We moved into our home last fall and had a mouse/mice (still not sure). We put out a bunch of poison bait and it seemed to do the trick.

Over the summer we bought a small dog, under 10 lbs.

We've heard some things running around upstairs in the unfinished area of the house- I saw a dead mouse in the basement and in the upstairs- so apparently the poison is still working- however, I'd like to know what to do ASIDE from poison and traps to get rid of them-

I worry that the dog will find and eat the poison, or find a mouse that ingested the poison and is either dead or stuck in a trap, and eat it and become sick. Since he's so small I'm sure it could have an impact on him, correct?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated- thanks!

Well, you said a mouthful ! Bad idea to have poison around for mice and a dog in the house. I have a cat that does a pretty good job of keeping the mouse population down, in the yard, and I am sure she would in the house too, but you can't now, that is get a cat, because you have poison around and there is no way of knowing.

I learned my lesson about leaving the patio doors open in the summer into fall (my cat destroyed my screen).

Get some of the old fashion mousetraps and bait them with cheese (I have done that before) and put them in your unused portion of the house. It just means disposing of them in the garbage when you find them dead in the mousetrap.

You may receive some other suggestions here, and this is just my opinion. Good luck!

If you don't want poison - you could try those sticky traps. Of course, if you put them where the dog could get to them, that could be bad.
And then you have the traditional traps, but again, the dog...
You could call an exterminator.

It should be fairly easy to put conventional traps where the dog won't get into them. Even if it did, I don't thing it would injure a small dog. I have used them for years to deter puppies from counter surfing etc. even fairly small ones. By the way, this was not my own idea, but something I learned through the dog guide school.

I have seen traps at Wal-Mart that were plastic boxes with a hinged door. Placed hinge up, the mouse can push its way in, but not back out. Hinge down, and the door falls open. Safe for both dogs and mice.

Great ideas- I'm heading home now equipped for battle- lol.

Wish me luck!

How about a humane mouse trap. These traps can be purchased in most places that sell mouse trapping supplies, I bought mine at home depot. The nice thing is that this trap can hold up to 6 full grown mice at a time and it is not at all hazardous to any pets in your home. The bad thing about poison is that it can also effect animal in your neighborhood if the mouse gets out of the house with the poison in his system. You don't have to release the mice that you catch in a humane trap (although I do) but you can stick the entire trap in a pail of water and drown them which is a much nicer way to die than poison.

I have to wonder how bad drowning is? I once caught a mouse in a sticky trap. I decided the most humane thing was a quick kill by hitting its head with a hammer.

I would hate to have a dog get into a sticky trap.

Drowning is scary to us and I agree that I wouldn't want to drown, but drowning is a fairly quick painless way to die, the mouse looses consciousness within seconds. Either way it's definitely better than poison (which can take days and is very painful) or sticky paper (the mouse dies of starvation). I also want to point out that I said that drowning was an option when using a humane trap but that I release the mice that I trap (that's my choice, I don't believe in killing them just because they had the misfortune of coming to our homes which we built on top of theirs). Whatever you decide I would stay away from poison and sticky traps for sure, that leaves spring traps and humane traps.

Oh, Margog85 in response to your question, I paid $12.00 canadian for mine at home depot. I opted for the steel one, not the plastic with the rotating wheel because a friend of mine had problems with baby mice getting stuck in the wheel. The steel one has two entrances with a ramp that simply lifts blocking the exit ones the mouse walks in. Put a piece of bread with peanut butter in the trap and you'll be catching mice in no time.

The best way to rid yourself of mice is to fine how they are getting in in the first place. If you have even a very small hole under your sink where the drain goes through the floor that could be one place to check. Pack it with steal wool and just to be sure, use a insulating foam sealant. Sticky traps are so inhumane! I used then in one house I lived in when I found something had chewed the bird seed bag. It didn't take long before I found the culprit but I soon realized there was more than one. Everyday I was getting two or three nice on the sticky traps. I felt so bad that they had to just lay there and suffer. I know they are nasty, pesky little creatures but...
"tickle" is right, a cat is the best and safest way to keep the nice away.

altenweg- I think I'd go with your method as my first try. I found one dead upstairs and as much as I don't want them in the house I felt bad- plus picking them up is kind of... I don't know, gross and sceevey. Do you know what brand you used? And how would you even go about letting them loose if they can't get out? I don't necessarily want to kill them, but I also don't want to have them running over my hand as I let them out either.

stonewilder- Keeping them out is a major dilemma. I live in an old house with lots of holes and a crawlspace that is basically just dirt- the bottom of that side of the house only has lattice around it, and they can either burrow in the dirt into the crawlspace, or in many places just crawl right under and they're in. Do you know of anything (non-toxic) that would ward them off and keep them away from there? Because I think that's their main point of entry.

I seen at Wal-Mart in the garden center some powder that wards off cats, deer etc. I didn't really pay much attention if it might work on mice though. Now if it's non toxic I don't know but I would think it would be. It might be worth looking into it.
I'm sure you already know this but if you use the live traps make sure you take them far far away or they'll be back. May I suggest dropping them off at an old enemy's house. JK!

Hey I found this on a web site...

RE: Keeping Mice Out of My House
Post By (Guest Post) (08/30/2007)


We had a major problem with mice and had tried everything. Found the best way to keep them out was to put Oil of Peppermint on cotton balls and throw them under the house and put them in any area where a mouse might get in. Make sure it is Oil of Peppermint and not peppermint oil.


Maybe it will work??

Margog85- Sorry, I don't remember the brand but it is literally a box. The lid opens and has a glass piece so that you can see the number of mice that you have caught, like I said before, I bought mine at home depot. I Always wear gloves when I release them just in case they are carrying disease, however, If you don't wear gloves don't worry, there is very little chance that you will come in contact with the mice when you release them. I release mine in a field a few miles from our house, it is a dump site and not close to any houses, so I'm not infecting anyone else, it also insures that they won't come back to my house. Also remember that mice have a very fast reproductive cycle, you may start with two and in a matter of a month you'll have hundreds as they also inbreed. You stated that keeping them out is not an option, that's also the nice thing about the humane trap, you buy it once and use it over and over, unlike poison, sticky traps or even snap traps. I wish you luck, let us know how it goes.:)

One thing that I use is Moth Balls... I know they stink, but throw a box or two in the crawl space... throw them around where there are openings that the mice can come in.

I have been mouse free now for almost 2 years thanks to moth balls. I sprinkle them in the crawl space, around doors (outside of the house like in the garage).

Hey, the smell ain't great, but it's better than nasty mice and the diseases that they carry.

Cat

We used to have mice occasionally, but it has been a long time. I have meticulously sealed both the floor between the crawl space and house and the walls of the crawl space. I also put a screen over the drain to the crawl space.

We still have some trouble with chipmunks getting into the crawl space. I think what is happening is that they sneak in the access door when it is open and then are trapped. By leaving a rat trap, I think I have solved that problem to. I don't let the dogs in the crawl space.

Any hole a mouse or a chipmunk can get through, will let a lot of cold air in. Checked your gas bill lately? I used to be able to see daylight between the foundation and plate. I have carefully caulked top and bottom of the plate and between the floor and band joists, plus around all the wires and pipes.

Yea, the gas bill can be astronomical- and I know it's due to a combination of poor insulation and openings that pretty much allow me to look outside through cracks in the floor in some spaces- (i.e. laundry room which is a converted deck- you can look through the wood slats to the outside of the house- also in need of glass block windows in the basement, as some of the windows are literally just propped up in a hole in the cement and there's plenty of room for things to come and go as they please-
It's an old house and needs a lot of work- and I'm sure that until I get around to all of that, there's probably little I can do to keep them out-
But at least I need a way to get rid of them once they get in. It's only a problem in the winter, so far- but I'll have a heart attack the day I go to do laundry and find a racoon or squirrel burrowed in one of our blankets- lol!