Street Smarts Extend to Bushwick Mice
When we moved in here, there were no mice or bugs of any kind, which was strange because it’s a very old house and the previous inhabitants were… not so clean. We saw plenty of evidence of previous infestations — closets full of mouse turds, dead German cockroaches all over the place, gnawed wood — but no live specimens. This lasted for months until a nearby lot was being cleared of the debris of a house that had burned down. Apparently the mice that lived in that mess took off for greener pastures — our yard and house. They terrorized us for two weeks, crapping on the kitchen counters and in the silverware drawers, darting between our legs, and then abruptly disappeared. There was an occasional mouse here and there for the next few months, and now they’re starting to nest downstairs, to the chagrin of one of my housemates.
We tried humane traps. The mice laugh. We tried snap traps. The mice roll their eyes. I finally allowed the above housemate to bring home glue traps, which he laid out like a force field across the path where the mice enter. They just don’t cross the line. We hypothesized that the mice know the smell of the glue. Whatever the reason, nobody in this entire house has ever caught a mouse in any kind of trap. And our dog, bred to hunt mice in German castles, is useless. I have been hearing similar stories from other people in the hood, and it seems that Bushwick mice have street smarts: they know what will kill them and they avoid it.
For now, I’m stuffing holes with steel wool and being maniacal about keeping the trash sealed up. I’m even scattering cotton balls with peppermint oil on them along their living room-kitchen run path. I haven’t seen any in a couple of weeks, so it could be working. When we dip into freezing temperatures, I think the battle will only become more difficult.
Anyone else have rodent horror or success stories to share?
October 16th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
The problem will continue until the nieghborhood cleans itself up. Lots of change going on for the better but people will need to live cleaner and some people will just need to leave all together. Lots of bad habits in Bushwick that have perpetuated the same problems and issues. Time for a new mindset and way of life. I have been told not to leave anything lying around for them to eat. They will know nothing is there and stop coming.Best of luck.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Haven’t seen any mice, but do dirty dishes in a sink count as leaving crumbs around?
Could you image a mouse walking over you while you are in bed sleeping. Yuck.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
My building has an exterminator and he said dirty dishes are very bad. he emphasized nothing at all out that can be eaten.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I think you guys need a cat. Or three.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
oh the cat lovers have spoken. Some people are allergic to cats, and don’t like the cat hairs all around, and can’t afford the short haired pure bred ones.
I wonder if it’s because bushwick has so much more garbage on the streets, that attracts the mice.
When will the day come when our streets are clean and food, including left over chinese food, chicken bones, etc. are not left around.
Hey, let’s all get dishwashers and put the dirty dishes right in there.
October 16th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
You did my cotton ball trick! I hope it works out in the long run. If not, try the fresh cab and if you must, seriously, the ultrasonic has worked for us. It’s a given…you must pick up every crumb, get rid of food garbage, seal holes and keep things in tupperware containers. Good luck!
October 16th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Electric traps… work the best and are the most humane.
http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Mouse-Trap-by-Victor/dp/B0009EQMNG
October 16th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
WE HAD ROACHES AND MICE IN ALL FOUR FLOORS OF OUR HOME WHEN WE MOVED IN. WE ADOPTED AN AMAZING SHORT HAIR KITTEN FOR FREE FROM THE BROOKLYN SHELTER. AND HAVEN’T SEEN A SINGLE MOUSE OR ANY SIGN OF THEIR PRESENCE SINCE THE DAY WE BROUGHT HER HOME 2 YEARS AGO. AND THE OCCASIONAL ROACH THAT MAKES A FOOLISH ATTEMPT IS TOYED WITH BRIEFLY AND QUICKLY DEVOURED BY OUR FRIENDLY AND EFFICIENT FELINE COMPANION.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I recommend getting a Jack Russell Terrier (even as a loan). They are bred to hunt rodents and they are good at it. My mom had a rat in her house. It was brazen, especially at night. She put the JRT on the case, giving him the scent via some rat droppings. Next time the critter surfaced, the JRT chased him down and cornered him atop a large indoor plant, then killed him in one swift move. At a minimum the presence of a good rat terrier may discourage the mice from digging in and making themselves comfortable.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Yeah we did the cotton ball thing, we’ll see if it works.
Zephyr: Like I said, we have a dog that was originally bred specifically to kill rats and mice. Doesn’t do a damn thing. Doesn’t even NOTICE them! Little shit gets by on just being cute.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I agree with the cat people. Adopt a cat with Bushwick street smarts from BARQ (I know it’s in Williamsburg) shelter! It worked for me, and it’s doubtful you are allergic if you own a dog. I disagree with Josh because you can adopt almost any kind of cat at a shelter for very little if you look hard enough, including short hairs. Plus aren’t cat hairs a good trade off for rat turds? To sum up: Get a cat!
October 17th, 2007 at 12:15 am
There’s nowhere in my house that I would want a disgusting thing like a litter box. Cats are just out of the question.
“it’s doubtful you are allergic if you own a dog”
Whah?
October 17th, 2007 at 2:10 am
I have a creature that only visits when no one is home, shits on the kitchen counter a single time, and then disappears for a week between gifts. I have yet to see him in the flesh.
October 17th, 2007 at 8:02 am
That creature, when it disappears for a week from your place, comes to my apartment. But the other day, it trapped itself falling into my kitchen trash bin, unable to get out. Dumb mouse!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I realized something about myself - which is I cannot kill a mammal. So I have been using live traps and nothing attracks mice more than a Big Mac! I cut one up and make sure I have some of the meat, secret sauce and a bit of pickle on it. That will get a mouse into any trap!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Ah, yes! The Battle of the Rodents!
I heard my upstairs neighbor scream one morning a couple of winters ago. When I saw her later she told me what happened. She was pouring a bowl of cereal, and a mouse poured out of the box into her bowl. Luckily there was no milk involved yet, and it ran off! I think she skipped breakfast that day…
We have a small backyard, near the McDonald’s on Grand St. (they’re actually pretty good neighbors) Our kitty cat loves the yard, and occasionally catches something. One nice summer evening, we left her out there with the back door open. We sat down in the living room to a little herbal enjoyment, and she came bursting through the door with a big old rat in her mouth. Naturally, Sweetie and I started to freak out, which made kitty run towards the bedroom. We were able to get her to drop her prize before she went and put it on my pillow as a gift. She really does love us!
Sweetie bought this stuff online, a powder made from Bobcat urine. She sprinkles it around the perimeter of the yard, and it really does seem to keep the rodents away. Between that and the cat, I only see them when they’re dead. And very rarely.
We don’t have an issue with roaches. Whew!
October 17th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Um - cat allergies and dog allergies are completely different. I certainly hope you’re not a doctor Jennifer - Sheesh! Also cat hair everywhere is just nasty - no one likes the crazy cat people.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:58 am
ESB, are we talking mouse-sized … or hobo-sized?
and Jeremy, should your icy heart melt on the subject of cats, you come to Sobu. i set you up nice.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I have heard that those rat zapper things do the trick. Give it a try?
On the subject of rodents, I happened to wander into my garage space yesterday and found a dead teenage rat just lying in the middle of the floor. I haven’t walked in the garage space for weeks and weeks. Might want to uhhh, be more vigilant and close off some holes since it’s getting cold now.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:26 am
LH: in my opinion: not a good strategy. Of course, using a BigMac as a bait, mice will come. I use live traps w/o a bait.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:57 am
On the rare occasion I’ve come across one, my cats are well on their way to, if they haven’t already succeeded in, “playing with them to death.”
Once I woke up to a dead baby rodent on the foot of my bed. My pussies “love” me apparently.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:29 am
If the mice are small (field mouse size) then boric acid powder works pretty well to kill them, also kills cockroaches very well. just keep the dog out of it.
October 17th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Please visit
http://www.amazon.com/Lentek-PT01-Pest-Contro-1000/dp/B00095NR6U
Although I live in a brand new condo, I had mice (2) spotted behind a gas grill. I do not want to depend on any chemical method of killing mice, then my frind who lives in Japan introcuced this to me.(she probably paid triple amount of what we pay in USA!!!.) IT WORKS, they did not come back - much later we found about 2-2.5 inchs of hole on the wall behind a gas grill. I found that this is the most economical and discreed way of getting rid of rodents. Good Luck
October 17th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Martha: for days I’ve been watching the mice run around, past, and over the traps. They just won’t go inside without strong smelling bait. That’s amazing you are catching them. Would love to know your trick…
October 17th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Sorry to hear you do not want a cat.
I had a tenant who caught dozens of mice in snap traps and no matter how many he caught and no matter how much poison we put in the walls, he still had mice. He finally got a cat and within weeks the mice were gone and were never seen again. Mice seem to sense that a cat is on the premises and stay away. The cat never actually killed a single mouse.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I once lived in a mouse-ridden basement apartment in Queens. Bobcat urine seemed to work. Maybe not wonders, but it worked.
I forgot where I found it, but this funny site (”Best Pee Value“) sells this among other “predator pee.”
October 17th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Lisa: Lots of people here have good suggestions and remedies. There’s really no trick, it was just coincidence..
October 17th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
We have the same problem in my apartment Jeremy, and it seems to have happened right as the building a few doors down got torn down.
Luckily, we have buddy the Wundercat!
October 17th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Jeremy the kitty litter boxes are ugly no matter where you put them. Have seen them right in a typical NYC bathroom which is tight, and it’s bigger than the bowl. Too bad they can’t be hidden under a bed in a guest bedroom.
Too bad some have to live some closely with these creatures.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:01 am
When i bought my building on melrose street 3 yrs ago it was vacant and totally renovated .Ater 3 months freakin rats moved in ,even though i hired an exterminator nothing helped . One by one my tenants started getting cats and before you know it no more rats ,thank god
October 18th, 2007 at 12:46 am
It’s true. My cats have only caught baby mice. Never an adult, which I believe learn to sense/smell predators and avoid apartments with cats.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Pick up a stray from the street if needed, those things are fierce.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Some of those strays have had rough lives on the streets, and one friend I know had a cat she thought was strung out on drugs it was so crazy, since it’s wasn’t properly socialized and bred.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
you know, they make some decent furniture for the express purpose of disguising/containing a litterbox:
http://tinyurl.com/34t2du
http://tinyurl.com/ytpw2o
say the word and i can show you something in a lovely spayed calico.
October 18th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Woof. Decent in the eye of the beholder. I like cats enough, I just literally have no extra space in my apartment for a box full of cat piss and shit. If I had a big ass house with a mud room or something, that would work. But I don’t.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Jeremy said you gained a ton of more space in this apt. than your manhattan apt. so what’s in it that’s not making room for an attractive kitty box? You like this nice and pretty and neat, so not doubt there isn’t a lot of clutter there.
Looks like any piece of furniture could be made into a kitty litter box.
Make sure the box matches the cat.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Yeah, my apartment here is a good 400sqft bigger than the one in Manhattan, but it’s mostly that the rooms are bigger. Just because a room is bigger doesn’t mean a litter box will look any better in the corner of it.
October 19th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I get it that you’re not into the litter box routine but I recently visited a friend who had a ingenious solution. They put a cat door in the side of the vanity cabinet in the bathroom and the litter box was inside the cabinet. Thus the box was out of sight and easily accessible. Just a thought. Good luck getting rid of the mice.
October 21st, 2007 at 6:29 pm
net gain of 400sf aint so bad that the size of a studio apt.
many folks that i know of moved from a studio to a home here, which was a big change. but others who had a 1 bedroom in the city say 700 sf didn’t gain that much by buying a small house in bushwick.