(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

I WAS RIGHT.

Lorenzo III, Daredevil Mouse, is out there. And he's coming into my living room now. Little bastard nipped right around the corner from kitchen to living room with all the lights on, I saw that motherfucker do it.

I would love, more than anything else, to seal up the hole they're coming in through, because I know exactly where it is. But I can't get to it, because it's behind the kitchen counter. The way this flat was laid out when it was refurbished, counters were installed but weren't butted up against the walls, because the power had to be run up to auxiliary outlets from behind them. There's a gap of about an inch all the way around the counter, but the counter is fixed in place. So unless I want to literally take my kitchen to pieces, I can't get to it.

I can't protect the counters, but at least all my food is in the fridge. Or hanging from hooks over my butcher's table as if I have goddamn BEARS living in my walls.

BEARS!

ETA: No seriously, I can't seal the hole with steel wool, guys. Thanks for suggesting it, but I can't get to the hole.

Comments

[empresspatti.livejournal.com]

You need to stuff steel wool around the opening. Mice can't chew through it.

[empresspatti.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be the Krap Fairy - but a mouse can climb right down a string...

[chicleeblair.livejournal.com]

I just imagined a huge, bear sized mouse.

Ew.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

At least the wasps are gone, right? Any luck talking to the super? or it may possibly be time to consider a cat or terrier.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

The wasps are "gone" in that I have taped over all the light fixtures so they can't get in :D Hopefully they're frozen by now.

I'm calling the super tomorrow to ask about possibly getting a professional in. I think it's time.

[fullofowls.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel better, you can imagine that you actually do have tiny bears living in your walls instead.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

It does, a little.

[petranef.livejournal.com]

Lot of complaining, for what amounts to a free pet. ;)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Possibly carrying lice and disease, eating my food (Lorenzo: $60 worth of new groceries) and pooping in my mixing bowls.

Yeah, great pet.

[sherylyn]

I dunno if anyone's mentioned this before, but it's worth a shot. We've had one for *years* now that has done an insanely good job at keeping critters of all sorts out of the house, but hasn't bothered the critters we *like* (i.e., hamsters or guinea pig, although I probably wouldn't put 'em right beside it or something!).

Regardless... I do feel your pain. Been there, done that with mice AND with those Texas-sized "water bugs" that are really, I swear, just gigantic cock roaches, but still... EWWW! Imagine waking up to tend to a small kid in the middle of the night and having to kill like 20-30 of them that have spread out all over the den -- which is between your room and the baby's. THEN try to go back to sleep!! *shudder*

Ahem. Sorry.

Anyway... this thing *worked* -- so I hope it (or something similar) helps you, too!
https://www.riddex.com/Default.aspx?mid=717000
or
http://www.amazon.com/Get-Organized-RIDDEX-PEST-REPELLER/dp/B001688S7M

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I looked into it when the Wasps Came, but pretty much every consumer report I've seen says they don't actually do anything -- they have no effect when tested in a controlled environment. :/

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

I... suppose you could fill THE ENTIRE GAP BEHIND YOUR CABINETS with steel wool? *scratches head*

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's about $100 in steel wool.

[iesika.livejournal.com]

I wonder how spray foam insulation would work... you might be able to hook the can to a long enough straw thing to actually get it where you want it. But I don't know if mice wouldn't go right through it.

[onetinlizzie.livejournal.com]

Spray foam insulation was the first thing I thought of when I read this post. The can I bought actually came with a 4-inch long flexible "straw" that fits in the nozzle.

Mice can eat their way through almost anything, but the foam dries hard and solid, so it would stop them at least for awhile. It certainly stopped the one roaming around my kitchen.

[evil-girraffe.livejournal.com]

Time to adopt a kitty? =P

[capulet-rose.livejournal.com]

The stuff that you need to seal up your cabinets is triple expanding foam. Make sure to seal up any gaps around your kitchen and bathroom pipes as well. I had the same problem and this worked.

It didn't keep the little fuckers from squeezing under my front and hallway doors, though. That's why I ended up adopting The Kitten Overlord.

If you decide to try it out test runs are highly recommended (for both foam and kittens).

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Test runs with kittens are WAY more adorable, though.

Proof of concept: my roommate's boyfriend worked at a hardware store and once brought home a box full of expanded expanding foam. It was amusing, but on the other hand, a box full of kittens, well ... what more need be said (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbn75LITtlc)?

[hollyxu.livejournal.com]

Is there any way you could borrow someone's cat for a few days?

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I don't think I know anyone with a cat. I suppose I could have R ask around.

[alibi-factory.livejournal.com]

I have the same problem, sry2say. All my food and cooking implements are in the massive Cabinets of Awe, but ugh mice UGH. My most recent thought is covering the gap between wall and countertop with, idek, the cheapest long/flat metal thing I can find at Home Depot. Of course, I'd also have to seal the gap beneath the fridge and UGH MICE JUST FIND ANOTHER APARTMENT THERE IS NO FOOD HERE

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

SERIOUSLY, why can't they understand that if they come here all that awaits them is death.

[amy_vic.livejournal.com]

What about laying down duct tape, sticky side up (with the ends taped down to your floor to it won't slide) all around the base of your counters? It's not terribly expensive (at least, not here in Canada; a 105-foot roll runs around $10 for the *good* stuff), and as long as you remember not to stick your own toes to it, it wouldn't be much of a hassle to you.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I actually have taped up a few of the more egregious cracks, but it seems like laying duct tape is probably just a poor man's glue trap :/

[bluejeans07.livejournal.com]

Your entry made me think of this hilarious comic! May it brighten your day just a little! (http://girlamatic.com/shrubmonkeys/2009/10/13/shrubmonkeys106/)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL. Oh man I wish those things actually worked.

Great Stuff

[gershwhen.livejournal.com]

What about a couple of cans of Great Stuff? If there is the least little hole, you can shoot the stuff into the space and it will expand. $5 at Home Depot/local hardware stores.

Here is a link: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xi0/R-100029171/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Sorry, the HTML isn't pretty, I'm doing this remotely an not on my laptop.

Re: Great Stuff

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I'm a little worried about how semi-permanent it is (I've used the stuff before) and whether they'll just chew through it :/

[arsenicjade.livejournal.com]

Sam, I say this with all the love in the world: FIND A NEW FLAT.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Can't afford it :/ I've done the math and the movers plus security deposit, not even factoring in first month's rent (which sometimes I don't have until the 3rd-4th of the month), will probably run me about $2k. What I have in savings right now: $180.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I'm not using actual bear bags. The hooks hang from a shelf they can't climb (stainless steel) and the food is in grocery bags on the hooks.

they've landed - the invading mice

[londonbard.livejournal.com]

http://londonbard.livejournal.com/504830.html

Re: they've landed - the invading mice

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

ARGH, MAD MICE!

Ohgodyousteppedinone

[cymbal-monkey.livejournal.com]

Can't you put traps by the exitways from where the counters are against the walls? I must not be visualizing this correctly, but instead of stuffing the whole area with steel wool, I would stick a trap back there in a place where you can pull it back out with a broom handle or something (assuming there's enough space) so the mice don't have anywhere to go but in to a trap.

Or just block that area off entirely.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's where the traps go, at the exits -- that's where I've caught two -- but they won't fit in the gap. Also the mice can get onto the counter without leaving the gap until they reach the counter, so unless I want snap traps on my counters...

[stardust9121.livejournal.com]

Dude, what happened to moving? Where is the last straw - actual BEARS? :p

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Can't afford it :/ it'll take a couple of months to save up for movers (I seriously can no longer move on my own anymore) and first-and-last-rent will probably take close to a year to save.

[tingler.livejournal.com]

Soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and get 'em as close to the hole as you can. Mice apparently hate that smell, so maybe it'll deter them until the pros can come.

[in-a-tizzy.livejournal.com]

do you think peppermint extract would work? That's what I've got on hand...

[(Anonymous)]

It could be marginally worse - You could have a scorpion infestation. And only find out when your two cats start playing tennis with a highly irate scorpion...

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

....jesus don't let them hear you, the scorpions might be next.

[sunlitshadow.livejournal.com]

_Honestly_, Sam. I am waiting for you to tell us the plague of locusts has descended on your apartment.

*knocks on wood for your sake*

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Frankly at this point I'm waiting for actual bears to show up.

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I once lent my cat out to a neighbor after she saw a mouse; got any friends who'd pass along their cat on a lend/lease basis? Or, even better, get a friend with a pet ferret to bring him/her over and let the critter cavort all over your digs for a few hours-- supposedly the scent will make rodents vacate in a hurry. I've had ferrets for more than 20 years now and lived in multiple locations, and I've yet to see a single mouse even when my neighbors were complaining of them.

[in-a-tizzy.livejournal.com]

I know you can't block the hole but I'm jealous that you know where the hole is. We can't figure out where ours are coming from. The super came in sealed and steel wooled the hell out of everything (behind the stove, fridge, dishwasher etc) and they are still getting in some how.

And mine are SMRT! My husband saw one jump over the trap. After spending a fortune on every vaguely humane mouse trap on the market we've resorted to glue traps. We've caught two so far (after not catching any witht he other traps) but have see two since then.

But, at least they haven't pooped in my mixing bowls? I might have to get new mixing bowls if that happened...