pest control

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, the mouse problem in my kitchen is becoming intolerable and I need professional help to deal with it. I had a recommendation for Best Pest Control and talked with one of their guys yesterday. They sound pretty good, although I'm not sure how I feel about putting down poison throughout my house (even "all-organic" poison which he claimed would do no harm to my children or pets -- I'm just a little skeptical on this point). Mainly, I want to seal up the cracks where the mice are getting in, and it sounds like Best Pest will do that.

I was wondering though, for the sake of completeness, whether anyone here might want to recommend a different company. Preferably one that's not too expensive and not booked out till November. (I am a homeowner, so alas, I cannot push this off on "the landlord" to deal with. If only!)

Before anyone starts to give me unsolicited advice on how to deal with mice, let me add that a) I have a cat; he's good for nothing in this department (literally I have seen him lounging around on the kitchen floor while a mouse was frolicking on the countertop), and b) I have tried the "zapper trap" which is supposed to electrocute them -- put it in two of their apparent favorite places, no luck whatsoever. Apparently I have smart mice, or something. It figures.

Comments

[allthefishies.livejournal.com]

Cambridge Chemical (http://www.cambridgechemical.com/) was good with us (we had termites and literally a basement full of spiders) - give them a call and try a quote from them.

Good luck!

Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

(http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/two_stabs/?action=view&current=mousetrap.jpg)

Re: Don't waste your money.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Ehh, it's the internet, there's always one.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

One...


silly bint intent on spending 500 bucks on something Newtonian physics could handle for free?

Agreed.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Also, if your objection is ethical, I don't see where electrocution gets you past St. Peter.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

No. The point is that in addition to killing them (to which I certainly have no objection, granted I would like to *try* to do it humanely but will give that up in a heartbeat if needed), you also have to find how they're getting in, and plug up the access points. Otherwise they're just going to keep coming. Everyone says that and it's patently true, especially with fall coming. So no, I can't say as I see the spring-trap as the sum total of a solution.

Also, if you google around, almost everyone says that those particular traps don't work. Too easy for the mouse to get the bait out without being caught; too easy for the mouse to be trapped but not killed.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. Good luck and you've got some lovely children.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Those traps don't work as well as you'd hope. I've caught more mice because they fell into a container too high to leap out of than I've caught in carefully placed, appropriately baited traps.

Plus those cost money, too.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I guess. You could get the money for a six pack of traps under your couch.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Given a choice between having mice scampering around, and searching under my couch for spare change for traps that do not work (all the mice I've dealt with have hated peanut butter, cheese, and assorted other tasty thing), I'll take the mice.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the mice in my home (I almost wrote "my mice," ugh!) turn up their pointy little noses at peanut butter. But they completely devoured a large piece of Scharffen Berger chocolate, wrapper and all. They have expensive tastes apparently. Lucky me.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I don't believe anything about this comment.

Re: Don't waste your money.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

You haven't seen the underside of my couch.

Mod Note

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

There was really no call for this sort of rudeness. Your sole purpose in this comm seems to be to act like an ass, which you're welcome to do over on d_sn, but not here.

If you can be nice in person, I'm sure you can manage it here as well.

Member Note

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Okay. :)

Re: Don't waste your money.

[richips.livejournal.com]

ha, on this internet, there's a lot more than one, but he is indeed a classic :P

[findyourfloor.livejournal.com]

Have you thought about having your kitchen professionally cleaned and all food put in containers? If there's nothing there to eat, the mice will go away.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

I dunno, when we had city mice, they were eating fibers, the edges of Rubbermaid containers, etc. etc....they become pretty omnivorous. It's a good idea to clean up anyway but once the mice are there, they adapt.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

As you know, I am having my kitchen cleaned on a regular basis. In particular richips has just recently taken everything off the countertop and out of the drawers and scrubbed everything down. I have kept all food items off the counter (except when I'm actively in the process of using them -- and I wipe down the counters afterward) and have also kept everything out of the drawers (which is a huge pain in the ass). Yet the mice keep coming. I find their droppings in drawers that I have left empty. I find their droppings in drawers that contain nothing but clean towels. And lately I have found my wooden spoons that I use for cooking/baking, with the edges nibbled off and the drawers full of sawdust. These are CLEAN spoons, mind you, sitting inside clean drawers. The mice have been eating my wooden spoons! This is what I mean by intolerable. And just cleaning the kitchen is clearly not a complete solution.

[findyourfloor.livejournal.com]

I only suggested that because we had a mouse problem in our basement, but putting things in sealed containers made them give up. As far as your kitchen being cleaned, I imagine that to make any difference, the kitchen would have to be kept really clean for a prolonged period of time, up to standards even beyond my own fussiness. The mice are probably attracted by just the lingering scent of food on surfaces, and stray crumbs here and there. But yeah, I hear you that it's critical to close up their entrance spots.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

This is false.

Seriously, we have a mouse that eats its way into containers and our wooden breadbox and what-not.

[findyourfloor.livejournal.com]

As I said above, I only suggested it because it worked for us.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say that the professional poison put down for a mouse infestation in my last house was fine for my cat. It came in packets the guy tucked away where the mice were. The pellets inside were harmless for animals larger than mice (including children). It was the only thing that worked -- once the mice are there, they're home and they adapt like crazy -- so if you have to go that route, it should be safe. I think the guy also put down stuff around the perimeter of the house, too.

If you can see holes where the mice are getting in, stuffing steel wool there (the non-detergent kind you get at hardware stores) should help keep the mice at bay until the exterminator arrives. Sorry you're dealing with this! Our cat was useless too....

[tober.livejournal.com]

While it is true that it usually won't be lethal if a cat, dog, or child eats a little poison rodent bait, it's inaccurate to say that it's "safe" - because, in fact, it is not, and a cat might be made very ill by eating the bait. Poison bait should not be used if you have a cat who is known to hunt mice.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. The OP's cat and mine seem pretty apathetic to the mice, so maybe that's what helps.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips. I have tried the steel wool thing, but clearly there are holes that I can't see, and I figure a professional would have more luck than me with that part.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

You can also use that spray foam sealant stuff. I don't know exactly what it's called, but if you go to Tags and describe it that way, they will sell you a can of it for about six bucks. We had mice a few years ago, and it turned out that they were getting in through a hole behind the cabinets. The appliance guy noticed the hole when he was installing a new dishwasher, and after he sealed it up with the spray stuff, the mice went away.

It really is true that you have to cut off their access to the house above all else. Just killing them and trying to starve them out doesn't work. They are resourceful little buggers.

[ilai]

I think it's "Great Stuff" but maybe that's something else (foam insulation?)

[tober.livejournal.com]

The active ingredient in poison baits for mice (and other rodents) is usually coumadin or some similar drug. These are blood thinners (which are even used - in appropriate dosages - on people to treat certain conditions) and really are totally safe to have around as long as nobody (including your cat) eats them. That being said, I don't really recommend poison baits. Mice that have been poisoned sometimes retreat into walls or other inaccessible areas before they die and then you have smelly rotting rodent corpses you can't get at. Regular old mechanical snap traps (or one of the more modern types of mechanical snap trap) baited with peanut butter probably really are the best thing for controlling mice - that, and, as someone else pointed out, removing sources of food. It's unfortunate that your cat isn't a mouser - some aren't - if you can find a cat who is, that can be a very effective form of rodent control.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

"Regular old mechanical snap traps (or one of the more modern types of mechanical snap trap) baited with peanut butter probably really are the best thing for controlling mice"

IAWTC

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I asked the guy at Best Pest about the part where the mice go and die in hidden places and stink up the house. He acknowledged it as a potential issue but basically blew it off, saying that 99% of the time it isn't a problem (by which I guess he meant, it stinks for a while and then gets better? or it stinks so subtly that I won't notice?). I was highly skeptical about that part. Like I said above, I don't really object to killing them, but why do it in a way that's going to make my life MORE unpleasant?

And re traps baited with peanut butter: that's exactly what I have put in the zapper trap, and it has done nada. In any case, everyone you ask -- and everything you find online when you google around -- says that simply killing the mice and keeping food put away is not enough. You really have to seal up the access points into the house, if you want a complete solution.

[aimeedonofrio.livejournal.com]

We use Best Pest for our condo building and they are great. I dealt with Rod who I believe is the owner. He was prompt and the prices reasonable. It was a major upgrade from the previous company, Watch All.

Best Pest did a lot of crack sealing in our building and (knock on wood) we haven't had any visitors.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

I've had good luck with Shake-Away (http://www.critter-repellent.com/mice/getting-rid-of-mice.php) repellent. It's basically Embleer-in-a-Can. If you can find out where they're getting in, that's more than half the battle. But if you live in a shared structure with people who don't keep the food put away or take out their garbage, periodic poison is probably your only option.

[richips.livejournal.com]

i hope you find something soon that's helpful and the least harmful! i wish i had some ideas.

also i wish we didn't live in a silly capitalist society, because if we didn't, i would totally come and clean for you every week for free. seriously those hugs from Ruthie and Isaac made my week.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

:) You're very sweet! I wish I could afford to pay you to clean every week.

[noire.livejournal.com]

I've had a bad mouse problem (have pet birds, and their food is exactly what mice want to eat). I've had a professional company
EHS, 781-769-9111
VERY high ratings on Angie's List.

The poison they use is in "bait stations" that larger animals can't get into. They were very good about dealing with my birds' needs and habits. They also go through and plug up holes where mice might come up.

I have a long term contract with them and they come 2x a year to check, refill the bait, etc. Worth every penny IMO.

[obie119.livejournal.com]

Set off some fireworks in the house (after 9 PM though!) - the noise will scare 'em away!
Sorry, couldn't resist :)
Seriously, I'm sorry you are having a mouse problem. I hope it gets better.

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

gross as they are, sticky traps with jellybeans on them seem to work great (mice prefer jellybeans to cheese, who knew?) - just put them in a place the cat/kids can't get to/under.

Slim-Jims as bait in snap-traps

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

... have worked for us, oddly enough. And recently, there was a dead mouse somewhere in the basement that hubby could not find; we knew v/c of the smell. It lasted a day, but ugh.

We had a rat in our house two years ago, I forget who I called (it wasn't Best Pest) but if I come across the name/ old bill I'll let you know.

Good luck, Joan!

[keshwyn]

Our house is old enough that we simply *can't* plug all the access points for the darn little critters, much as I'd love to do so.

So what we did is get those high-pitched sonic squeek things as a deterrent (don't come in here) and then every year, I off about three of them with snap traps. I agree that peanut butter doesn't work - the mice will just lick it clean.

What *does* work is a whole peanut (or soy nut, or almond) jammed into that little groove on in the middle. If the mouse has to use its teeth to get whatever's in there out, instead of just licking, it seems to work a lot better.

[dawneliz.livejournal.com]

We'd had good luck with the sonic thingies, too. AND bad luck with the cats. The one that they *did* kill, they dropped into a suitcase I was packing. It stank. I had to get rid of the suitcase cuz the smell wouldn't go away.