Does anyone out there have any advice on preventing mice from coming indoors? Have checked for cracks in the foundation, around pipes and wires too. It has gotten cooler so they should be here soon. Do not want to use bait. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

A cat.

I have seen mice in attics nesting. They can crawl up the siding of a house real quick.
like richard said a cat can help.
Be sure to seal all food products in plastic containers. Do not leave any candy or treats out on counters they will find it. If the house does not have a food supply they will leave if in fact they do come in.
I assume because you do not want to use bait your concerned about other animals getting into it? There are many traps that can be placed around the outside of the foundation and along the inside sill area of the basement that will catch and kill these buggers and will not harm any surrounding animals.

Mice will quickly vacate a house where a cat can roam freely. I know a health food store that cured their mouse problem by letting two cats into the store at night. If you wish to humanely trap mice and relocate them, there are small versions of the Hav-A-Hart trap that are effective and inexpensive.

I have the same problem Benny, it drives me crazy that I can't find where they get in, I've caught about 4 or 5 already in my basement this year. I'm beginning to think they are coming in the forced air exhaust which comes out the side of my house about 18" off the ground. I'm almost at the point of getting a cat, which I absolutely don't want to do.

I half fill a 5 gallon pail with water, 1/2 cup of honey and leave it in the garage. The mice climb in and drown.

I have a small trap set outside to thin the population of chipmunks (who want to find a small opening in the house). Trap them, drive a few miles to the woods and release. Somewhere in the woods a chipmunk is saying "Hey Frank! how have you been? PB&J trip, eh buddy?"

Here's a link with some information regarding house pests (I'm just waiting for the joke).

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/inspection.htm

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Deb_in_NH,

Another idea to help prevent the critters from entering is to make the outside unfavorable to them. That is to rake leaves and trash away from the foundation. Do not create an pathway to the house in which they can hide. place trash cans and storage away from the foundation. Keep lawns cut short. Cut shrubs off and away from house. Be sure to clean gutters and cut branches away from roof. Quite often mice feed on bird feeder seeds that drop on the ground which unsuspecting home owners put against their house outide a kitchen window to watch the birds. Keep trash can lids on tight. They do make outside traps that are placed against the foundation as the mice run along the edge they look for a place to hide. These devices have an opening in them which the mice run into.

If you have a friend with a cat try sprinkling some of the litter from the litter box around your house. You can also go to a hunters supply house and get some scent from a predator; for example I have had some success with coyote urine. It will smell for a day or two but the mice or rats or whatever won't be very interested for some time.

Benny .. It is my understanding that rodents (mice) do not like vinegar and will not go near it .. A mixture of water and vinegar 50/50 , put it into a sprayer and spray the entire perimeter of the house . Also spray under any cabinetry accessable , under and behind stoves , refrigerators etc. good hunting ..

I had a cat who caught 5 mice after laying awake and still all night in front of the refrigerator. Unfortunately due to this persecution the mice got smart. They travelled between the floors and got to a water pipe (plastic of course) chewed through it to get water. I did not know any of this until my dining room ceiling fell from all the water! I called an extermination company that specializes in creatures and they bait now twice a year and no problems since. We never could find where they came in but then mice have very soft bones and can make themselves almost flat. These were what is known as "house mice". Don't mess around - get rid of them now. They can also chew through wires in the attic and cause fires.

While all of the above will work a more workable and perminate solution is to find some foundation plantings that drive them away.My next door friend groes hot peppers all around his house and clames to never have a rodent problem.Up till last winter they all came to my shop where I humainly traped them and moved them to a better neaborhood.Last year I ground up all the left over herbs from the garden and added a bottle of Lousiana hot topping and sprincled around the shop. No rodents but others who live close had them bad last year. Some of us have been considering hiring an aerial aplicator. Does aney one know where we can get Lousiana hot sause in 55gal drums cheep?

We moved in to an older house last winter and had a time with critters (squirrels, chipmunks, mice, etc.) in the walls and basement. Don't want a cat, and have dogs & children, so poison is not a good option. Traps aren't reliable. The only thing that seemed to help was a gizmo we picked up at Home Depot that plugs into a standard outlet and emits an electomagnetic pulse that can only be "heard" by rodents, and they don't like it! We've had very little indoor activity ever since, and the yard is still full of those critters.

I have heard that oil of peppermint on cotton balls put around the areas where they mite enter keeps them away.I'm going to try this myself,by putting some in the attic and garage and crawlspace over our garage .good luck I hope it works.

As a mouse can compress his body to 1/2", it is fairly impossible to seal every crack & cravice, let alone 'never open a door'. They will sometimes break through. Rather than address the "bait/no bait issue", let me just say what works: 'Victor Mouse Trap (old style, not the new one with the plastic bait), and a small piece of a Snicker bar. I am State Certified in PC, but this works the best, and no harmful odors, glueboards, etc. Push the trap up AGAINST the baseboard, as mice like to feel their bodies against the wall, bait section obviously jutting against the wall. Turn out the lights, and soon you will hear "Snap!", and problem solved. Hope this helps...
Pete

Spray pesticide around your house on the outside and where you think mice will live inside. They don't like the smell and will go else where. If you can't use pesticide on the inside then use fabreze. reapply as needed.

Cats do not always work for two reasons.
1. May not be hunter - true of many many cats - if not taught at a very early age by mom to hunt usually don't.
2. Presence of cats or dogs do not necessarily inhibit mice who are either very very stupid or very very crafty. Some friends had 1 cat and 7 dogs(including 1 determined hunter who wanted the mouse) and 1 very persistent mouse who avoided everyone and would saunter out at about 2 am in the morning when all was quiet to make his rounds (me visitng and sleeping on couch was witness to that - prior to that the dog had told them there was a mouse in the wood pile but they couldn't find it and had never seen it active tho it left its evidence in the kitchen each night)
What I have found to work is this. Buy a whole mess of industrial grade steel wool. Take a regular kife from your silverware. Make a tour of your house room by room. Any place the knife can slip in or larger - stuff with the steel wool. Problem solved they will not come thru the steel wool (PS they happily nest in fiberglass insulation so that is no protection). And yes I am serious about the very very small cracks. Mice have a flexible skeleton which allows them to squeeze thru places you would never imagine. Takes awhile but the result is well worth it.
I learned this trick while living in a mobile home in the country that had never been sealed correctly. When I opened the closet and one was hanging off my work shirt that was the last straw.
Good Luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Cheri:
I have heard that oil of peppermint on cotton balls put around the areas where they mite enter keeps them away.I'm going to try this myself,by putting some in the attic and garage and crawlspace over our garage .good luck I hope it works.

The peppermint does work I tried it last winter and was pleasently suprised with no mice. YEA

Yes, Peppermint (has to be pure like from Health Food Store) on a cottenball definately works. I did this last year. I was out back and saw a sickly looking rat thought it was poisioned by neighbor. It was the peppermint. Later I found one in my garage it was traped in a shelf with glass door I threw a peppermint ball in there within hours it was dead. Cool Huh. It will keep all rodents away including squirrels.

We had mice problems also until we took the fiberglass insulation out along the rim joist in the basement this summer and had closed cell spray foam insulation put in. We have had no mice since. We also went along the foundation and cemented any holes or spaces that looked like something could get in and resealed all pipe and vent openings etc. Nothing worked until we did the spray foam insulation. We live in Minnesota so we always have critters coming in. Apparently there was a hole we could not see with the human eye. Hope this solution works for you too.

Will peppermint oil drive away groundhogs?