Help! Mouse in the kitchen!

[Globetrotter]

Last night I saw a mouse run by our toaster oven and disappear behind the stove. FAINT.

Dh pointed out that the kids wanted a pet, but this is not what I had in mind. Would should we do?? Mouse traps are the only thing that come to mind. FAINT.

We didn't tell the kids because they would either want to adopt it or freak out and refuse to go into the kitchen (and I really need their help in there ).

[jhrabosk]

We recently had a rodent problem in our kitchen. DH put out enclosed poison traps and dropped poison behind the stove, but it didn't help. Finally just had to hire an exterminator, which did the trick.

They used things that were all child and pet friendly, at least in our house. Neither my DD or my cat is overly inquisitive...

Good luck! I was so terrorized by the whole experience...

[Piglet]

Ditto the above - if you saw one, you have have more Hire an exterminator and call it a day. We tried everything imaginable before I finally put the call in (DH was convinced he could handle the problem) and we were both very impressed with the results! The exterminator did a follow-up which was the best thing about the process. He came back, checked the bait stations and found the hole (by looking between the two bait stations with the most activity). Once you find the hole/nest, you're golden. We stuffed it with copper mesh and never had a mouse again.

[Jen841]

We tried a variety of things for mice in our basement, and Orkin did it eventually. I like that the come when you call, and do the quarterly visits for one charge.

[catsnkid]

Our cats seem to do the trick , but it is not the solution for everybody. It was annoying though when they got one, but didn't finish it . It took some time to figure out where the smell was coming from..

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I'll also say call an exterminator. Mouse urine is harbors some pretty unpleasant stuff for humans (according to our exterminator).

We did have a problem once but like the pp, our cats got them mostly and what they didn't the poison dh put out did. But we only put the poison in between the floor and the baseboards in the closet.

Not all cats are mousers so if you have cats don't automaticly assume that they'll get the mice for you.

Good luck.

[Globetrotter]

I read these posts earlier and called an exterminator to see what they would do. They said they would set traps (over three visits), then they would look all around the house to find the hole/s and patch them. This would cost $350. Does this sound right?

The guy said we could try to trap it ourselves, in case it was a "random mouse." I don't know, however, if I'll necessarily SEE them. I happened to walk in and switch on the light last night. It was a shock.. that's for sure!

[TwinFoxes]

The guy said we could try to trap it ourselves, in case it was a "random mouse."

I've lived in places where we had one mouse, and never saw another one or signs of another one. So it is possible to have just one. I remember growing up we probably had 5 mice the entire time (17 years) and my dad just set a trap and dealt with it.

That being said, I'd hire an exterminator. Although $350 seems high. Since we moved back east we've been renting, and the landlord has a pest control contract that includes rodents. I can't imagine she pays that much. She used to live here, and the contract just carried over.

[vejemom]

I paid something like that at our previous house. The guy spent hours looking around the outside, caulking up cracks, etc. Then he put the kind of poison bait stations they use outside of restaurants in strategic locations outside the house. It seemed to work.

This house has mouse issues, to be expected because we're in the country and everyone does to a degree. I had the exterminator put out the small bait stations as part of the regular service. They're working, but the mice keep kicking the bucket in the house. And I never find them until they're REALLY dead. Blech!

[Globetrotter]

Dh couldn't find glue traps but did find an electric shock trap (?) as well as the traditional ones. I will avoid the bait traps as you said, with those, they could end up dying anywhere. yuck.