*cliche* A better mouse trap.
From a comment I posted in the journal of a friend who is currently being plagued by mice:
I believe all this is accurate. If not, please do correct though. My experience with mice is generally speaking within a lab context, so quite a bit different than home pest control. So all this is my opinion only, and ymmv. BTW, does anyone know of a good consumer reports type article or general review of mouse trap efficiency.
Peanut butter is in general more likely to get a response than cheese, but you're right that standard traps often aren't sensitive enough. Not all traps are created equal by a long shot. If you are using standard traps traps, use very dry peanut butter as it requires more pressure to lick off. There are quite a variety of types of traps available. It might be useful to buy 3-4 types and see what works best with your mice. This really is the most human option if you're not going with no-kill traps (and is certainly the most humane option in the winter when mice you release into the cold are likely to simply die of exposure.) (Incidentally, at the bottom there's a later written bit on eletric traps. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences with these.
Poison is effective, but don't forget that it can easily lead to dead mice in the walls. Trust me, that's incredibly stinky and often really really hard to do much about without tearing out the right bit of wall or floor. (Plus it's very cruel. Poisons work by two main routes - acute rodenticides damage the heart and liver. Anticoagulants cause death by internal hemmorrhaging. Either way it's a likely to be a painful multi-day process of dying.)
If you really can't get quick kill traps to work, (and I would emphasize that I think quick kill traps are very much the best option.) I think the second best option is the sticky traps. (This is an IMHO and not a generally accepted recommendation.) Basically these are pads of glue that you bait. They are pretty effective at catching animals. The mouse is still live when caught, though you can't really release them without danger to yourself. The recommendation is to throw the trap+mouse away, but this is a terrible thing to do as the mouse starves to death, and a trapped mouse is subject to dreadful stress in the process. A much better way to use them (imho) is to use them only in areas where you will be able to tell if an animal is trapped and to remove/cover them when you will be away from the house for a while. When an animal is trapped, you can take long tongs, pick up the glue pad, and drown the animal with little risk to yourself.
These go without saying but I will anyhow. Never allow an animal, dead or otherwise, near food prep surfaces. Don't ever pick up a dead mouse with your bare hands. Mice, and mouse turds, can carry a variety of nasties.
Here is a pretty good article by the way.
The page the author recommends has some good material (especially on setting out a *lot* of traps) and they (Victor) do make a good mouse trap. The really cheap ones often are much less sensitive.
I went to look for a mouse equivalent of the shock trap, (more common for Rats) by the way. Turns out there is one here. Sportsmans Guide actually has some really good deals on stuff generally (I've ordered from them before) so this might be worth checking out.
I believe all this is accurate. If not, please do correct though. My experience with mice is generally speaking within a lab context, so quite a bit different than home pest control. So all this is my opinion only, and ymmv. BTW, does anyone know of a good consumer reports type article or general review of mouse trap efficiency.
Peanut butter is in general more likely to get a response than cheese, but you're right that standard traps often aren't sensitive enough. Not all traps are created equal by a long shot. If you are using standard traps traps, use very dry peanut butter as it requires more pressure to lick off. There are quite a variety of types of traps available. It might be useful to buy 3-4 types and see what works best with your mice. This really is the most human option if you're not going with no-kill traps (and is certainly the most humane option in the winter when mice you release into the cold are likely to simply die of exposure.) (Incidentally, at the bottom there's a later written bit on eletric traps. I'd love to hear anyone's experiences with these.
Poison is effective, but don't forget that it can easily lead to dead mice in the walls. Trust me, that's incredibly stinky and often really really hard to do much about without tearing out the right bit of wall or floor. (Plus it's very cruel. Poisons work by two main routes - acute rodenticides damage the heart and liver. Anticoagulants cause death by internal hemmorrhaging. Either way it's a likely to be a painful multi-day process of dying.)
If you really can't get quick kill traps to work, (and I would emphasize that I think quick kill traps are very much the best option.) I think the second best option is the sticky traps. (This is an IMHO and not a generally accepted recommendation.) Basically these are pads of glue that you bait. They are pretty effective at catching animals. The mouse is still live when caught, though you can't really release them without danger to yourself. The recommendation is to throw the trap+mouse away, but this is a terrible thing to do as the mouse starves to death, and a trapped mouse is subject to dreadful stress in the process. A much better way to use them (imho) is to use them only in areas where you will be able to tell if an animal is trapped and to remove/cover them when you will be away from the house for a while. When an animal is trapped, you can take long tongs, pick up the glue pad, and drown the animal with little risk to yourself.
These go without saying but I will anyhow. Never allow an animal, dead or otherwise, near food prep surfaces. Don't ever pick up a dead mouse with your bare hands. Mice, and mouse turds, can carry a variety of nasties.
Here is a pretty good article by the way.
The page the author recommends has some good material (especially on setting out a *lot* of traps) and they (Victor) do make a good mouse trap. The really cheap ones often are much less sensitive.
I went to look for a mouse equivalent of the shock trap, (more common for Rats) by the way. Turns out there is one here. Sportsmans Guide actually has some really good deals on stuff generally (I've ordered from them before) so this might be worth checking out.