!

What's your address?!

 

[tlc1976]

At my old house I had a cat. And had mice in the house many times. A few times he would catch one but most of the time he didn’t care.

I’d get mice in my cars often too. After trying dryer sheets and other things (one crapped on a dryer sheet as an insult), I tried this stuff called Rat Magic. Pellets that smell really strong of peppermint or something. Even with most of the smell toned down from sitting, it still keeps the mice out.

 

[peakbagger]

In some areas there are groups that rehome feral cats for barn cats. They get them healthy and make sure they cannot breed and then move them to someone who is willing to look after their basic needs(food and shelter). They rarely if ever will become companion animals, but will generally establish a territory and take care of the mouse problem.

 

[BigJ273]

I use very fine steel wool. And I'm looking for a couple of barn cats!

Yes. My pest control man said it hurts their gums when they try to chew through it. So they leave it alone.

 

[Newbie78]

Do you think it would be better to leave the known mouse hole open? I feel like i have a 'good' thing going here. Mice know where to come in and so do i, so I get to dispose of them before they multiple in the house. If i close the hole, they may find a new way in which I wont be aware of until its too late.

That is hard to say. I'm sorry, but there isn't a solid answer to that question. You're smart to even consider that they may find a new opening.

damn mouses. Cute, smart, and annoying as hell.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Friend in CT has something outside that has bait for mice. Mice search for water after eating the bait and don't come inside.

I can look for her email with a link, if a search doesn't find it. She said it works great.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Searched old e-mails. This is the "mouse house" a friend in CT has. She said it works great. No mouse issue now.

Amazon product ASIN B07YL5BLK4
Whiskers brought up another mouse last week. My wife was sitting in the den. He just sat down in front of her for a while like a perfect cat with the mouse in his mouth until she looked up and noticed. It was really cute. I caught it and threw it outside, saying the neighbors are very nice people. Go over there.

Who am I kidding? I dropped it on the far side of the driveway, and it was probably back in the house before I was.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Seal the hole, look for others around the house, and trap all of the mice that are left inside. People pay us thousands of dollars to do this.

 

[brenndatomu]

Searched old e-mails. This is the "mouse house" a friend in CT has. She said it works great. No mouse issue now.

Amazon product ASIN B07YL5BLK4
Whiskers brought up another mouse last week. My wife was sitting in the den. He just sat down in front of her for a while like a perfect cat with the mouse in his mouth until she looked up and noticed. It was really cute. I caught it and threw it outside, saying the neighbors are very nice people. Go over there.

Who am I kidding? I dropped it on the far side of the driveway, and it was probably back in the house before I was.

I think those work pretty well....that looks like the same system I see exterminators use around food warehouses and the like

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It's close. We're required to secure the boxes, so those that don't attach it to the building ot the ground generally use an internal concrete paver.

 

[RomanW]

Seal the hole, look for others around the house, and trap all of the mice that are left inside. People pay us thousands of dollars to do this.

Second this.

 

[mark cline]

I have used the bait blocks in my shed and barn with great results. Everybody says that they will have dead mice in the house that will smell. Not true, the mice eat the bait and go for water . I have never seen a dead mouse in the barn or shed but I have seen a few dead ones outside.

 

[gzecc]

Keeping mice out is a continuous job. They multiply like crazy if and when they get in. You need to constantly inspect of activity. Garage doors usually have space/ cracks for entrances.
People should stay away from poisons. Unfortunately the mice may leave the dwelling after eating the poison then get consumed by another animal like cat or hawk (also die).

 

[semipro]

Do you think it would be better to leave the known mouse hole open?

I faced a similar issue. In my case, the mice chewed through the seal under my garage door. Mice lay a urine trail that others will follow even years later. I tried washing away the urine trail without success.
I sealed the hole and placed a trap outside the sealed hole. I also set traps inside but caught nothing.
I have, however, caught numerous mice in the outside trap set where the hole was and none have come inside. We're talking about years of success here.

Finally, a plea to all not to use poisons. The poisons are tough on the good guys that help us control the mice (snakes, owls, and other birds).

 

[peakbagger]

The spinner mouse traps that use peanut butter for bait and mount on a 5 gallon drywall bucket work well for garages. Just put some non toxic antifreeze in the bottom and it will keep the smell down.

 

[Scott from Akron]

I'd squirt peppermint oil in the hole and then fill it in. Trap and kill whatever's left inside. If you toss them out, they'll keep trying to get back in. Take a good look around the outside of the house and make any corrections needed to physical entry points.

There's a youtube channel with a guy that seems to do nothing but test rat and mouse traps. Recently the OWLTRA electric traps seem like a good option. No poisons. Quick zap and done. The trap has a light to alert you that it got one. I'm due for a new garage door and seal and get some mice in my garage. They really irritate me. Had some glue traps that took care of a few but they mostly get leaves, debris, and spiders. Peppermint oil infused bags keep them off stuff I'm concerned with. Gonna try the OWLTRA units. I watched a show once that explained how even if you catch a mouse in your home and release it far away it'll find it's way back.

The Shake Away mouse repellants work well but don't last. You can make your own with a small 1oz container of peppermint essential oil (don't spill it in your house!). Mix some drops with rice or saw dust and tie it in an old sock or some cloth.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Electronic mouse traps are hit or miss. Some populations run into them, others will avoid them. An industry theory is the magnetic field from the metal in the trap is felt by them. There is some work being done with fields and how it affects animals in regards to traps. To the best of my knowledge it is mostly being done with larger mammals.