Mice!

[Smithy]

Within about 4 or 5 weeks of getting a guinea pig we found out we'd got mice!
I was horrified that a mouse could of gotten anywhere near the precious pig and immediately went on the rampage - stripping the room, laying traps and poisons, filling gaps in the floor boards. And the piggie went to the vets for a check over lest the dirty mouse had infected him or given him flees or anything.

We're not entirely sure where the mouse came from. -We live in an old house anyway -It's also in the countryside so there are field mice about (although this was a fairly big one!)
We did keep the hay in the shed so possibly came in hiding in a hay bail. -I did have the window open one night so possibly came in from there. -Or maybe it came under the floor boards from next door.

ANYWAY.
Now that the mouse is dead, I'm looking around and worrying that we might get more in the future.
I keep the food and hay in sealed containers, but the Guinea Pig's cages are not mouse proof, and are full of hay and food to attract mice.

I'm tempted to leave some traps about, but why would a mouse go for a bit of food on a trap, when there's an ample supply elsewhere. (And I'd be worried in-case the guinea pig by some feat escaped and then ate from the trap himself!)

Has anyone else had a mouse problem?
And how did you deal with it / avoid reassurances.

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry; mice can get anywhere - I had one once in my upstairs bedroom when I was a teenager, not to mention the litter we found under the dishwasher after the mice short-circuited it! It can be a regular problem if you are living in a rural setting.

Is there a way of securing the cage with fine mesh so mice can't get in? It would also help if you fed pellets and fresh food several times a day in small portions, so they are eaten straight away and don't hang around to attract any mice. Store any food well away from the cage. It is great that you have already put them in sealed containers.

 

[adelhide]

I'm not so worried about mice as i am the bush rats, and snakes. the rats steal the grapes that grow on our roof. and the snakes come to eat the rats. and the mice live inside, tiny little mice, mildly annoying, but mostly harmless compared to the others.
I'm lucky in that the actual mice seem to be uninterested in this house and only want the other house. maybe the rats scare them away? hmm.

 

[Lady Kelly]

For future reference I would go for traps over poisons. Imagine what could happen of the mouse had some poison and left droppings in the pigs cage before dying!

We've had mice in the shed the last two years (sheds coming down this year as it's falling apart). Last year we left it before putting traps down and ended up getting 5-6 mice, this year my OH set the traps after spotting one and got it straight away (strangely enough it was an unbaited trap). So far we haven't seen anymore so maybe they haven't had time to woo and reproduce? Who knows. If you are worried I would but a baited trap somewhere very sheltered so it feels safer for the mouse to go to rather than running over to the piggies cage