getting rid of wild mice

Question
Last year we had lots of trees cut down to build new homes, this year my house id infested with mice. So far we've caught over 20 mice, how do you know if you've  gotten rid of all mice?

Answer
Dear Marji,

The only way to know is if there are no more signs of mouse.  If you think the place is clean, set a piece of baby Swiss cheese (or some soft cheese) on a plate in a room not used and wait three days.  If there are no nibbles, there are no mice.

A tip is when you are live-catching wild mice is that you really need to release them very far away, as they can return home from over a mile (like Lassie).  I drive to a nice woody or grassy spot 2 miles away to let them out.  If you are releasing them too close, you may be catching the same mouse over and over again.

If you are killing them, I want you to be aware of how they die.  Poison is clean for you, but the mice are in terrible agony, in fits of pain and spitting up chemicals.  Glue traps are easy for you to pick up and throw out but the mouse is stuck and every time she tries to move she gets more stuck and it hurts.  She eventually dies of hunger and thirst wherever she has  been thrown out, which is probably a horrible place.  Snap traps may seem more cruel because you witness the death, but if they cleanly kill the mouse, it won't suffer so much.  But often the traps don't kill the mouse cleanly and then she has the same fate as the mouse on the glue trap, only with severe injuries as well.  

Live catching is the only humane thing to do, and there are many simple traps available, for instance the classic by Havahart.  I also have one called the Trapper 24/7 which is a good design WITHOUT the glue paper.

Another defense against mice is to simply make your home a place that wouldn't interest a mouse.  All edibles except fresh fruit and veggies should either be in the fridge or in resealable plastic containers or metal tins.  Don't leave your used dishes in other rooms where they would attract mice.  Sweep up crumbs.  Make sure the little pests have no access to your other pet food.  I have trouble with wild mice coming in to 'visit' my pet mice because the pet mice throw their food out of the cage, which attracts their wild relatives.  I have also seen an entire dog food bag empty except for a small mouse hole in the bottom.  (That was a pretty major surprise!)

Good luck in relocating even the very last mouse from your home!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha