[Aurora_Bell]

So maybe I am being a bit paranoid, but I have a mouse in my house. I have snap traps set, but they just keep licking the peanut butter off and the traps don't go off. A few times they have gone off but no victim.

The other night I was sitting in the living room, and I could hear the little bugger on my stove. I don't know if it was my over reactive mind, but I swear the thing was the size of a softball. By the time I had the litchen light turned on, he was gone.

And now the mouse droppings look bigger than normal. I tool some pictures, can you tell the difference between mouse or rat poop?
And besides poison is there anything else I can use to get rid of it?

[Clough]

Hi, Aurora_Bell!

If you put something in the images for a reference as far as size, like a coin or other familiar object, it would be easier to figure out the size of the droppings.

Thanks!

[Aurora_Bell]

I did, there is a pea beside the poop.

[thisisit]

I've found the best way to keep the mice away is to have a good mouser cat. If you can make friends with a feral cat and then bring it into your house it will actively hunt and kill the mice and keep them from coming back. I've also had success training a kitten to be a mouser.

[Aurora_Bell]

I have a dog that would NEVER allow a cat in the house. Two dogs actually, and both are only interested in it when they see him.

My house is only 1.5 years old. I have NO clue where they are coming in. My best bet would be from leaving the door open? I had a well dug and a hot water heater is in my closet. Do bounce sheets actually work at keeping the mice away?

[Clough]

I did, there is a pea beside the poop.

Oh, that's what that is! It was hard for me to tell what it is on my old monitor!

Thanks!

[Aurora_Bell]

Lol, no problem. I took the pictures with my phone, so not the best quality.

[thisisit]

One of my dogs won't permit a cat right now either. She is a cat killer, much to my horror.

Mice can get in through the smallest spaces. I usually only ever encounter a mouse in the house in the fall. A couple years ago there was a small area in my basement ceiling/wall where the porch met the foundation that I could feel a cold draft coming from, so I stuffed fiberglass insulation up in it. I was in the basement one day doing laundry and I saw a mouse run from the area up on a beam in the ceiling of the basement and I freaked out. I grabbed the broom and knocked it onto the floor and beat it to death while screaming my head off. I felt really bad, but I was panicked at the thought that if I didn't kill it while it was running around it might bite me. So, that isn't a good way to get rid of mice either... I've had luck with catch 'em alive traps. Those are the best for me. They are tricky to set, but once you get the hang of it and you catch them you can take them outside and let them go.

[Aurora_Bell]

Thanks! I am not fast enough to catch him. He lives behind my stove. I am actually terrified to pull it out.

I wanted to get a live trap for the mouse, I guess I'll end up getting one tomorrow. I do not co habitate well.

[Catsmine]

If that's an English pea, those are mouse droppings. Rat droppings would be twice the size of the pea.

He's possibly getting in through the hole in the wall they cut for the stove line. They have to make the holes larger than either the electric or gas lines so they can get the line through. Once you catch him, polyurethane foam sealant does a really good job of stopping up the hole without disrupting the line. It comes in an aerosol can like shaving cream. One brand is "Great Stuff." There are others that work equally well.

You have your snap traps too safe if he's licking the peanut butter off the trigger. You can bend the trigger wire until you have to be extremely gentle putting the trap down lest it go off or you can get sticky traps from your local big box hardware store when you pick up the sealant. I prefer the pasteboards to the trays. Put them under the stove and on top at night. If the dogs get stuck, mineral oil will keep their fur on them as you pull the trap loose. You can dispose of the dead mouse by throwing the whole trap away.

[Aurora_Bell]

So will the stciky traps keep him alive until I throw it out?

[thisisit]

The problem with sticky traps is that they don't kill the mouse. It will still be alive when you throw it away, unless you kill it first.

[Catsmine]

So will the stciky traps keep him alive until I throw it out?

By and large, they will suffocate from the glue. Unless you get there really fast, they'll likely be dead when you throw it out.