# I have a mouse



## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

So I have a mouse in my apartment, jokingly named Albert. I discovered him living behind my stove in a humane trap left by a previous tennant. So I would like Albert to move and looking for recommendations. I don't want to kill him, especially not with a snap trap or sticky pad. I'm not going near any of the chemicals as I don't want my hedgie to accidently get into them. Suggestions? I know at my folks cottage they use the mouse supper sonic things that plug into the wall and emit a frequency that humans can't hear and it doesn't bother dogs or cats. There has been discussion about that here. Any thoughts on whether a hedgehog could hear/be hurt by that noise?

And more importantly, I think Albert (mouse) is eating Annabell's (hedgehog) food, at least by the crunching noise and seeing a piece of it just now behind the stove. Annabell has a playpen perm. set up on my floor. Sometimes her dry food is left in the playpen, which I'm assuming is where the mouse got it from (hoping not her cage, which is on top of filing cabinet, with bottom edges covered in coroplast). How should I handle this? Obviously my first thing is making sure that there is no dry kibble left out. But what about the different items in the play pen? Do I need to sanitize everything now? If the mouse once found food inside of a fabric hidey hut, will it keep going in there? I haven't found and mouse droppings in or near the playpen (or cage) thankfull.

Albert may have got the kibble from being dropped on the kitchen floor. Even still, I'm wondering what immediate precautious I should take so Annabell doesn't come in contact with any bateria or diseases Albert might be carrying.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I wouldn't use one of those electronic things around hedgehogs. I don't know as there is a definite answer as to them being bothered by it but it's not worth risking. 

Use a humane trap and take him about a mile away to let him go. 

Yes, thoroughly wash anything the mouse could have come in contact with. You can use window screen around Annabell's cage to keep Albert out. 

Mice are moving in so if you have Albert, you probably also have his whole family, or will soon have. My cats sit at the cellar door now which always mean the mice are moving in. :lol:


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## CoxMD (Apr 30, 2010)

Silvercat, you never have -A- mouse. You will no doubt have Mrs. Albert as well as Alberta and Junior too. And don't forget Great Uncle Albert.  (Trust me, I know. Camping in a motor home with shag carpet for years has taught me well.)

I like Nancy's suggestion of using a humane trap and relocating.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Do you think the humane trap will work? I mean, that's what I found him living in to begin with. I live in an apartment building, I generally have 'a' mouse every year, I'm sure there's tons in the building. All I can do is treat the guy in my apt.


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## CoxMD (Apr 30, 2010)

If you think Albert likes your hedgie's food, then bait the trap. Peanut butter also works well. Just be sure to check it daily so there is no undue suffering to Albert.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Those humane traps work really good. When I used to live in the country we used them and baited them with peanut butter, caught them everytime


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

They do seem to love peanut butter almost as much as me :lol: works everytime just be sure it's JFG the mice here did not like peter pan :roll: :lol: JK of course.


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

Look for gaps around the pipes under your sink, and in other kitchen cupboards on the same wall as your sink. You can buy a can of foam insulation at the hardware store for about $5. Spray it into those holes and it will fill them up and keep mice from coming in that way. You probably need to look under the stove too, if it's electric then pull the drawer out and see if there are any holes back there. Check around the bathroom plumbing too. Check the space around your front door and underneath, and add weatherstripping if you need to. A mouse can fit in a space about as thick as a pencil.

Even though it's an apartment and your landlord should be responsible for doing those minor things to keep mice out, they generally won't, and they usually refuse to do more than put down glue traps. But getting rid of the mice is good for Annabell and it's also good for you...you don't want to be wondering every time you get a spoon out of your cupboard if the mouse has been on it, or find your food packages in the pantry all chewed up.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Steel wool also works for plugging small holes around pipes. Also check in the bathroom. You can go through your apartment room by room and look for any holes, gaps in baseboards and gaps around pipes. Usually in an apartment, the kitchen and bathroom are the areas to worry about.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks everyone! There's some 'evidence' of him behind my stove and I had to throw out some cookie mix as apparently Albert is a fan of cookies. I baited a paper bag last night to try to hear him/trap him but he didn't take the bait. Looked around my cabinets and couldn't find any holes. I think there must be a hole under it to another apartment. I did find a couple holes previously in my walls/corners of the floor which I filled with wine corks & steel wool.


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/mice.htm

Wear gloves and a mask when cleaning up mice droppings, they can make a person very sick.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Interesting article. It says that deer mice rarely invade our homes. I guess the ones we've had in the past couple of years haven't read the manual. For some reason, the last two years the ones coming inside have all been deer mice. shrug


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## krbshappy71 (Jul 17, 2009)

If I was a mouse, I'd come live with you, Nancy, you take good care of animals!


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