feline fanatic

Guaranteed catcher, uh maybe but not always guaranteed exterminator. I have 5 and sometimes the mouse still manages to get away. Sometimes they don't. My avatar, Finnigan a Maine Coon cat, is not the brightest crayon in the box. However he does have an almost primal hunting instinct. Anyway about 2 weeks ago he got one and was carrying it around growling at everyone. We tried to get it away from him but the little varment escaped. Yesterday morning we found a half eaten one on the kitchen floor. EWWWW! I couldn't help but wonder if it was the mouse that got away. If it was, his little second chance didn't last very long.

As much as I like animals I have no desire to allow the vermin that enter my home to live. They can cause so much damage so I would prefer to have them dispatched quickly and humanely. I swear by the old fasioned spring loaded traps baited with peanut butter or chewing gum.

dungeonquilts

For suezquilts....your dog is the best (& so cute)...however, puppy would get "cold" being in my van that somehow became a home for mice. I thing I have the problem solved I used a Spring loaded (almost like a bull dog clip)to get them out. Laughed at my Dad that I bought the van from...when showing him one of the mice...He said that is not a mouse, that is a rat (it really wasn't or I won't have even got in the van...funny)

Katz13203

This is not always true! Back in 2003 I walked downstairs in the basement and saw my cat laying next to a pair of my DH jeans on the floor. I called her and she wouldn't move. I walked over and picked up the jeans and there lays a mouse. I screamed ran upstairs and the cat ran to back room. I called my DH at work and told him and he said that I'm probably seeing things.
Smart me - I walked back downstairs and lifted the jeans, screamed, the cat ran and I ran upstairs and called my DH again. I told him I am not crazy and I saw what I saw. He came home on his lunch break and picked up the jeans and this time the cat ran upstairs. She was so helpful! He took it to the down to the creek and let it go. You know he had to go back to work telling how his wife and cat can't even take care of a little mouse.

lovingmama

Agree, I don't like killing anything either, but there will be more problems lurking around, should you not be taking care of the mice.

BKrenning

There is a new kind of mouse trap out now. I can't remember what they're called but it's a white plastic box with a red bait door and red lever to set the trap. You put peanut butter--(I have no idea why anyone would use cheese--peanut butter works for all critters)--in the little bait door and close it. Then you press down on the little red lever to set the trap & put it where ever you've seen mice. I put mine parallel with the floor boards like a drive-in for mice. When the mouse enters, the "floor" pops up, trapping him inside. It doesn't kill him unless you forget to check it for a few days--kids forget to tell me. Anyway, when they do tell me, I take the critter for a little ride up the road and shake him out. If it dies before I get to the trap, I throw the whole thing away. That's what you're supposed to do anyway but I can't let the icky things die of thirst so I turn them loose a mile up the road.

Ortho Home Max may be what they are called. We get them at Lowe's. They come 2 in a package so I'm thinking the previous post is what I'm trying to describe.

akrogirl

We also use the no-kill traps, since our six house cats have never ever caught a mouse, lol. The traps are very effective and the mice are so cute I could never intentionally kill one.

baskets4moo

DogHouseMom - you are too funny, I can't stop laughing!

But honestly, use a piece of a Slim Jim for bait, it really works. My quilt inspector was a rescued feral tiny kitten who is a fierce mouser but unfortunately her favorite game was catch & release. And I mean release in the house so she can continue to play the game. Fortunately she has slowed down so I've only used the slim jim bait once, but it caught the rat in less than an hour. Oh, we did stick it to the trap with peanut butter, better safe than sorry.

nativetexan

yes but mouse carry disease and i woudln't want my pet eating one.

DogHouseMom

Can't. I've got dogs and they're guarenteed CAT catchers!!

Quiltzilla

I have used "tip"-traps and I released the mice in a field. That was okay, but you end up getting pretty close to the mouse during the release. I spotted this today and thought that it might work better during the release.

[img]http://www.shop.greenbottleusa.com/images/1mouse1(1).jpg[/img]

You just flip it over to release the mice.