Problem mice

[GORDandJULIE]

Now that the seasons have changed and mice are starting to move indoors, I have a tenant complaining about mice in the house. The house in question is very old and probably has multiple points of entry which may be difficult to find. Does anyone have any success with the electronic devices found at most home improvement stores that emit a high pitched sound that is supposed to drive mice away? Failing that, can anyone recommend a pest control company in Hamilton that is successful in dealing with mice. I am not opposed to using poisons, but there are pets in the house.
Any help would be appreciated.

Gord

 

[bizaro86]

QUOTE (GORDandJULIE @ Nov 9 2010, 04:24 PM) Now that the seasons have changed and mice are starting to move indoors, I have a tenant complaining about mice in the house. The house in question is very old and probably has multiple points of entry which may be difficult to find. Does anyone have any success with the electronic devices found at most home improvement stores that emit a high pitched sound that is supposed to drive mice away? Failing that, can anyone recommend a pest control company in Hamilton that is successful in dealing with mice. I am not opposed to using poisons, but there are pets in the house.
Any help would be appreciated.

Gord

I had a mouse problem in my personal residence, and found the electronic devices ineffective, or at best effective at repelling them from certain locations. I used them with moderate success to "drive" the mice towards traps I had set.

On the other hand, once I had a pest control company here in Calgary come and lay traps with poison, I haven`t had a problem since.

Michael

PS: If you`re still sold on trying the electronic noise things, I have a bunch I`m not using for sale!

 

[DonCampbell]

Living rural, I have found zero effectiveness with the electronic deterrents. It may make the tenant feel good though.

A professional exterminator is the way to go, find one with a guarantee of results at some level. Always ask, what are the chances of eliminating this problem, after problem is solved, what steps should I take to reduce the problem in the future.

 

[kfort]

I agree. I grew up on a farm and have personally seen mice sniffing around the electronic `squeeler`. did a better job of keeping ME out of the garage than the mice. Best mouse trap I ever used was a simple pail of water. Mice are crafty and equally stupid. you`ll find a floater in a day or less. if you are in a hurry we used to use an empty pop can and smear some peanut butter on it and float it in the water... like kryptonite. they know they shouldn`t but can`t resist. in a rental not the most practical but it works!!

 

[GORDandJULIE]

I would actually use these tried and true methods if it were my own residence, but I would have a hard time convincing my tenant to do it, especially since he is already very quick to point out anything that is not to his liking. My fear at this time is that he will escalate the situation if I don`t deal with it right away.

Gord

 

[Zee1960]

Hi Gord and Julie,

I can tell you from personal experience I have tried everything on the shelves and Pest Control is the only way to go.
They also guarantee it for a year (I have personally experienced that too).

I`ve used
A Aanteater Pest Control
http://www.aanteater.com/contact.html
905-387-9300

Note: It may take two weeks before you see FULL results.
Usually much sooner though

 

[Pheenix]

QUOTE (GORDandJULIE @ Nov 9 2010, 06:24 PM) Now that the seasons have changed and mice are starting to move indoors, I have a tenant complaining about mice in the house. The house in question is very old and probably has multiple points of entry which may be difficult to find. Does anyone have any success with the electronic devices found at most home improvement stores that emit a high pitched sound that is supposed to drive mice away? Failing that, can anyone recommend a pest control company in Hamilton that is successful in dealing with mice. I am not opposed to using poisons, but there are pets in the house.
Any help would be appreciated.

Gord

Don has given you the best advice, aside from the professional control service eliminating the current population, get them to advise you on preventing a reoccurrence.

Your average adult mouse can get through a hole smaller than a dime, and will climb rough walls. This maybe why you often here of mice in attics, we tend to think of them as be ground dwellers.

Start sealing up the house from the outside, look around utility holes; water pipes, electrical gas or oil etc. Be systematic. The first hint might be if they tend to be in a certain area of the house (other than the pantry of course).

They will often gnaw a soft surface around a plugged up hole, say in wood, if you don`t adequately stop them from gnawing the plug. I have found that putting a wad of aluminum foil in the hole before using the sealant seems to discourage them.

Just my thoughts and experience.

 

[GORDandJULIE]

Thanks for all the info everyone.
Zee, did you use Aanteater to seal up the house as well as do the treatment? If so, what sort of results did you have?

Gord

 

[RedlineBrett]

allow tenants with cats

 

[Sherilynn]

A Professional exterminator is the only way to go. Retail stores do not offer single-feed poison, so the mice must feed several times before they die. And professional traps are better too. I opt for poison so that I don`t have rotting corpses in traps that someone needs to check and empty. Poison dries out the body so that there is no smell, and the mice usually go back to their nests to die.

The best thing you can do to prevent future infestations is have the exterminator set up outdoor bait stations. These are pet- and child-proof, and the mice will feed and die before they get inside. (Although I found one that made his way inside through a bathroom vent, he had obviously eaten the poison outside because he was dead before he made it out of the bathroom.) The exterminator should put you on a callback list to have the stations rebaited each spring and fall (about $75/property).

Most importantly, do not leave it too long. Mice breed incredibly quickly and can soon overrun your property.

Regards,
Sherilynn

 

[Sherilynn]

QUOTE (RedlineBrett @ Nov 10 2010, 01:11 PM) allow tenants with cats

In our duplex, the lower suite had a cat but the upper suite didn`t. So we had half an infestation.

Sherilynn

 

[Sherilynn]

QUOTE (Pheenix @ Nov 9 2010, 10:07 PM) They will often gnaw a soft surface around a plugged up hole, say in wood, if you don`t adequately stop them from gnawing the plug. I have found that putting a wad of aluminum foil in the hole before using the sealant seems to discourage them.

Just my thoughts and experience.

Steel wool is excellent for sealing mouse holes. Mice won`t gnaw through it and it is easy to squish the wool into small spaces.

It is important to note that mice will follow the same trails that they have used before, so if you seal a hole with something other than metal products, the mouse will most likely gnaw through your patch.

Sherilynn

 

[Zee1960]

QUOTE (GORDandJULIE @ Nov 10 2010, 11:06 AM) Thanks for all the info everyone.
Zee, did you use Aanteater to seal up the house as well as do the treatment? If so, what sort of results did you have?

Gord


Hi Gord,

I had them do the tratment only. I only had one house where the mice came back within a year (student rental - ha ha) and they honoured the warranty.
Good luck,

Maria

 

[GORDandJULIE]

Thanks everyone.
I used Aanteater and am hoping for the best. They were very quick to respond and offer a 1 year warranty.

Gord

 

[invst4profit]

I have never had success in preventing mice from entering however have found poisons to be very successful in eliminating those in and around my home. At my cottage I once trapped 32 mice in a 4 day period before deciding to try poison. Since placing a permanent supply of poison in the cottage attic area I have not had a single mouse issue, no tell tail droppings anywhere or night time sounds of them scurrying across the metal soffits.
I have dogs and a cat and I simply placed the poison in a metal container accessible by mice but nothing larger.
Rat poison works very efficiently in drying out the pest without any residual Oder.
If you insure there is no open source of water in the home (such as a open sump hole) the mice will generally immediately leave the building looking for water after consuming the poison.

 

[JanBowler]

Anyone recommend a pest control company in Calgary for mice? We aren`t having any luck with bait...

 

[Berubeland]

The house I live in had a ravine in the back and the mice were taking over, I tried everything on the market but they just kept multiplying. Finally I got the exterminator in and I have no mice for years.

 

[MrHamilton]

QUOTE (Berubeland @ Dec 6 2010, 08:53 AM) The house I live in had a ravine in the back and the mice were taking over, I tried everything on the market but they just kept multiplying. Finally I got the exterminator in and I have no mice for years.
Sorry I`m late but we too use Anteater and are very happy with their work. Then don`t only set bait boxes with poison but they checked our properties thoroughly for root causes: places where the critters might get in around doors and windows and sealing them (at no extra charge).

One of our tenants had three cats and had mice problems. Not anymore after we hired Anteater

Roger Burley - President
[email protected]
1-888-390-PEST (7378)
www.aanteater.com/