[Tia Maria]

I was just sitting enjoying the quality TV programme that is Family Feud, with my boys, when I saw something dart across the floor.

It was so quick that I thought I was imagining it, until it poked its little nose out to retrieve the piece of dead grass it had been carrying. Does this mean that this mouse is setting up home under my fireplace? :(

Apart from getting a cat what can I do?

I'd been warned about rats in Devonport, but not mice.

Cheers

Tia

[Moorf]

Mouse trap - you can get them in Warehouse - peanut butter smeared on them works better than cheese (I found), as some of the little beggers managed to nick the cheese without being caught!

And don't bother with the traps that keep them alive - unless you're prepared to drive them a few miles away to release them....

Good luck...

[kanatakiwi]

yes, this means it is making a winter nest inside your house. unfortunately, its either traps or poison. or an exterminator if you want to pay heaps of money for someone else to come and do traps and poison. If you have a compost make sure it is not an open one, get one of those black enclosed bins. compost piles with raw veggies and fruit are one of the big attractions for rodents. Cats are the easiest solution, maybe even borrow the neighbours cat for a few days.

good luck

[Cardy]

Hi there we had that our first week in the rental when we arrived and we couldnt get them with normal traps we got some humane ones from mitre 10 mega,they were like tubes and you put food in them i think they were about $4 or $5 each but very good:nice1 :laugh . when they run in the door closes behind them and they cant get out. we got 2 in a couple of days and released them a few fields away , left the traps out but didnt get anymore. GOOD LUCK!!!

Cardy

[nicola in nz]

hi, the best mouse traps i found are called 'The better mouse trap' its like a peg sort of shape, its good because when it traps them it doesn't cleave thier heads in and make a mess ( doesn't sound very nice but you have to get rid of them before they get really established)
I never thought i could kill anything but i don't think twice about bonking a mouse on the head now!!!!!

You can get a rat version of the trap too, just in case you need them too

Nicola

[SarahEDH]

Tia, is it possible you could . . . erase the mouse-sighting from your mind? If your fireplace isn't near the kitchen, you might never see the little fellow again. He might not cause any trouble, and you'd be spared the expense of traps or poison. (Not to mention the karmic consequences of using them, if that theory has validity.)

I would say to myself "What mouse? I didn't see a mouse." Try it :yes

[nicola in nz]

sorry to say if you ignore the problem it will just get worse and you will have tonnes of the little beggers and you will definatly have to get the exterminator out and thats costly just bit the bullet and get some traps.

if you have seen one there are definatly more.

Nicola

[Moorf]

Yep, and your neighbours won't thank you for introducing a few new families to the street either....

[Twig]

We had a major mousey problem here at home. We left it for awhile until we saw droppings in the kitchen, which sent my hubby into a bleach-wielding fury!

Apparently mice constantly dribble urine (sorry I know disgusting) which is toxic to us humans so I really don't think you should ignore it. Especially if you have children, it's just not worth it.

One of our little blighters chewed through my modem cable under the floorboards causing me to be without internet access for a whole week!!!! :wah

Anyway, just my little tuppence worth.

[Sam B]

We had regular mouse infestations in Cornwall. We bought 3 humane traps, they look like black square tubes with a kink in them. Use choc spread - they can't resist it. Set all 3 each night. In the morning drive 3 miles and set them free. It's all sorted in a couple of days - until the next time. I could never bring myself to kill them.

[kanatakiwi]

some mice also carry the hantavirus which is fatal to humans. thats in North America but.... certainly convinced me to get them out of my house.

[scoobydoo]

We haven't seen mice yet, but since you're just over the harbour bridge we'll keep our eyes peeled.

We'd go with the catch 'em 'nd set 'em free if we did though, don't fancy the other option!

[speckythecky]

One thing they do say is that if you have mice then you don't have rats, so look on the bright side.


And then smack the little beggers over the head:laugh

[aberdian]

Cats :) Ours beat the sn*t out of each other all winter until it's mousing time in the spring. The only downside is the odd carcass left under the kitchen table, oh and the dead bunny in the hallway at the weekend (since buried with full military honours at the behest of our 6yo)

Less messy than traps anyway ;)

Ian

[Twig]

I'm all for humane traps I just couldn't persuade my hubby to use them. He bought these things called 'The Little Nipper', dreadful looking items they were. I thought 'Fine, as long as it's a quick death, it should be ok'. Famous last words.

He put a trap under the floorboards, underneath our bed (I was unaware of this). Very early one morning I heard a loud smack sound. I sat up in bed wondering what it was, then heard a scraping sound coming from underneath the bed. I had quickly worked out what it was and I had visions of a tortured mouse desperately trying to free itself from a trap. It nearly made me cry! Hubby never did that again.

And I don't think you should use poison unless you REALLY have to. We had a mouse, obviously gorged itself on poison from the loft, then promptly died underneath the telly (under the floorboards) and left our sitting room smelling like a stilton factory for 3 weeks. Most unpleasant.

[Sam B]

But don't forget to check your humane traps! We were very upset to discover we'd starved a mouse to death once (sob).

[Twig]

But don't forget to check your humane traps! We were very upset to discover we'd starved a mouse to death once (sob).

How awful!! :eek:

[Jo Jo]

But don't forget to check your humane traps! We were very upset to discover we'd starved a mouse to death once (sob).


Maybe it died of old age....

My cats are very excited to hear there might be mice for them to chase.

Are there many spiders in NZ?

[Howie]

I know someone in Auckland who just had a lot of success with humane traps. After catching 10 mice (pretty sure it wasn't the same one caught ten times) they are now mice free. Cute little guys!!!
They found the humane traps more effective as the mice figured out how to take the peanut butter and run from the barbaric traps.

[KerryS]

Maybe it died of old age....

My cats are very excited to hear there might be mice for them to chase.

Are there many spiders in NZ?

My kittens saw their first mouse at the weekend and they ran away from it! I shall have to teach them the correct response as I don't want them to get in the house (the mice that is, not my kittens)...

I've seen hardly any spiders over here, but then I live in Auckland and not out in the countryside. You may see a few more down in the Coromandel. Only Whitetails are poisonous - well, not poisonous, but they have a nasty bite.

[Sam B]

I would say there are about as many spiders as in Britain, some of them look a bit more interesting..

[willsken]

And don't bother with the traps that keep them alive - unless you're prepared to drive them a few miles away to release them....

Good luck...

We have one of those and OH let the mice out on his way to work. (In the middle of nowhere - so they probably don't survive anyway.:roll )

[willsken]

The thing I don't like about the spiders here, they jump. I went to pick one up the other day to put it out side and it leapt across the bed! Made me jump out of my skin! I just Hoover them up now.:roll

It's a shame, as I didn't have any problem with spiders in the UK, just left them be. Here I am paranoid it could be a White Tail!! Getting the house sprayed tomorrow so should be the end of the matter. :)

[kanatakiwi]

my husband got a bite on the hand from a spider in auckland (we assume it was a whitetail but not sure) and his arm ballooned up like a rugby ball from his elbow to his hand. He had to have intravenous antibiotics.
very scary.
so that was a good excuse to never do the weeding again!

[Diva]

Are there many spiders in NZ?

As somebody suffering from arachnophobia this is a question that keeps me awake at night. There's a book on sale in the shops (I forget the title, something about NZ wildlife) and it has a GIANT spider on the cover but I'm hoping it's really a small spider and they've just taken its photo in close-up.

I've been seeing tiny house spiders on a daily basis since getting here but nothing major. To be honest, the spiders in the south of England seem scarier.

Back on topic...over the last few days myself and Mrs diva became convinced that the house we are renting had become infested with mice. We kept hearing strange 'eek' noises in different rooms at different times. Sometimes we'd hear three or four 'eeks' almost at once. But that was the only sign of mice in the house...just random 'eeks', nothing else.

Eventually realised it was the smoke alarms.....

[Jo Jo]

I just Hoover them up now.:roll



:laugh

I do this too! I can't bear to kill them, so I like to think of it as putting them in detention...

[willsken]

:laugh

I do this too! I can't bear to kill them, so I like to think of it as putting them in detention...

Exactly!:yes :laugh

[Jo Jo]

Thanks to everyone about the info on spiders. I wouldn't say I'm arachnophobic, but I do have a HUGE aversion to them, and my Kiwi boyfriend has been telling me there are NO spiders in NZ (I knew he was lying!!)

[Diva]

Thanks to everyone about the info on spiders. I wouldn't say I'm arachnophobic, but I do have a HUGE aversion to them, and my Kiwi boyfriend has been telling me there are NO spiders in NZ (I knew he was lying!!)

I read that there are 3,000 different spider species in NZ. So your BF was telling a bit of a fib.

But one good thing, it's not like Australia.....I have friends there and their spider stories are terrifying.

I'm going to hide under the duvet for a while......

[Moorf]

In Sumner and Chch we saw barely any spiders. Since moving in to the countryside I've seen some huge beggers - this time last year I would have had a fit if I'd seen one, now I just thwack 'em. I think the worst worry was "does it bite" - but you soon get used to recognising a white tail when u see one!

[Sam B]

My daughter found a bull's skull on the land we want to buy (!) and in it she found a nest of what she named as "katapo" spiders, which she claimed are "deadly". She's only 10, but she does know alot about spiders/insects etc, so I wasn't keen to stroke one. We had to bring the skull home with us in the boot of the car, and now I'm terrified there's a deadly spider lurking in the car somwhere..

[Jo Jo]

I think Katapo are the same as whitetails. When I mentioned whitetails to the bf he said "Eh? Never heard of them. Do you mean katapo?" (Or kapato - it's all kiwi to me...)

[Jo Jo]

Just googled - katipos aren't the same as whitetails - they're another venomous species. And there are redbacks too - eek! So, in the last hour I've gone from thinking there are no venomous spiders to finding out there are three!:roll

[Moorf]

The scary thing is - the big ones look scary but are harmless and the spindly small ones are the ones to look out for!

Mind you, they also say you don't see the spider that bites you....

I only use light coloured linen on our bed, helps you to see anything under the duvet when I do my quick check at night!

I could drag out my spider photo's but you might not thank me :laugh

[marcia]

Moorf are you sure theres nothing else under the duvet that might be having a nibble in the night - sorry to lower the tone couldn't resist!!!!!!:laugh

Spiders - I was never scared ofthem and in the uk would catch them with a glass and piece of card and let them free, but sorry here I kill any I see, I know they catch the flys but the flippin webs everywhere do my head in, the washing line is always covered, I've cleaned it 3 times already in the two weeks we've been here!!

We were out gardening yesterday, and saw some huge beggers, Mika went off and got his thick winter gloves before moving any more rocks!!

Mice - understand the previous owners had problems but there are blocks of poison around and haven't seen any yet but now is the time of year they come in to feast so will keep my eyes peeled - in fact i always open the pantry carefully each morning incase one is hiding waiting to jump out and scare me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:uhoh

[Moorf]

Moorf are you sure theres nothing else under the duvet that might be having a nibble in the night - sorry to lower the tone couldn't resist!!!!!!:laugh

Sure is, but everytime I try and thwack it, it gets bigger :exit

[Jo Jo]

Cheeky.

:laugh

[nippa&pippa]

oh gosh, i need tissue after this post!! :laugh

I have seen whitetails and redtails spiders at kiwi house, chch, so i know what to look for.....
I can't believe how far the spiders can jump, oh yuk.....

Few months ago, my son saw a spider in the garden, and ran in the house shouted 'I saw huge spider', showed me how big (hint: spread your arms out, that big!!). :eek: I went out to checked it and took him while to find it again, turned out to be just 10mm long :roll kids!

[Tia Maria]

Wow, you put a post on and think 'I hope there are a couple of answers in the morning' and you get 37 replies! Admittedly some of those were about spiders and Moorf's bedroom habits, but thanks everyone!

We will have to do something as my 8 month old is crawling and the thought it could be over mice wee is too much.

I've still got a couple of questions as I'm unsure yet whether we'll go the humane route or the 'bonking a mouse on the head' route.

Sam B wrote:

In the morning drive 3 miles and set them free.

Why so far? And is this the kind of thing you do under the cover of darkness as the North Shore is a pretty built up area, its bound to be near somone else's house. :o
(Hey Scoobydoo - maybe I'll drive them over the harbour bridge, I'd hate for you to miss out. :laugh)

Speckythecky wrote:

One thing they do say is that if you have mice then you don't have rats, so look on the bright side.

Actually that is a bright side, as I hear rats like to nest in the roof insulation, we'd been cutting back the trees near our property to prevent this.

Thanks for the peanut butter and choccie spread tip, that is something we have in plentiful supply - maybe that's why they like our house so much.

I did read something that said block up any holes bigger than 12mm, well anyone who lives in a villa will know how impossible that is, besides they'd just get in through the 2 inch gap I've got under the door. :laugh

Is it a case with mice that if you see one then there are probably loads more? Also is any season mating season (Moorf I'm talking about the mice before you start again :p ).

Lastly, if you do kill them ..... errr how do you dispose of them?

Thanks again for a great thread.

Cheers

Tia

[Sam B]

Well, they are pretty good at finding their way home, so I used to take them to a wood which was 3 miles away and on my way to work. I think you could get away with a mile, but if you live in a built up area, I guess they will just move in with someone else. Humane traps are v effective - all 3 were full every morning when we set them.

[Moorf]

They do say to dump them a few miles away...

Just bump them off - your neighbours don't want them either and unless you're gonna send them on a coach party somewhere nice then it's about the only way except poison and that'll kill more than just mice...

[dharder]

Apart from getting a cat what can I do?

We had some in our kitchen here in London, under the fridge.

We put some essential peppermint oil in the area. Apparently, mice don't like the smell and stay away from it. It has to be quite concentrated, though, we got these really small bottles with the stuff you normally put in one of those candle thingies (I need more coffee, can't think of a name for them).

Anyway, our mice had read the same information, and didn't like peppermint. We haven't seen them since, and stopped using the essential oil, but one positive side effect was that the kitchen smelled a lot better straight away. Not that I really like the smell of intense peppermint, but it definitely beats rodent smell any day.

Daniela

[migratory birds]

I've a soft spot in my heart for the living creatures on this planet so when I saw mouse running thru my living room several years ago...I hoped it was celibate.

It became apparent within a couple weeks that that wasn't the case. I set snap traps. After about two weeks of warped satisfaction in hearing them snap, the problem was resolved (in that house).

Now if only I could figure out what's scurrying around in my attic at 3am...

There's a wildlife biologist in my community who says research has found that to catch/release these pesty mammals (possums, mice, rabbits, raccoons, etc.) brings the same outcome - demise and death - when they're released in unfamiliar territory where they don't know where to find food/water/shelter soon enough...

[Sam B]

Yes, but I can live in my little fantasy world, where the mouse happily makes a new home in the roots of an oak tree, and makes friends with the little mice next door, who show him where to get food and water .... Besides, the kids would NEVER talk to me again if I killed mice in snap traps.

[Rabbit]

We spotted mice droppings on the top of the fridge and panicked.

Down to the mitre store, bought two traps and a four-pack of poison cubes.

After a week, we had noticed the cheese stollen out of one of the traps, and small crumbs around the food / poison blocks.

Next day found a dead mouse in the trap with no cheese - poor thing.

We thought we only had one, prehaps had crawled into one of the boxes, as part of our recent move.

A day after - a second one, so I am starting to get worried.

The story continues...

Anyone want hire out their cat for a week or so?

A challenge with these wooden / garden shed houses?

Rabbit

[speckythecky]

There's a wildlife biologist in my community who says research has found that to catch/release these pesty mammals (possums, mice, rabbits, raccoons, etc.) brings the same outcome - demise and death - when they're released in unfamiliar territory where they don't know where to find food/water/shelter soon enough...

At least you have then added to the food chain for another animal

[sarahw]

We get mice, but only ones that the cat brings in as 'presents' - how thoughtful!! Mostly they're dead already but we have had to send the cat to retrieve its thoughtful gifts a few times....!! I did kill one very quickly - no suffering (used to work in predator control for natural NZ habitats so rats, mice, stoats, possums don't bother me so long as they're dead in the shortest & most humane time possible) ran it over with the wheels of the baby pram as it ran through our hallway! Instant roadkill on impact!)

Spiders - we have the hugest spiders in our basement - unfortunately that's where the master bedroom & ensuite is for our house - my hubby said he was killing one or 2 a day the whole of the last 2 weeks - I'm more a live & let live with them & don't mind the odd spider so long as it keeps out of my way - afterall they help with the flies & daddy longlegs! We do get whitetails - I was bitten by one when we first arrived - ankle swelled to tennis ball size! We get them in the house - they have a little white bottom - easy to spot - not very big either.

[Moorf]

If you have mice remember to empty out the crumb catcher on the toaster v. regularly - they love that place, well the Scottish ones did! Not nice to know you're toasting little mice poo's with your granary!

[Moorf]

Oh, and if you want to know if they're scurrying on your kitchen benches, sprinkle flour down before bed and see if there are any footprints in the morning ;)

[K&CS]

Just reminded me of the time when we stored the kids' pressies in the cupboard under the eaves a few years ago. I went to retrieve a doll to wrap for my 3 year old's birthday and it had no nose and the box was full of mouse poo...

I also remember opening the weetabix one morning to find it had been eaten through and a few deposits were left lying in the box.

Still, they were nothing compared with when we had rats.....

This was all in rural Yorkshire by the way. I like mice - think they're cute and we did actually use the humane traps and let them into the next field. They'd come back, but we didn't mind really...

[willsken]

I like mice - think they're cute and we did actually use the humane traps and let them into the next field. They'd come back, but we didn't mind really...

:)

[Tia Maria]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the tips - the problem is now sorted! :nice1

Cheers

Tia

[jubjub]

Yay..., although I did have another idea, on another forum I use, a mum in wellington found her 15month old with a mouse body in one hand and a head in the other.... she was forced to the conclusion that he had killed it cat style..... :exit

I am so glad we have cats next door, they deal with them all, so I have never seen one.

[Ana&Steve]

Back to spiders...my Stateside Daddy Long Legs are the only spiders I tolerate in the house, as they take care of flies, mosquitoes, and ants, as well as the little brown spiders that bite you when you're sleeping. I've even heard they kill Black Widows (same family as Redbacks) though I've never seen the evidence under the web. Someone mentioned getting rid of Daddy Long Legs, and I wonder if they are somehow different in NZ? I saw a few while there and they seemed like the same family, but confirmation would be good!
Ana

EDIT:just goggled and realized that there are a whole bunch of things named Daddy Long Legs...I was thinking of this guy Pholcidae (http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/Pholcidae/Pholcidae.htm) So now I am wondering what a Daddy Long Legs is to everyone else?

[Sam B]

A daddy long legs in the UK is a crane fly, a repulsive creature with long, dangly detachable legs that appear in huge numbers 1 night in August and spend a few weeks uselessly bashing against windows then disappear. They have a yuk larval stage that you can find if you dig up your lawn - big fat grubs.

[Cardy]

I was just sitting enjoying the quality TV programme that is Family Feud, with my boys, when I saw something dart across the floor.

It was so quick that I thought I was imagining it, until it poked its little nose out to retrieve the piece of dead grass it had been carrying. Does this mean that this mouse is setting up home under my fireplace? :(

Apart from getting a cat what can I do?

I'd been warned about rats in Devonport, but not mice.

Cheers

Tia



Hi Tia have you caught your little critters yet!!:laugh

[Ana&Steve]

A daddy long legs in the UK is a crane fly, a repulsive creature with long, dangly detachable legs that appear in huge numbers 1 night in August and spend a few weeks uselessly bashing against windows then disappear. They have a yuk larval stage that you can find if you dig up your lawn - big fat grubs.
We call those mosquito hawks, but I've just learned they don't eat mosquitoes:roll "crane fly" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_fly)
However, they do have a knack for flying into the lamps and incinerating themselves, with a subsequent lovely odor!
Ana