Escaped Mouse Dilemma

Yes, I still have a mouse loose in the basement. He's been upsetting everything! Pooping everywhere, harassing my bucks in their lab cages, urinating on the doe cages, stealing food. Did I mention pooping everywhere? You know me, I'm a super anal clean everything every week mouse keeper, so he's driving me nuts! I'm having to clean daily!

Well, I've had the Mouse Cube Mouse Traps out wich always work when I can't catch them by hand. The litter bugger can get in and out of them! I looked into the Havahart traps but can't afford $60 right now. The state of GA thinks I need to keep paying them yearly ad valorum taxes on a vehicle I already paid cash for.... so, I'm short on cash for a couple weeks.

To make matters worse, I has to pts one of my Tri does yesterday who mysteriously came down with chest congestion so severe I couldn't justify treating her. I found no other sniffles in anyone else but I don't want him possibly passing crap around! I've been looking for other humane trap options, but bottom line is I need him caught. Anyone know of another live trap besides Mouse Cubes and Havahart? Ugh, I'm going batty! I'm used to making kissy noises to attract the few mice who manage to get out. They've spoiled me. Blargh.....

$60.00??

I have escaped ratties in my basement and flying squirrels in my attic.

I bought 2 traps yesterday, both haveahart. One small one for mice, and a medium one for rats.

I know the small one was like, $15.00. Not sure on the bigger one, but my bill was $50.00 for the 2 traps and 2 30lb bags of pine pellets (that were 4.89 each).

I'm guessing that trap was 25?

If you can't find the small one by you, let me know. Maybe I can get you one here and flat rate it to you?

Otherwise, what I did to catch escapees was to use 2 people and corner them and use random things to block them and then grab them. it gets hard when they hide under the washer/dryer or freezers though. :-/

The stores near me did't have the small mouse size. Nobody! I think I just found a site that has the small but I'd need to have it express shipped before I go insane. I'm going to try at lunch.....

lol ok! Hope it works out well!!
:-)

Thanks! If I can't get one en route to me during my lunch, I'll let you know. After yesterday, I was ready to buy the old fashioned snap-traps and be done with it!

I've found the second to smallest Havahart size for $21.96 at a local store, which is cheaper than buying the smallest online at $16.95 plus shipping. Do you think that size is sensitive enough for a large pet type mouse? I've never used Havahart, so I'm not sure how their mechanism works.....

The smallest one and the next size up basically you can blow on them and they set off (the bigger one you have to blow harder).

The smallest is more sensitive, but, to me, they personally look small for show mice.

The only trap that has gone off since I got them Sunday was the next size bigger one (has like a guillotine door), and it caught 4 rats, 3 large, and one that's a little bigger than a large show mouse.


This looks like the smaller one I got:
http://www.rodentman.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=12

This looks like the bigger one I got:
https://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/crhinehart/Havahart_trap_745.jpg


Whatever you do, stick with this brand though. I bought 2 traps of unknown brand (don't remember) and they stink! They aren't sensitive at all.
Haveahart is the better buy.

Here's one on ebay cheap too

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Haveahart-Live-Animal-Cage-Trap-10-L-x-3-W-x-7-6-cm-H-/270886437399?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f12170217

Not much to add aside from wishing you good luck!

This is what I use. Works 100% of the time. About $15:

http://www.amazon.com/Havahart-1020-Animal-Two-Door-Mouse/dp/B0000DINGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328634302&sr=8-1

That's the ones I ordered! Thanks! Watch, I bet now that they're coming, I'll catch the little bugger before they get here.....

I am embarrassed to say that I can relate...I recently apparently lost track of how many PEW females (crap!) I had and found one wandering about yesterday. She can't have been out longer than a day, but I found poos from two different animals. Hoping one wasn't a stinking wild mouse. Needless to say, the gals got a new bin and here's hoping we can put this behind us in 21 days.
I hope you find your boy safe and sound, definitely.

I had the same problem and I finally caught the boy accidentally. I found him sleeping in a bag of pouches I had(for my gliders). I tossed them in the washing machine to get them cleaned up for the move and lo and behold, there he was! Good thing I found him BEFORE I turned the machine on.

That being said, you could try putting out pouches and Kleenex boxes or even a wadded up shirt or towel(I used to always find mouse nests in my laundry room in our old house. Yuck!). Perhaps he'll find one of them to be comfy enough to call home and you'll be able to snag him up.

Idk if mice can do as much damage as rats, but, I caught almost all the escaped rats in my basement (what happened was a mom babies that had their eyes still closed escaped), and last night I tried to turn my dryer on. It sparked, the lights flickered, and it started to smoke. I think they chewed the wiring in the dryer and that could have really caused a fire.

Of course now I need a new dryer though.

Catch em' fast!

So far, the worst he's done is steal food out of my lab cage hoppers and poo everywhere. *Knock on wood* I unplugged and picked up everything he could possibly chew already.

Update:

Still no darn mouse! Apparently, he doesn't like peanut butter or something. I have 3 varieties of trap down, and I am still finding fresh poop so he hasn't migrated or died. He's too darn smart! I am ready to put a 4th trap down- NOT a live trap like the other three.

I was checking the trap out and accidentally snapped it on my own finger. Karma?

OUCH!

Dang, he is smart! Hmm! I baited mine with peanut butter on a pretzle, but for the other traps, I just used rat block.

I caught a few ratties even with no food, just put it along the wall edges. They won't go in it in the middle of the floor, they like to stay along the walls.

Where do you put your traps?

Two are along walls, and one is between two shelving units he likes to hide under and poop the most.

You have a very smart mouse!

Do you have any fleece pieces. Put them along the walls and check inside them during the day?

I do! I will add it to my To-Do list tonight or tomorrow. I was also about to pick up all my lab cages and put them on the top shelves so he can't steal block out of them anymore. I have 2 angora bucks who are just beyond harrassed though. The poor little guys! I wish I had gotten some of those filter tops from you now!

lol!

I'll bring them to RF if you want a few. :-)

That might be a good idea! Just in case I ever get another escapee. I'm hoping I catch him before RF though. As much as I like to vacuum and clean, doing it multiple times a day is beyond even my tolerance. I'm losing sleep!

LOL.

Just let me know how many you want and I'll make sure I have them and put them aside for you :-)

5 would be good, if you have them. That's what I would want to have on hand.

Wow, a mouse who doesn't like peanut butter?

Also, for last summer's wildlife class we trapped using Sherman traps. They worked great, catching a variety of ground squirrels, chipmunks, voles, a mole, and a red squirrel who managed to jam himself in some how. Here is just a random google link to show what we used.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?pq=live+box+traps,+sherman&hl=en&tok=qNFR-_i-AhXt0aEcdrHZWA&cp=14&gs_id=u7&xhr=t&q=sherman+traps+sale&client=firefox-a&hs=zlT&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=976&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6812660019162525198&sa=X&ei=JZ4-T-6KEePY2AXTiMScCA&sqi=2&ved=0CD4Q8gIwAg

Update:

I was SO excited when I went down into the mouse room yesterday. The Havahart trap was sprung! I ran over and checked it, and guess what?..... NO MOUSE! And no lab block. The little bugger got the bait, sprung the trap and got away!

On a slightly positive note though, when I was changing out bins one of my bucks, Bayou, got away from me. He's a huge mouse, and has been terrorized by the escaped buck so he's rather jumpy now. I put him up top so The Phantom Menace can't reach him and I will give him a lady today to calm him down. Poor guy! I think he's traumatized. His cage was covered in mouse poo, so I don't blame him. Well, he ran along the wall and I was able to corral him in the direction of the Havahart trap. It worked great! Especially for my big man, Bayou!

Now it just needs to work for The Phantom Menace. **facepalm**