Mice are Not Nice

There is no such thing as one mouse. If you spot one, many others are lurking nearby. This time of year, the outdoor mice are looking for a winter berth, preferably one with food. It may be your back shed or it may be your house!

Last Christmas I bought large cans of popcorn on sale at Superstore, threw the popcorn in the garbage and kept the cans for bird food. These are stored in the shed and so far the mice have not nibbled into them. A friend stores her black oil sunflower seeds in a new metal garbage can with a good fitting top. Another stores her seeds in a big plastic pail with a flat lid held in place with a brick. I also sprinkle Critter Ridder (available at Canada Tire) around the shed floor. This is mainly to deter squirrels who also can nest in a shed.

Mice are notorious for getting into a building through a tiny crack or hole. Once in, they can do a lot of damage by nesting in the insulation or chewing on the electrical wires inside a stove. Mice can live under a dishwasher or under the kitchen floor joists and enter the kitchen at will through a gnawed hole in a lower cupboard.

The moral is to get rid of them at once.

A cat is best. I borrowed a cat the few times I have seen the droppings or heard the scritching in the evening. Other people rely on poison (not great if you have babies or pets around) or traps. I have used the live traps with success, baiting them with peanut butter. But the cat is the answer.