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Is There a Mouse in Your House?
From Ellen Jareckie, GMAD member & Wildlife Rehabilitator
Not that this is breaking news, but Vermont's winters are quite cold. Because of this, you may have mice entering your house to find protection and food. As with almost all situations involving animals, there are humane, non-lethal ways of dealing with the mice.
First, be prepared with at least one humane trap. I have found that Havahart traps work very well. The reason I personally like the small metal Havahart traps is that they are well ventilated and provide more room for the mouse once s/he is captured so that s/he is a bit less stressed. I feel that the very small plastic ones (sometimes found at hardware stores) may create a feeling of claustrophobia for the mouse. Other people have also had luck with the larger green plastic variety which is available from GMAD for the reduced rate of $10.
It is very important when you set a live-catch trap that you write yourself a note (placed in a prominent location) to remind yourself to check the trap at least twice a day. It is best to check the trap more often if you can. It's very easy to forget to check the traps and I'm sure you can imagine the horrible consequences of that!
Once you have your uninvited (but beautiful) visitor in the trap, you can go down the road at least 1/4 mile and release the mouse in a brushy area that is away from any homes. The area should provide good cover from weather and predators. Do not release the mouse right outside your home because it will probably come right back inside.
In winter, it's very hard on a mouse to be dumped out into the frigid air. For winter releases we have been using a specially made mouse-hut filled with seeds in one half and bedding in the other half (see diagram below).
The mouse is encouraged to live in the hut (within a cage or tank) for a short period of time prior to release. Once the mouse is asleep in his/her hut, cover the doors to the hut, remove the hut from the cage and place it outdoors in a brushy area.
Then uncover the doors and allow the mouse to come and go as s/he pleases. If you want to help the mouse further, you can add food to the hut periodically to be sure it has an ample food supply throughout the winter.
Finally, when it comes time to store any humane trap it is extremely important to cover the entrances of the trap with duct tape, etc. There have been some cases where mice got into a trap that was in storage and died of starvation in there. I personally like to place the entire trap inside a plastic storage bin and others prefer to secure the entrances of the trap.
Thanks for taking the time to humanely catch and release the mice that visit you. They are sweet and beautiful creatures, as well as a vital part of the natural environment.
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