Mouse in the Apartment!!

[cabanird]

Hello Everyone....

Seriously panicking right now. I could have sworn I saw a little mouse crawling on the floor about an hour ago... ... My little Dana went to my parents' house last Saturday, and I went to visit with them Wednesday night through today, Saturday. We brought Dana back today, and I was in the apartment, unpacking and making some food. Before I left for the break, I made sure I swept everything up...

So when I'm sitting in the living area, I believe I saw a little mouse scurrying on the floor in my bedroom. I banged on the door, the wall, and stuff to see if I could scare it out... nothing. My little Dana's cage is in my bedroom, but as I said, I swept everything up before I left for the break...

This is VERY surprising to me. I've had Dana for almost 2 years in this same apartment, and I've never seen anything like this, nor have I seen signs (droppings, sounds, etc.). I'm very much freaking out now. I don't know what I should do. Number 1, I think it's gross that there is a mouse in my apartment, and I'm feeling guilty about not being neater. 2-- I love my little Dana, I want to keep her, but I want to make sure she's living in safe place.

What should I do?!?!?!

Any feedback would be helpful....

[Michael]

Welcome to the world of bird ownership. Parrot diet = mouse diet: grain! Seeds, pellets, etc are natural mouse food just as much as parrot food so naturally the mice are really drawn to it. I've considered writing an article about my own dealings with mice problems but for fear of criticism of it being cruel, etc, I don't think I'm going to be writing publicly about it. But in a broader sense, here are some things I have learned:

A) DO NOT call an exterminator. They charge a ton of money to do a much worse job than you could do yourself. Furthermore they like using poison and I don't think that is safe in a home with a bird.

B) If you saw a mouse, there are probably mice.

C) Mice reproduce very quickly and you can be dealing with an infestation before you know it. It is important to work on the problem very quickly or they'll be having 6-10 mouse babies to add to call your home, "home," within a few weeks.

D) Not every mouse is suckered by every kind of "mouse control device." Use a variety and in great abundance.

E) Use the same thing as bait as what attracts them in the first place. Most likely it is pellet powder falling out from your parrots cage, so use the same.

F) You must clean the floor very very thoroughly every day in order for the bait to be effective, otherwise they'll continue eating off the floor

G) Do not use poison

H) Yes, mice can easily fit through the bars in the cage and can jump into the cage from the floor. Check the bottom of cage for mouse droppings. They are shaped like and about the size of rice grains but in solid black and very dry.

I) Never touch the mice directly, they can carry illnesses.

J) Clean out droppings and wash all floors after mouse problem is dealt with

K) If you had a mouse problem once, it is quite likely to happen again. Learn the signs and always be ready to take action as required.

[zazanomore]

Back when I lived in the country, we always had critters coming into our house in the colder months. Something that really helped us were those little sticky pads. Don't use them where the bird is. Just keep them right up to the wall and put a little snack on it.

[cabanird]

Just finished up some more cleaning this morning. I will be going out to do some grocery shopping, and I will be looking through all the stuff they have. Everyone seems to be recommending the sticky traps... my only issue with those--- I will have a panic attack getting rid of them!

On another note, have you all seen these types of food trays? What do you think? Will it help? Also, that skirt thing for the bottom of the cage is a good idea, but I feel my little girl will nibble through it...

Shield / Scatter Guard
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/p ... atid=14401

Tidy Seed
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/p ... atid=22381

Seed Catcher...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=20947

Thanks!

[sidech]

I had mice because my kid's pet guinea pig food was all over the foor in my old house. They came through the garage or whatever, and there were some in the walls and stuff, so there was no way I was going to get rid of them just by myself. I had a very big house.

So I called my exterminator, and he put some type of poisonous food inside the walls and ceiling (so there was no way any of my animals could get to it). The food was in the form of little squares, maybe one inch by one inch, and dry. When the mouse would eat it, it would quickly die, and the stuff in the poison would make it dry and desintegrate, instead of just rotting like it would have normally. So there was no smell or anything when they died.

So, in just a week or 2, I had no more mice. I think it cost my about 150$-200$. Probably less for an apartment.

If I were you, I would go that way.

[zazanomore]

That's actually a really good idea.

How quickly do they die? Like, what if the mouse eats some, then goes over to the bird cage and defecates in the food or water dish?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

A good professional exterminator (and not all are good) can do a very effective job, but I'd be very skeptical that they know what is safe for birds unless they are bird owners themselves. And quality standards definitely vary. Plus, if you live in an apartment or condo, unless the whole property is treated, the best you can hope for is control, not eradication.

I hate those sticky traps, very slow and tortuous way for a poor critter to die. Sometimes they gnaw their feet off trying to get loose. One person's pest is another person's pet; mice aren't stupid they will suffer. A zap trap or the old fashioned neck-breakers are far more humane.

IMO the best cure is prevention... try to close up any holes you have from outside, basement or attic big enough for a mouse to get through. Use duct tape inside cabinets, etc, to close up the access points.

I'm skeptical that a feed-through poison could make a corpse "dry up and disintegrate" rather than rotting. Maybe they planted a lot of desiccant in the walls to help dry things up and deodorize through the rotting process, but this just sounds implausible to me. OTOH, I'm sure we all have plenty of little corpses in our walls... one of those things rather not to think about.

[TheNzJessie]

birds are not mammals. ask an exterminator to use a mammal poison if your bird gets hold of it they would have to eat about a bucket full of it for it to be harmful and even more to be fatal. at the zoo all the aviaries have poison in them to kill rats and mice. if you know your poison and request one specifically for mammals it will be fine. i can even ask my boss what the poison they use im the aviaries is called


all the avaries are over 30 years old in the zoo im at and some have major mice problem.

[sidech]

I'm skeptical that a feed-through poison could make a corpse "dry up and disintegrate" rather than rotting. Maybe they planted a lot of desiccant in the walls to help dry things up and deodorize through the rotting process, but this just sounds implausible to me. OTOH, I'm sure we all have plenty of little corpses in our walls... one of those things rather not to think about.

Maybe you're right, but I can assure you the exterminator I used is someone I trust very much. I've used his services for years, to the point that when he comes to my house, I'm not even home, I just leave the door open, he does his job, locks the door behind him and leaves.

He did not put anything else in the walls besides the poison.

To the OP, I hope you get rid of your mice.

[zazanomore]

I'm skeptical that a feed-through poison could make a corpse "dry up and disintegrate" rather than rotting. Maybe they planted a lot of desiccant in the walls to help dry things up and deodorize through the rotting process, but this just sounds implausible to me. OTOH, I'm sure we all have plenty of little corpses in our walls... one of those things rather not to think about.

Maybe you're right, but I can assure you the exterminator I used is someone I trust very much. I've used his services for years, to the point that when he comes to my house, I'm not even home, I just leave the door open, he does his job, locks the door behind him and leaves.

He did not put anything else in the walls besides the poison.

To the OP, I hope you get rid of your mice.

I think that's just our Canadian hospitality.