Mouse in My House. EEK!

[Jennie Ann]

Last night, I woke up about 2:30 a.m. My eyes were tired and scratchy, and I was a little dizzy as I was walking to the bathroom. I was still half asleep, but then I got the shock of my life. EEK! It was a tiny gray mouse scampering for cover in my bathroom. The door was shut, and he was trying to get out, running back and forth furiously. The faster he ran, the louder I screamed. I didn't know what to do. It was just me and a mouse trapped in the bathroom, with nowhere to go.

Finally, after waking up the whole house, somebody came to the bathroom door and opened it up, thinking I was being attacked by an intruder. The mouse was happy when that door opened up, as he escaped, and his destination was unknown.

Somebody told me about Riddex, the little thing you plug in the wall. I don't have any small animals, and so I thought this might be a solution. I went out and bought two of them as soon as the stores opened. However, upon return, I began to read about the Riddex product, and it seems there are mixed reviews.

I don't want to use chemicals or traps, but I also don't want mice in my house. Does anybody have any experience with Riddex, or do you have a suggestion to get rid of a mouse in the house without using traps and poison?

TIA!

[Jennie Ann]

I like that oil of peppermint idea. I have not seen him in recent times, since I got the Riddex. However, I have a pretty big house to hide in. I'm getting me some oil of peppermint today! GREAT IDEA!

BTW, this mornig, I was shocked to see a couple ants in my kitchen. Geezy peezy, my house must have a welcome sign to bugs and rodents this year. I use Lock & Lock containers for everything, and my kitchen is not dirty, but my house is kind of old, built in the '50s.

I found that Terro is the BEST ant killer from a few years ago, but it is toxic. I have a dog, and I must be careful. I am going outside this morning and putting Terro around the perimeter of my home. Damn ants.

[Vesna Walter]

Ok, a month ago I caught a little bastard in my car! He was living on my fast food scraps and the crap my kids drop in the backseat. Probably had a pretty cushy lifestyle until he got glue trapped!

[Teresa Russ]

I'm still laughing at Janet's comment.

[National Court Reporter Guide.Com]

Oil of Pepperment drives all rodents away. They hate it. Put some on a cotton ball and put a few around the house - you'll never see another rat.

[Jennie Ann]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

LOL @ Janet. I can just get a visual of that. LOL

Jeanese, I had thought about a kitty. I have always had cats. Right now, I have a big dog. My cat, Willie, passed away a few years ago. My daughter, however, lives in my basement, private entrance, her own kitchen and bathroom, while she is going to nursing school. She's a late bloomer at 36, but, as long as she is working full time and going to school full time, I don't mind her living at home. She has two cats, but they don't come upstairs. This might change, however, if I see a mouse again She told me she hasn't seen any mice in the basement. LOL

[April McMillan, CRR, RPR, CSR]

Janet, thanks for the best laugh I've had all day!

[Janet]

EEEEEK!

When I was a kid, I wanted every kind of pet imaginable. I'd walk into the pet store and buy whatever I could afford. One day, it was a cute, cute little white mouse with a nice, little pink nose. He was adorable!! I bought him a nice little mouse cage and some food and thought about how nice it was going to be to have my little mouse in his new home. Problem was the little PWAS/TARD was an escape artist, squeezed right through the bars, and was next spotted darting across the kitchen floor. He was no longer cute. He scared the bleep out of my mother, my sisters and me. I can't even remember how many months this went on. There would be no sign of him and then, all of a sudden, there he is again, darting across the floor, and we're all up on chairs screaming!

I hope for your sake, Jenny, that you don't have the little PWAS/TARD in your house for as long as we did!

[Tami]

You can purchase a live trap, Jennie, at the local hardware store and free them wherever you'd like.

I actually caught 29 mice with the live traps in my office (third floor) in the courthouse I work in. I used Jelly Bellies as bate. Maintenance helped out a bit -- 29 was not counting the few they caught -- but I finally gave up on them and started catching them myself.

It was a new four-story building, recently built, and it was obvious the mice thought it was a great new place to live.

The only bad thing is sometimes on a Monday morning I had the awful smell of death as they were in the trap too long.

I actually had no warm and fuzzy feelings over the mice. I just thought I might injure a finger with the standard traps.

After catching them I'd give them a toilet bowl funeral. Sometimes I got some help from my deputy, twice from one of our visiting judges, but mostly I did it myself. Finally, after the 29th flush, I had no more mice.

[Laurie H.]

I had one of the electronic pest products once. In my experience, it seemed to mess with my computer -- they work by sending pulses through your wires. It may have just been a coincidence, but I don't have computer problems like I did since I unplugged it.

Mothballs around your foundation will keep them out, as will cloves or any strong-smelling agent. You will have to be diligent about replacing whatever you use, though.

For one that has already made it in, other than a cat, I would use a trap and just get rid of him before he becomes them.

Good luck.