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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1205 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for October 29, 2025

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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There is a mouse in the house!

I've got a mouse prowling about my kitchen. I've purchased the no kill box trap thing. I plan on releasing the little guy about a block way in a small park. Knowing the cruel reality of the universe, he's probably dead by sundown at the hands jaws of an opportunistic black snake. I suppose I could look the other way and let him live in a climate controlled home and live off the fat scraps of my garbage. A little kindness towards a tiny creature in this cruel world.

Nah, but fuck that, rodents are pests and gross.

Question: Besides doing the usual check ups to try to determine how he got in, is there any strategy for preventing mouse infiltration permanently? I've seen some pellets and other scent oriented products that claim to repel mice. Do they work?

So, a couple of things you can do.

One, you can get a cat. Cat hair has a scent that scares rodents. If all you have is the odd mouse, this might be good enough, but it won't get rid of a serious infestation. If you have a serious infestation, poison is your best bet.

Pellets and scent oriented 'products' probably won't work. If you live in a pier and beam house you can put cornsnakes/ratsnakes in the foundation. If you find mouse holes you can cover them over with hardware cloth(mice can chew through other things) before filling with spray foam. If you live in an apartment, instead, there's nothing you can do about mice except put out poison.

You can also put out poison. For a worst case scenario, you can soak cheerios or oats in strychnine and scatter it behind furniture etc(do not do this if you have a dog). Most of the time, commercial poisons are a better idea.

Some less conventional mousers are ferrets and ringtailed cats(the best biological control for serious infestations). They're both more challenging than a cat, but can be much more effective.

I'm getting a strong sense that poison is my best option here. I'll give the trap a day or two. I believe it is one single mouse, not multiple.

But then again .... poison.

If it's just the one mouse you've seen and you're averse to poison, it's worth trying a cat first.

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