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Manners Matter: Is Live Trapping Best?

Dear Mary Pat,

My roommate saw a mouse in the basement as well as some droppings. We rent an older home from a couple who doesn’t live locally and we are responsible for a lot of the maintenance for the house. We are at odds at how to deal with this situation. I’m up for 100 percent annihilation but she wants to live trap. It’s been my experience with live trapping that they find their way back into your house. How do I convince her that live trapping isn’t the way to go?

Signed,

Mouse in the House

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

 

 

Dear Mouse in the House,

They say that if you release a mouse back outside after live trapping, you will need to drive it a couple of miles away in order for them not to find your house again. The problem is that they will then just find their way into someone else’s house and that doesn’t seem very neighborly to me.

I did a little research after receiving your question and would like to point the following out to your roommate:

  1. If you have six mice in your house, they can multiply into 60 within as little as three months.
  2. Their natural predators (owls, hawks) aren’t found in basements where mice hide. Even cats (also a natural predator) can’t always reach them in attics, etc.
  3. A female produces five to 10 litters a year.
  4. I would like to reiterate: if you have six mice in your house, they can multiply into 60 within as little as three months.

It is not sanitary to have mice running around your house. You need to get rid of them and be vigilant in sealing up cracks and holes and try to prevent their return. There are humane ways to remove them. I would suggest that you both do some research and come up with a plan of attack. Waiting = more mice.

Good luck,

Mary Pat

 

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