Ick! We have a new pet?

[Libby]

During the Christmas holidays, we've been using our closed in back porch as a makeshift fridge or 'cold room' so to speak. Any excess packaged items were kept out there. Extra pop, bottled water, bread, cut veggies in a container etc. I guess b/c we kept going back and forth for 2 wks straight, everything was fine.

Last time we really went out there was just before New Year's Eve and we pulled in all the perishables and really put them in the fridge, now that we had room. All that was left outside was bottled water to keep it cold for guests.

I did keep one ziploc of rice krispie treats out there for my friend whom I was meeting today. I go out and grab the bag - looks totally fine and how I left it on the shelf - and little white plastic shavings fell off the shelf. I looked at the bag, something gnawed its way through the plastic baggy and ate a whole square! Yes I counted them. I put 12 to give away and only 11 remained. Those went into the trash and my friend got an IOU for festive treats.

I guess the mouse thought it was safe to come out seeing as the back porch action had slowed down considerably plus the weather had gotten really cold. I know its a mouse by the size of the droppings it's left on the shelf. Since then, we have now brought all the food inside after inspecting it closely.

Question - how do I ensure my new pet doesn't recruit friends to come party back there?

[Josephhgoins]

Your only choice is to kill him or trap him and let him be someone elses problem.

[Spikey1341]

I would say to put out a trap, and do not leave any food out.

[porembam]

Let him know the party's over -
put up a sign : )

[nancycg56]

I hate mice ~ ugh! If we lived closer together, I'd send my Jack Russell over ~ he's a great mouser!

[monkeywrangler71]

You're lucky yours are outside. Don't put any more food out there, unless it's in a mousetrap. I'm sure his friends have already been over, no doubt the rise krispie square was a group effort.

[Russ]

Put peanut butter on a mouse trap inside a small paper lunch bag. When mouse is caught, throw it all in the trash.

[Sassyclass]

I feed any new pets peanutbutter on a trap. Leave it on the porch though or your pet will come inside looking for food.

Cat

[shoiji]

I would send my one kitty, but she would probably just sit on the mouse.

[frugalwarrior2]

Take all the sugar and bread in and keep only pop and closed containers out there. We keep milk in storage tubs and don't have a prob. One year we had potatoes and bird seed they went nuts. Oh, and you have more than 1.

[duva1080]

Yup,

Had a mouse in the laundry room, fun cleaning up all around.

The best is, another mouse got into the dog food, and carried it from the garage to the art supply closet.

The dog was not happy, but I think she got the mouse one night, so a little bit of extra protein for her...

UGH, I hate rodents!!!!

[Incognito]

I store all my pantry and cupboard foods in glass jars, and no mouse has ever seen fit to even attempt a free meal off of me. Same with insects.

Except for a few crickets which invaded my basement when the weather turned cold this fall, and I keep finding them in my little potato bins. I have not managed to annihilate them yet, even though I go down there every night when they start to get active, and stomp on them with my cane and my puffy, bedroom slippers.
They're pretty smart, and go into hiding as fast as they can whenever they see me coming, but their numbers are diminishing.
Vigilance.

[Libby]

Well we did bring all food in and anything outside has to be sealed in a hard plastic container. But I'm not a fan of using my back fridge anymore. I think my dad set traps out back...he won't let me go out there now. I'll have to do some reconnaissance later if you know what I mean

Thanks for all the offers of pet loans though.

And YES I'm very glad that I only found them OUTSIDE not IN the house. I'd freak....I live in the basement!!

[Debbie-cat]

Trap him now or you will be having one big mouse party soon!

[frugalfranny]

Oh, and you have more than 1.

I have heard that too FW2.......heard it years ago.

They also seem to be very prolific in this part, this year, don't know if it is the mild winter or what.

I caught three (so far this year) using PB in the trap in my garage. I put it right at the spot I figure they are coming in. My garage door has a tiny gap on one corner. Also read that they can flatten their body and get through a 1/2 inch hole!! That is NOT very big!

If you have a hole you can plug - steel wool works well (just the cheap stuff - no soap needed) and they won't chew through that.

A few years ago I had one of those metal door guard things that go across the bottom of the door - with a rubber flap to keep out the air - they chewed through each end!!