i lost 4 of my mice!

Question
this has happened before my mouse just knocked their own cage of the table i don't no how but it fell and broke and this time they escaped i found most of them but four is still hiding i know where they are but i cant catch them help!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer
Dear Erica,

Knowing where they are is a big first step.  Now they have to come out to you.

If they let you get close to them but not catch them, take a toilet paper or even paper towel tube and put it near them.  Mice love to crawl into small round holes.  Be patient.  When the mouse enters the tube, put both hands on the ends of the tube and you have the mouse.

If it isn't that simple, you will want to lure them out with something delicious and aromatic.  Commercial peanut butter, buttered popcorn, or soft cheese are perfect.  They should be hungry by now, so again, put the food close to where they are, put a tube near it, and wait.  This will work better at night.  I think you will catch them.

There are also commercial live traps which do not hurt the mouse, such as the cage trap by Hav-a-hart:

http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/1020

This is a little cage with two doors which close when the mouse moves the tray inside where the bait is placed.  It is a very kind trap and even their tails don't get hurt when the doors come down.  Pet stores use these to catch their little escaped rodents and it works like a charm. Again you would bait it and place it according to instructions (it's a little tricky to set)  near the mice.  Then leave them alone in a dark room all night.  You should have one or two by morning (maybe you will hear the trap close in the middle of the night and can reset it for a second mouse) and you can reset it then. It's easy to get the mice out with your hand or, again, a toilet paper tube.  Maybe you can even dump them directly into the cage.

It's pretty important to catch them soon because little mice do panic when left out in the house and that is  bad for their health.  Sometimes their personalities even change.  

Now you need to get a better cage.  Especially if this has happened before, you need a better solution.  A commercial cage from the pet store is the easiest solution.  If it is a Habitrail, don't make it top-heavy with tubes.  Aquariums are good because it's easy to access the mice and they pretty much can't get out (so long as there is a lid).  You can also make a cage out of a large bin and 1/4 inch galvanized steel mesh or metal screening.  You could also make a cage out of wood.  

Good luck!

PS.  The very last resort to catch them is to take apart the room where they are!  I don't know where they are hiding, but you might need to move some furniture.  You would need at least two people so when the mice get scared by one person they will run toward the other.  Again, have a tube to catch them in.  But try the other two methods first.  This one is drastic!

squeaks,

Natasha