We've had mice since last year (maybe even the year before) and they seem to have smartened up after successfully using snap traps the first time we noticed them. We probably caught at most 10 and I'm pretty sure that they've bred a thousand more over the months.
I've plugged a couple holes in the bathroom walls with fine steel wool, one hole that isn't made by a mouse (no idea why it's there) and one that is. There's another hole in one of the bedroom walls that I'm afraid of plugging because I don't want to end up with the possibility of dead mice in the walls.
The steel-wool in the mouse-made hole mysteriously disappeared in about 2 weeks of plugging, and continued to do so within a week of replugging it. Bits of the wall were on the floor when it happened so I'm assuming the mice are pulling it into the walls. I just place a glue trap in front of it now instead of replugging.
Anyway, here's a list of other things I've tried:
- Putting the food away. They still come to scratch the walls and other things to find nesting material I'm guessing.
- A bunch of snap traps in the recommended positions, changing the type of bait occasionally when I noticed I haven't caught anything in a couple weeks. Unfortunately, they remained uncaught. I've even tried 'hiding' the traps with tissue paper, haha. One with bait under the paper, over the paper, and no bait at all.
- My brother tried the live bucket trap; didn't work.
- Glue traps worked twice. I'm not sure about the first time, but I'm positive the second catch was pure luck.
- I've a Victor electronic trap that's been on for a few months with nothing in it. I've tried baited and unbaited (which it currently is right now), nothing.
- We have those bait stations that go into a corner, but they haven't done anything since being put up either.
And that's about it. One thing about these mice is that they don't care what time of day it is, they'll still venture about the house, usually a day before, after, and on the weekends. I'm certain they also just walk around the traps. There have been times when they ran away upon seeing me and avoided all the paths with snaptraps waiting.
Anything I can do? Sorry for the long post.
Best Answer
Every time I have dealt with a rodent issue they ALWAYS eat the poison pellets. Now can you live with a dead mouse somewhere? Maybe it isn't the best inside way to catch them. But if you hit them with pellets all along the outside of your house 2-3 heavy sweeps over a course of a few months they will all be dead or close. They share food when close. I have done this on a couple houses and I not only killed the mice but didn't notice a chipmunk or squirrel for a while. I would try this even if you have an inside problem because often they will nest outside right by your house.