Electromagnetic/Utlrasonic Frightners?

[Aggie]

That sticky paper trap stuff...   think flypaper for rodents.  Terrible way to die; the person who decided to market this should be staked out in the sun in some arid hellhole to die of dehydration, like the poor mice.

[ivor]

Something like this?

[youtube=425,350]mcpqTWHsCHU[/youtube]

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

What, no anthill around?

--
As a long term solution you should be to feed them hormones to prevent them from having babies, sooner or later the ones living around would die of natural causes.

I was thinking about something like that for mosquitoes too, something like a warm blood-like liquid placed at a distance from a home or small town, that attracts the females and either kills them or prevents them from egg laying. Setup in a perimeter and most of the bugs should be attracted to it. After a while not only the general population should be significantly lower but the traps would remain as a control/barrier for the bugs coming from the surrounding areas. Doing a refill might be a bit uncomfortable, though.

[Griffin NoName]

Zono, I could maipulate their genes so they die at one day old. But I'd still be left with the smell of rotting corpses.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

That sticky paper trap stuff...   think flypaper for rodents.  Terrible way to die; the person who decided to market this should be staked out in the sun in some arid hellhole to die of dehydration, like the poor mice.

Aaah.  I've seen that stuff around, typically in the form of a little box the mouse is supposed to crawl into to hide-- works, I suppose-- the mouse is hidden alright.

In truth, most traditional traps are just as inhumane:  they typically do not kill the mouse immediately, but trap/hold him until he dies of dehydration-- mieseses be highly resilient in tight quarters after all...

The only humane way to deal with mieseses is to leave'em be-- they *do* eat the roaches after all, and if you feed'em in the low places things they like, they will leave your high-places foodies alone.  Or so I've been told...

Then there is the poison, which I've used on occasion-- carefully, so the kitties don't get it.  What the mousebait does, it create excessive diarrhea and peeing in the little mousie-- he literally pisses and sh!ts himself to a very dehydrated state and dies.  This is deliberate on the part of the poison makers-- they want a dessicated carcass as it does not stink as long... lets the roaches get at'em quicker, o'course I don't think it does them any good, what with little mousie being full of toxic chemicals an'all....

*sigh*

What we need is robotic fleas-of-death:  tiny little non-reproducing machines with a finite power supply.  You release these things in batches anywhere you see the little black, seed-like mousie fewmets and the little robot is programmed to wait until a suitable mousie comes creeping along-- and **jumps**.  The robot-flea injects a hormone into the mousie that makes him think:  "RUN!  RUN AWAY!  RUN, FAR, FAR AWAY!" and the mousie will run and run until he is tuckered out-- blocks away even.   Then the robot-flea has used up all his power-supply, and activates his biodegradable self-destruct.  Poor mr mouse is so confused, he cannot get back to where he was.  Meanwhile, the remaining robot-fleas are lying in wait, ultra-low power state for the next mousie.....

[Aggie]

In truth, most traditional traps are just as inhumane:  they typically do not kill the mouse immediately, but trap/hold him until he dies of dehydration-- mieseses be highly resilient in tight quarters after all...

I've always found the typical old snap-traps, in most cases, to be a quick and clean kill for a naive field mouse.  The trick is to get 'em when they first move indoors.  I suppose if you've got an established housemouse population with some knowledge of traps it may be less effective.

Regardless, traps should be checked daily and mercy kills made when necessary.

[Griffin NoName]

OMG mercy kills?  I think I'll have to move and leave my home to the mice.

I'm still not sure I have them. Another strange thing moved on the floor today, but still no mouse droppings. Is it possible to have mice and no droppings?

[Aggie]

Maybe you have Borrowers?


You could check for mice by leaving some food out where you think they might be, and looking for nibble-marks after.  Something like a piece of toast, perhaps?

[Swatopluk]

Or putting flour on the floor, so pawsteps would become visible after a stealth mouse visit

[Sibling DavidH]

What does Rentokil charge to come and have a look round?

[ivor]

OMG!  I put flour on my floor last night.  When I woke and looked there were Buffalo tracks on my floor!  What do I do?    

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

What happened to your feet?!

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

OMG!  I put flour on my floor last night.  When I woke and looked there were Buffalo tracks on my floor!  What do I do?    

Same thing they did in Texas all those years ago:  invest in a buffalo rifle.

A coon skin cap wouldn't hurt, neither...

[Darlica]

OMG mercy kills?  I think I'll have to move and leave my home to the mice.

I'm still not sure I have them. Another strange thing moved on the floor today, but still no mouse droppings. Is it possible to have mice and no droppings?

Maybe you have Borrowers?

Either that or Squidlings!

[Griffin NoName]

It was toast that got them last time, about 30 years ago. A piece got knocked down behind the bedside table unbeknownst to us, and they made such a racket trying to steal it that they gave themselves away.

I think I am too scared to do the toast or flour tricks. I can't quite believe how scared I am. It's ridiculous. I suppose it must be a phobia.