# I've got a wild Mouse living in my kitchen! Help......



## JustGoGaGa (Jul 4, 2011)

Hiya everybody,

I've got a little mouse (I think it's a mouse, I'm not entirely sure that he isn't a gerbil) living under the cupboards in my kitchen. He was coming up from a little hole at the end of the cupboards, I first noticed him a few months ago, just peeping his little head out. I blocked the hole it with an old plastic pot, so he started to come out from underneath the washing machine instead, cheeky little fella  I've realised that if I put food in the pot, he comes early in the morning (about 5 ) takes the food and goes. I've been giving him biscuits and cornflakes.

He's only a tiny little thing, and really inoffensive and to be honest, if I could guarantee that it was just this one mouse, then I have no problem giving him a biscuit a day so he stays away. But I am worried that he might have more little mice chums, and I don't want to encourage more, I can deal with one but I don't want an entire mouse village under my kitchen cupboards 

How likely is it that there is just one? I don't know much about them! I've got 2 dogs also, and I don't want him getting seen by one of them (to be fair, he doesn't venture out as long as I out food in the pot, if theres no food in the pot he comes out further)

Any advice here? Is there likely to be more than one mouse under there? I've only seen 1! If there is more than one, then I'll porobably have to ask them to leave, how would I go about nicely discouraging the little guys 'n' gals?

Thank you for reading xxx


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## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

Erm no advice sorry but I would be way too tempted to try and catch the little guy and keep him as a pet 

Most likely a wild mouse I would imagine, hope someone can help more.


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## Nico0laGouldsmith (Apr 23, 2011)

I think the chances of there being just one is quite slim. . .normally where there's one there's more. . . i'm not 100% sure on how to get them out of your house without resorting to killing them unless you put lots of humane traps down and when you think you've got them all release them somewhere else like a field. . . :/ hahaha

my science teacher caught a few tiny tiny mice in humane traps in his kitchen when I was at school and he put them in an enormous cage and fetched them to school for us to look at and they got out and infested the science block hahahahahahahahaahahha


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## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

Did a bit of googling for you.

Apparantly mice live in groups so very likely to be more of them.

If you try and find where they are coming in you can block the hole with steel wool as they can't chew through this. You have a long time hunting for tiny little holes however.

Also they do not like the smell of peppermint so sprinkling peppermint oil around the places you have seen them will help to deter them.


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## CrazyRatLady (Jul 5, 2011)

My advice would be to rig up a bucket trap. This is where you place a ramp (plank of wood will do) up to a bucket. Place food in the bucket, chocolate draws mice in, and place some grain or breakfast cerial in the bucket too.

Mice will drop down into the bucket and be unable to get back out. Then find a place, like a park or hedgerow somewhere away from roads, to release the mice. Hopefully this might solve your problem 

Please, whatever you do do NOT resort to snap traps or poisons. Both these methods carrying a lingering death, mice do not die straight away, and may die in unreachable places such as under your floor or inside walls, and produce a nasty smell which can last for days, and rotting bodies can be really dangerous to children and other pets, specially in the summer, leading to further problems with flies.

Please consider human traps, such as these:

Another example of a bucket trap









A simple humane trap where bait is attatched at the back, and the mouse's body weight swings the trap, and the little door closes, trapping the live mouse inside.









Here's some other examples: Humane Mouse Trap - The Different Models In The Market

Also make sure you leave out NO foods, seal EVERYTHING edible up in airtight tubs, make sure things like fruit are kept locked away too and take the garbage outside instead of leaving food waste in an indoor bin.

Remove a mouse's source of food, and that's the problem halved.

Good luck


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