Do mice leave on their own?

[Deleted User] · January 2014

I obviously had/have a mouse/mice in my condo because I found it's poo behind the cat's litterbox.

I have two traps out and they've been out for a week and nothing.

Should I assume the mouse left? Or should I assume it's destroying everything in the back of my closet?

[Deleted User] · January 2014

or should I starve my cat and hope that he finds it?

[Deleted User] · January 2014

My cat would tell you that I am currently starving him, which is not true. He is on a diet. No diabetes for Bob.

Eleventy11 · January 2014

What are your traps baited with? Peanut butter always does the job around here. They will sometimes leave on their own, but more often than not, they will come back.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

I have peanut butter on them. But it's the healthy no salt/no sugar kind.

Should I get real peanut butter?

ReeseFox · January 2014

DragonBlood13 said:

or should I starve my cat and hope that he finds it?

You should get a girl cat and let her do it. Feminism yo.

Eleventy11 · January 2014

I don't know if it makes a difference. We had mice over the summer and peanut butter did the trick. I had never heard of using it. DH said it worked when they had them in his office.

LuckyDad · January 2014

Well, since you are in a condo, there's a chance the mouse moved on to other units.

You could sprinkle kitty litter everywhere. That might scare the mouse away. And make your apartment smell like cat pee. So... winning?

RondackHiker · January 2014

I'd get the real peanut butter. Where are the traps? If they're not in a place the mouse feels "safe" it may not go there (though it sounds like a dumb mouse if it went behind the litter box).

I'd leave a trap wherever you saw evidence of the mouse. Check your cabinets to make sure he's not snacking on anything in there and pick up the cat's bowl overnight so that the only food source is the trap.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

LuckyDad said:

Well, since you are in a condo, there's a chance the mouse moved on to other units.

You could sprinkle kitty litter everywhere. That might scare the mouse away. And make your apartment smell like cat pee. So... winning?

I was actually thinking this. Maybe the mice moved on to a condo with no animals.

I really hope this is the case.

I guess that's kind of mean.

I really hope that the mouse/mice packed up their tiny little suitcases and moved on.

LuckyDad · January 2014

Well, unfortunately the mouse probably doesn't think of the building as divided into separate units the way we silly people do. More like one casino with X different restaurants to dine at, depending on mood.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

Wait, so I have to go buy special PB for this stupid mouse? LOL. Spoiled little mouse. I'm just kidding.

Bob has been hanging out on the counters a lot. I think he is scared of the mouse. The dog doesn't really care about anything. She doesn't even help clean up the floor when I'm cooking. She is broken.

and the traps are just kind of hanging out. Maybe I should put them in safer spot. My place is really small though.

Smootchy · January 2014

mice also like tootsie rolls. Since their less messy than peanut butter, it's what DH uses

mice never just leave. They leave only to bring back their family.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

I'm going to be so mad if I come back from vacation to the smell of rotting Mickey in my place.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

chapski said:

mice also like tootsie rolls. Since their less messy than peanut butter, it's what DH uses

mice never just leave. They leave only to bring back their family.

DON'T TELL ME THAT.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

Maybe I should just make a little home for the mouse. I do seem to love animals. why not mice.

I will just be really mad if this mouse ruins my crap.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

chapski said:

mice also like tootsie rolls. Since their less messy than peanut butter, it's what DH uses

mice never just leave. They leave only to bring back their family.

And I don't think I'm willing to go buy tootsie rolls for these damn mice.

But i do appreciate the advice.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

Spooko said:

I usually do some sweet and some salty traps. Put some jam on one of the traps. I usually lay them along the baseboards because that's where they tend to run in my house...along the edges. And definitely scope out his main areas and make sure the traps are in those areas. I'll send you pb if you want. LMK.

I should add some jelly.

I mean, I assume that the mouse should be able to smell the PB. My dog can..she keeps nudging the traps.

But the baseboard idea is a good one.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

Spooko said:

LMK if it doesn't work and I'll get some delicious processed PB out to you.

Oh! I need to get you that Soyaki stuff.

So good.

ReeseFox · January 2014

DragonBlood13 said:

Maybe I should just make a little home for the mouse. I do seem to love animals. why not mice.

I will just be really mad if this mouse ruins my crap.

If you do this, you must name him Ben and sing to him.

BluepointToasted · January 2014

I just had a mouse problem and had to eventually call an exterminator. I waited forever because I didn't want to kill them, so I spent all this money on completely useless sonic things. The exterminator finally came and put some poison out, and I have not seen evidence of one since! Best $175 I ever spent. When the snow melts he is coming back to find all of the little spots on the perimeter of my house and fill them in where the mice might enter.

With the poison, I was afraid that I was going to wake up and find little mouse corpses everywhere, but he said they are like dogs and when they get an upset stomach they go out looking for grass to eat. Also, he was very good about finding places to put it where my cat and baby could never reach it.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

I have heard poison works the best, but I have a cat and a dog and I can't mess with that shit.

BluepointToasted · January 2014

DragonBlood13 said:

I have heard poison works the best, but I have a cat and a dog and I can't mess with that shit.

I have a cat too. He put one behind my stove, one behind my fridge, one under my kitchen sink (way in the back) and one in the rafters in my basement

BluepointToasted · January 2014

DragonBlood13 said:

I have heard poison works the best, but I have a cat and a dog and I can't mess with that shit.

I have a cat too. He put one behind my stove, one behind my fridge, one under my kitchen sink (way in the back) and one in the rafters in my basement

vandelay · January 2014

We had occasional mice in our last house. We have two cats, but being indoor cats all their lives has apparently destroyed their cat instincts -- they cornered one once, but then didn't know what to do with it, and actually left it to go attack a toy mouse on the other side of the room. True story.

Anyway, we had an exterminator come out and put wire mesh over all the little holes that would allow a mouse inside, and didn't have any more problems after that.

ASmallWonder · January 2014

Our house backs onto a woodsy area and the house next door is doing some major demolition so we had a substantial mouse issue in the last few months. None of those fuckers liked peanut butter but they LOVED cornbread, I shit you not. Weeks of PB baited traps and we'd find them sprung or we'd find turds near them but no mouse. Cornbread? BAM. All traps sprung.

hdall0807 · January 2014

My mom set up a mouse trap the other day. She went to check it. No mouse and the trap is missing........

[Deleted User] · January 2014

hdall0807 said:

My mom set up a mouse trap the other day. She went to check it. No mouse and the trap is missing........

That's terrifying.

Spapeggy · January 2014

Glue traps work, just the flat pass with sticky stuff. We have mice. Have caught and killed over 20 in about 3-4 months. Fucking bastards. We tried peanut butter and cheese and they didn't care. I put them all over. Behind stove, fridge, washer and dryer. Good luck. May the force be with you

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