Landlord potentially placing mouse poison bait

[GusandPeanut]

Hi everyone,

We have two guinea pigs. Unfortunately our house has had a mouse problem. We tried to take care of it ourself but unfortunately the lettings agency noticed droppings and have started to take their own action.

Our boys are in a C&C cage that sits in the floor in our bedroom. A mouse used to visit every now and then - he didn't eat or leave droppings but seemed to enjoy the sawdust, bless him. We haven't had any sign of a mouse in the bedroom for several weeks now (touch wood).

The boys also have an area downstairs that they chill in when we're home, and the mice have been to that area, though there's no sign for recent weeks.

My question: if the landlord ends up using poison bait, what's the risk to our boys? I know that they would be very ill if they ate it, but we wouldn't let that happen. I'm more worried about the potential for poison carrying mice to cross over with their environment.

Thanks!

 

[Lady Kelly]

I would probably keep them confined to their cage in the bedroom until the issue is resolved as obviously that will then minimise the risk of contamination. If you are really concerned you could get a small wire mesh where the mouse can't get through and attach that to the outside of the cage so the mouse can't get in. My concern would be the mouse eating poison and then urinating or pooping in an area the pigs have access to which could potentially make them ill

 

[AD12]

Can you speak to them about alternatives? Poison is so unbearably cruel Not just to the mice, but to other wildlife and domestic cats/dogs if they get a hold of them. Plus if a mouse eats the poison then dies inside a wall or something, that's not good for anyone and is going to stink something awful. I have some awesome human traps I can recommended from when I had escapee pet mice in my flat.

 

[GusandPeanut]

Hi everyone

Thanks for the tips.

The landlord will be going ahead with baiting sadly.

The cage is on the floor - if we elevate it during the poison process should it be ok?

 

[Bill & Ted]

You can buy humane mouse traps online and at local hardware stores. Very easy to use and effective. The main thing is to find the hole where they are getting in. Mice often come in in winter and leave in spring. Find where the hole is and your problem may well be solved before winters on its way. Good luck x

 

[GusandPeanut]

Unfortunately the landlord has now extensively baited the home. Touch wood but I haven't heard or seen from mice in a few days so they might have decided to give up on ours. Landlord is out to patch up the few remaining holes in the house also - they found fairly big ones in the gas cupboard and a storage thing in the middle room.