Urgent help needed in catching a mouse

[Eve]

I've just had a gift from one of the catfinks of a mouse.

She brought it in live but seems to have issues with live things, it seems to freak her out. She took it up to the spare room and sat it on the pillow on the bed and they just looked at each other for a while before little mouse made a bid for freedom bless it.

Managed to get the cats out and shut the door but the mouse is hiding behind the bed.

Any tips for getting mousey safely out of the house without any risk of me getting bitten or scratched very very gratefully received!

[craft1948]

A big hammer.....

[sherrardk]

They can get through really small holes - it might just die of delayed shock (our cat used to catch them and they would just keel over dead from the fright of it all).

[4getmenot]

hoover

[Eve]

Nooooo craft, I couldn't kill it, don't even want to risk hurting it!

I've come down to let it calm down a bit as it's probably frightened half to death anyway so not the best time to try and catch it and get it out of the house.

I can't get to it where it is at the moment without some major moving of things by which point it will have probably have legged it somewhere else!

Wouldn't be surprised if the poor little mite doesn't make it.

[AlBags]

A trail of mouse-sized pieces of mousetrap cheese (Tesco has loads on delicatesson) out the door and down the path.

[naomi24]

A humane trap with some chocolate in it.

[Rosetta]

Jenna its unlikely you will be able to catch the mouse at this time of night unless you have a trap to hand ....we have a humane trap somewhere.... though it sounds cruel I would shut the cats in the same room as the mouse and let nature take its course. But fetch the duvet first so you can sleep on the sofa x

[dundurn]

The mouse is a present for you - you're her kitten and she's hoping you'll learn to hunt for yourself! Have you got any muesli/ bird seed? Try putting a large box on its side on the floor with the bait in the bottom. Leave the door to the room open with the landing light on. Listen out for the mouse getting into the box and carefully and quietly tip the box upright. Has at least a chance of working.

[craft1948]

oh okay.....leave it a huge block of cheese and then it'll be too fat to run away.

[naomi24]

^^ Haaaaaa! Perfect logic.

[Eve]

Thanks Albags, it would take a lot to get it out of my house from the spare room upstairs though lol and it would have to run the double cat gauntlet!

I know Dundurn, I can't be mad at them, it's their nature. I have plenty of bird seed and chocolate and such. The cats are the issue though, would have to try and keep them out while sitting and waiting for mousey to take the bait. Worth a try though :)

I couldn't Rosetta, will see if I can find a humane trap tomorrow if mousey is still with us and nothing else has worked.

[Eve]

Ahhhh i like that Craft haha :)

[B00]

Bet your glad its your spare room and not your actual bedroom huh?

Personally, i'd be tempted to leave the door shut for several days and hope it disappears, either die or whatever, on its own- but then I am a wuss with things like that!

If you do decide to get a humane trap, mice prefer chocolate over cheese.

Good luck :-)

[Eve]

Cheers Boo :)

If the house was an older build I'd be more tempted to leave it but I can't see it being able to get out.

Humane trap and chocolate seems like the way to go.

[welshlibranr]

I would go buy a humane trap asap, and then bait it with chocolate or/and bacon, both they like, and hope you catch it that way, until then I'd keep the door firmly shut!...Good luck!..........

[craft1948]

Can we please have a sense of perspective here.....it's a tiny mouse not a humongous rat...........pull the bed out and chase it out of the house using a sweeping brush....

[Rosetta]

our cat brought us a similar present but it was difficult to get rid of it, the mouse wasn't tempted by the various baits. Perhaps it only likes certain brands. I have a vague recollection that peanut butter was recommended somewhere?

[redcrx]

it would probably get under the door.

dont do what i did and throw a towel over it, run with towel into bathroom, lift towel to find it gone, crawl around floor looking for it for 5 mins and then stand up only to find its up inside your trouser leg!

[craft1948]

now that red IS funny........

[boxtops]

Jenna, there's not much you can do, and I speak from experience. My cats spent three days in a line staring under the cupboard in the hall because that's where they stuffed a mouse last week, when I finally got them out and moved the cupboard, it wasn't there at all. If you move the furniture the mouse will move before you get there. I think you will just have to leave it - if it's alive the furry ones will find it, if you see it first you can always drop a Tupperware box on it and slide a paper underneath, and carry it out into the garden. (that's a use not in the Tupperware catalogue!). The shock might be too much for the mouse anyway with all the chasing. Good luck - I hope you don't wake up with it in your pillow.....