Alright everybody have some questions, esp. for homeowners. I had some mice in the house over the winter and some slight ant problems. Now we think we have mice again, and still have some damn ants coming in. Do any of ya'll self treat or go with one of the pest control companies? What is the best route to go with one of them. Every once in a while we will see a stray cockroach, ants pop up if any food gets left open or whatever, and we have seen a little evidence of mice again. But with 2 dogs in the yard and two kids (4 yrs & 3 months) I am concerned about their safety both from pests and from the chemicals. This all came to a head this week when I found a 6' black snake in the front flower bed trying to get under the house.

[Edited on June 23, 2007 at 1:39 PM. Reason : ]

6/23/2007 1:38:48 PM

6 foot black snake eh. perhaps he would have eaten the mice. you lose.

6/23/2007 1:45:12 PM

Well no shit but I don't want him getting in my backyard where my kids and dogs are (one dog is a little one too) or up in the house. Snakes don't really bother me. Hell I just caught him and took him out to the woods and let him go.

[Edited on June 23, 2007 at 1:47 PM. Reason : ]

6/23/2007 1:46:51 PM

As far as the ants go, you can probably take care of them with ant traps. They are basically plastic stakes you put in the ground that have ant poison. Dogs & such can't get to the poison, because it's inside the stake.

Lowes sells these.


As far as mice, do you have an idea where they are coming in?

6/23/2007 1:54:53 PM

Traps are going to be the best option for mice. You can get traditional ones or humane ones - you just have to decide if you want to throw out dead mice or relocate live ones.

For the ants, you should call an exterminator. They know best how to keep the critters out. I use Pest and Termite Consultants (919-870-8003), and I've had no problems in the past year.

Hope that helps!

6/23/2007 1:57:12 PM

Each year I have an ant problem. This stuff called terro or liquid ant bait will take care of any internal infestations you have. It is like one of those little plastic ant houses but the ants actually find and eat it. Once they find it the whole colony goes to it to eat and they are done.

Outside I use those granules that you spray all over the yard and then water. It says to do a 2' perimeter around the house but I do 6-8' front and back since I am in a townhouse. It is rare I see an insect after that. The only thing with that stuff is I don't know how it is for kids. I don't really play on the dirt in my yard so I have never questioned it.

6/23/2007 2:16:49 PM

id like to offer some info based on experience. my house growing up had major ant and mouse problems.

the ants simply would not go away. you can minimize their effect with poisons or traps, but they'll be back. thankfully ants arent that bad.

mice on the other hand are fixable, though hard to keep away as well. humane traps NEVER worked for us. those fuckers were smart enough to know how to get around htem. the nasty sticky traps or traditional ones work well, but are a bit much for the animal lover.

6/23/2007 2:28:35 PM

I have had good success with a humane trap design I found online for mice. Just a toilet paper tube with some cheese or a bean on the end. Its balanced out on the counter or somewhere and when they walk it, it unbalances and they fall into the tall metal garbage can below.

But what about cockroaches? Anybody got solutions for them?

6/23/2007 7:39:49 PM

professional treatment seems to work well on them. heavily mixed results on do-it-yourself products.

6/23/2007 7:46:27 PM

I had a problem with mice in our townhouse back around Christmas. The humane traps we ordered off the internet didn't work worth a shit. Just gave the mice time to poop in every thing they could find. My mom bought me these things you can plug into outlets that makes a noise that is supposed to keep the mice away b/c they don't like the sound. It is not harmful to dogs or humans. I can only hear it if I put my ear right up to them. Haven't had a problem with the mice since we began using those. Got them at home depot.

6/23/2007 8:11:56 PM

ants? get terro. (HA A COMMERCIAL)

http://www.terro.com/faq-ants.php

they love to eat this terro stuff and die. and they take it back to the whole colony or whatever and kill them. its cheap, i think its just borax (not sure), and it works VERY well, with minimal mess. obviously clean up the area you use it on.

as for mice, i grew up beside a field, and the most humane way i've seen is a MOUSE TRAP. otherwise you'll just be ripping a mouse head off a sticky board. at least the mouse trap is instant.

terminix does all the stuff for our HOA, and they are VERY nice and i havent seen a bug in my new place. soooooo i'd call them if you are looking for a place

6/23/2007 8:24:06 PM

I have an emp thing that I plug into the wall in my garage and one in the back of the house. It sends off a signal that keeps small things annoyed but it won't bother a child or dog.

Not getting a good ground freeze insures a wild summer of bugs. This has been two warm winters in a row for us.

6/23/2007 8:51:37 PM

not a bad idea at all, can you list the brand in case i see any critters around here?

6/23/2007 8:52:31 PM

the sticky traps are the worst cuz you see them trying their hardest to pull off of the trap and their skin begins to tear off. it is gruesome and you feel terrible afterwards.

6/23/2007 11:31:57 PM

I saw one of the fuckers while I was watching Sopranos tonight. It creeped out behind the couch where my wife and our newborn were sitting. I strongly dislike them being in our house, but I'm also not a real cruel person, hence why I have set out the garbage can/tube trap tonight to get him. Might have to invest in some of those EMP things. Let us know what the name/model of that is.

6/24/2007 12:32:38 AM

black snakes pose no threat to your children or your dogs.


what did you do with it?

6/24/2007 12:40:55 AM

Read the thread:

Quote :

"Hell I just caught him and took him out to the woods and let him go."

6/24/2007 10:14:58 AM

Those sticky traps are horrible. My parents used them once and we could hear the little guy screaming in pain. My dad had to hit him with a shoe, he felt so bad!

Snap traps are the most humane. Try using some bird seed and peanut butter, they LOVE it.

As for ants, use terminex or something.

BTW, the black snake was probably a rat snake. Won't hurt your dog or kids unless they go after him, otherwise he's actually doing you some pest control for free.

6/24/2007 10:00:19 PM

you know your house is mouse infested when black snakes decide to setup shop in it

6/24/2007 10:57:58 PM

I just spray around my house's foundation (inside and out) with Ortho Home Defense every six months or so. Haven't seen any ants in the house yet. You can get a big jug with built in sprayer from Lowes for $15.

For the mice I think you're just going to need to be diligent with traps. They're going to go where the food is, so your house is a target whether you like it or not. I don't recommend poison in the house because they'll eat it, crawl into a wall, and die; leaving you with a few weeks of stink.

6/24/2007 11:19:15 PM

^Yea we have been trying to clean things up as much as possible, but with a 4 year old, they have a habit of being messy with their food and leaving it places at times. We have bagged up everything that isn't sealed automatically to ensure that ants can't get in it and its more difficult for mice to find. Since we did that the ant population has plummeted, but we still see them on occasion. And I saw that damn mouse again this morning walking to the bathroom. If the humane trap don't get a bite by Wednesday, I have about 4 real traps that are going to be waiting for him/them.

6/25/2007 7:12:10 AM

Quote :

"I just spray around my house's foundation (inside and out) with Ortho Home Defense every six months or so. Haven't seen any ants in the house yet. You can get a big jug with built in sprayer from Lowes for $15"

i use that. i also have a 1 year old child, who plays outside. just spray it really close to the house/foundation. works great, haven't seen any bugs yet.

i tried the sticky traps, but never again. too cruel. i'd rather use the snap traps.

have you been under your house and checked to see if there are gaping holes anywhere?

i did that with my last house and found that there were spaces near the incoming pipes that were large enough to let things in. I took a day and went around the whole house with that expanding foam stuff and took care of almost anything. it was a terrible job, but i didn't see any more mice. it's also a good time to spray termite and bug juice under the house to keep everything away.

[Edited on June 25, 2007 at 11:55 AM. Reason : eh ]

6/25/2007 11:54:56 AM

Yea the place is solidly built, but it has holes in spots on the foundation, b/c its was built 50+ years ago.

6/25/2007 1:17:53 PM