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find the hole(s) the mouse is using to gain entry into your apartment and stuff it with steel wool.

you can trap it in a Havaheart trap (get it? Have-a-heart?). we used to use them when we lived in the country. it's a non-lethal trap. after you capture the mouse, you'd have to release it into the wild. since you're in an apartment building in the city you're probably better off just sealing off its point of entry.

good luck!

Bear traps...

i can't endorse the cat idea. i have a cat. he is not a mouser at all. when i had a mouse for a couple of days, my cat did nothing. i was lucky enough to find the point of entry quickly and stuffed it with steel wool. no more visits after that!

I have used Havahart traps in the past with sunflower seeds. You can then transport them somewhere more mouse-friendly!

A traditional mousetrap kills a mouse instantly and humanely. A "humane" trap turns your mouse problem into someone else's mouse problem as soon as you let it go. When you consider that mice carry Hantavirus and Lyme disease, releasing one to infect your neighbors doesn't sound too humane.

I have heard that mice do not like peppermint oil. I have tried this, and it seemed to be helpful. Has anyone else tried it?

I agree with saintpetepaul. The traditional mousetrap is very instant and humane. I feel very bad trapping them but it is that or have them live in the kitchen where I work, which isn't very safe either. Bait the trap with peanut butter. It is also not legal to relocate a wild animal in some states. Check out this site and good luck.
http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.net/relocation.php

Ahhh, I had a very similar problem last year. I didn't think the mouse was such a problem, and lived with it for several months, before it brought along its friends and got a little too friendly with me. I then tried just about everything to make sure it never came back...and it didn't. I set up sticky traps (not humane) but none of them touched them, got ultrasonic beepers (they don't like the high pitched noise), and sprinkled Shake-Away for rodents around the perimeter (pellets made of bobcat urine, yelch). If you're looking for something humane I would try the later 2 options, worked for me!

i actually made this trap: http://www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk/products.htm
this past winter when we had a bit of a mouse problem. it worked fantastically. i recommend it to anyone looking for a humane DIY

You can even find a video for this particular one: http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/28/howto-build-a-humane.html

Cheap, humane, easy!

I've never had a wild mouse problem, but when I was a kid I had a pet Egyptian spiny mouse that got loose. I tried one of those "humane" traps with all sorts of treats inside, and the mouse completely ignored it for almost a week. I finally had to catch it when it tried to run out of my room with a little basket. So my anecdotal evidence says that those humane traps aren't particularly effective...

The ultrasonic beepers don't work.

Unfortunately, you do have to kill them. Cats are the best solution -- even if they don't mouse very well, the smell of a predator keeps the mice at bay.

A tall trashcan with a spoonful of peanut butter inside does the trick. Make a balance beam for your mouse out of a yardstick. Set the trap before you go to bed, and you will have a mouse in the morning. It works every time. They can jump really high, so be sure to use a tall container.

I always release pests into non-residential areas, or just outside if they are bugs. If you are worried that the mouse is carrying a disease, don't splatter its guts all over your house.

House cats won't do you much good. A barn cat, yes, but not a pet.

I've tried the peppermint oil as well. It's suggested to put 1-2 drop of essential peppermint oil on a cotton ball laying around the house because supposedly rodents are allergic to peppermint. It worked somewhat, but in the end I think what made them leave was the coming of spring.

Politely tell the mouse to fuck off..

That mouse and others in your building may never have ever been outside---if you put it into the wild it will probably become big bird food real fast. It's so cute looking in the photo, if that is your mouse.

After our dear ginger cat died a few years ago, our place became the mouse party house until we found electronic pest repellent devices. I can't remember the name, but bought them at home depot--they just plug into the outlet in the kitchen, emit a high-pitched noise humans and dogs/cats can't hear and voila--mice run screaming from your house to check out parties elsewhere. Or so it seems, anyway, since we have not spied a mouse since. On-line reviews are mixed--some believe it works, some don't, but in our experience, it seems to have done the trick.

jrochest, "unfortunately, you do have to kill them"? Please, tell me, why is this? There are many many ways (the above mentioned) to get rid of a mouse; there is no "have" to kill them about it. That's a terrible thing to say.

Mice cubes are great. They are cheap and reliable. We set ours free in a large nature park. While they probably get eaten by birds, at least they're being useful. My husband had some bad experiences with traditional mouse traps (just the tip of the nose getting caught in the trap), glue traps are just horrific, and poison can get into the ecosystem if the mouse gets eaten, so this is the best option for us.

http://www.amazon.com/Mice-Cube-Pk-Reusable-Humane/dp/B000WB13QC

Thanks for all the suggestions! I can't get a cat; the lease says 'no (official) pets.' But I will definitely start with the peppermint oil, steel wool, and explore the humane trap options first.

justjenny: I've tried using the f-bomb, but to no avail.

No sticky traps, for the love of Pete. They are horrid and cruel. If you can find a snap trap inside a little black house, that's the best.

1. Put on some soothing classical music
2. light a few scented votives
3.with outstretched hands kneel down and gently howl, "oooooweeeeemousieeee"
4. mouse should levitate into your outstretched hands in a deep and peaceful slumber.
5.Tenderly place mouse on your front stoop making certain NOT to slam door
6. If this doesn't work get a mouse trap

I second the steel wool. I've been 100% mouse free since the day I stuffed all the cracks.

There is a high probability that a mouse you trap and set free will starve or fall victim to predators - remember you are taking it away from its nest, food source and family. I have used snap traps and luckily they have all been instant kills. I have heard that occasionally the mouse is just injured - if that happened I hope I would have the guts to finish it off.
Once mouse-free, go crazy with the steel wool and make sure no food supply is available. Encourage your neighbours to do the same.

You live in a 20-unit old apartment building? You're not going to get rid of the mouse problem. And I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this- I don't want you to freak out -but it's never just one mouse. They breed every 3 weeks. There's probably a family living behind the stove in several apartments above and below you. There are probably 100s in the building, living in the walls.

The first thing you need to do is notify your landlord or the building management. Stress that you don't want poison or chemicals to be used, which isn't safe for children or pets.

Next, call an exterminator, have him or her find the points of entry and stuff them with steel wool. Check behind your stove (mice like the warmth) and under your range for the droppings, which look like caraway seeds. Clean inside and around the stove, behind fridge and especially under the range- mice use their droppings and pee to mark trails to which they'll return. Cleaning up all traces of mouse droppings and pee can go a long way in deterring their return.

Make sure all of your food is stored in sealed glass jars or in the fridge/freezer.

I had a mouse problem in my old Philadelphia apartment, and although I couldn't get them out of the other 6 units in the building, after I took these measures, their visits became much less frequent. Then I got a cat, who caught 2 or 3 and they stayed away for good.

Best of luck!

PS Raven, my cat came from the urban ghetto of NW Philadelphia and she's an excellent mouser. She's never been outside in her life. Does that make her a barncat? Cats learn mousing skills from their mommies at 8-10 weeks. If you get your kitten at 8 weeks, it probably won't know how to mouse. Mine was 10 weeks and she's excellent. Though she doesn't get the chance any more now that she's scared them all away.

I had a pet hamster so I couldn't deal with the trap ordeal (guilt, lol). So, threw a little food on the floor to distract the mouse (after awhile I started to prepare for the visit that was every night at the time). I just got a big plastic tupperware type bowl and plopped it over him/her one night, slid a record (LP... but cardboard would do) underneath to make a little temporary cage, and took the mouse outside and let it go. that was that.

ultrasound things were the only thing that worked for us. That and steel wool. But it's really hard to find all the entry points into your house. No cats as we're allergic and traditional traps, well, they managed to figure out how to get the food out without snapping them or they just ignored them. Agree with others that its' never 'one mouse'; it's always a family or more. Also agree that it's going to be hard in a 20 unit building. Also agree that a 'humane' trap is a contradiction in terms. You can put it outside and it'll come back or, more likely, it'll die, either from another trap or just because it doesn't know how to handle itself outside. So you've basically just outsourced the death. That still makes you an accessory.

mice are clever enough to find safety once outdoors. that's kind of how they survived for the last millennia. i'd feel much better ethically/spiritually taking a mouse into the woods after capture than to just kill it.

Get a bucket and a thin piece of wood to make a ramp to it.
Line the ramp and a pathway to it with bits of crackers and peanut butter
They'll eat their way up it and fall into the bucket (unhurt) for you to transport outside.

this also works to catch escaped pet rodents

I've lived in houses in the city, suburbs, country and apartments and never had a mouse problem until one apartment.

In apartments they often come in through the pipes under the sink, near the dishwasher or washer etc. Therefore, to keep them from coming back, pack any and all holes around pipes TIGHTLY with steel wool. They won't be able to push it out or eat through it. You can always hold it in place with duct tape too. Check it periodically to make sure they haven't disturbed it.

I also used steel wool in the cracks. It is effective for about as long as it takes for the mice to chew new holes in your walls!

Be sure to cover the holes in your under-sink cabinets where the pipes go through. We covered them with duct tape with steel wool stuck to the underside and it has kept our cabinets relatively free for the last year (as mentioned, the mice have chewed new holes since then).

We have two cats and while they like chasing mice, they don't really enjoy killing them.

Peppermint oil does seem to deter them, but they usually just go around it one way or another. They can climb walls!

Long story short, we are getting out of this infested apartment complex!

As a major, major soft touch and bleeding heart, I used live traps and transported the mice to a popular hunting spot far from residences.

Problem was, I'd release the mice and at least some of them would run under the tires of the car as I drove away. Kind of defeated the purpose, as well as being environmentally unsound.

Also, if more than one mouse was in the trap at a time, they would eat each other.

Now I use snap traps.

House mice are completely dependent on human housing and human food supplies. They have followed our spread across the planet and they share our success as a species. Releasing them in the woods takes them out of their natural habitat and forces them to compete in an environment where they're unsuited to survive. Released house mice either die from predation or starvation or they make a bee-line for the closest human settlement.

Catching and releasing them may make you feel better, but all you're doing is making their demise happen off stage and out of sight. Either that or you're spreading your mouse problem to someone else.

Best bet? Don't offer them safe harbor in the first place. A fruit bowl left on the kitchen table is the mouse equivalent of winning the lottery. Snack crumbs between sofa cushions provide them with a middle class existence. A bowl of peanuts is a gift from heaven.

As I understand it though, mice will leave when rats move in. So there's always that...

at my family's house we have a few kindness traps set up in our basement. when we catch a mouse, we let it go in the woods behind our town park. we've caught and released maybe 5 mice in a 2 year span and have not seen a mouse (outside the traps) since we've been using them.

I can't believe people are suggesting a cat as a "humane" idea. effective? probably. but how is having the mouse murdered by another animal a humane way of getting rid of it? please do not resort to this.

If the mouse is not paying rent, then just use a spring trap.

If however, the mouse has given a damage deposit and 1st and last month's rent, then you really have a problem.

Then I guess you will have to leave!

I love the mouse cubes. Luckily I live near the woods so when I get one in the mouse cube I take him waaay into the woods ~ don't want him finding his way back!

I've got 4 cubes in the kitchen. Was catching a mouse a day (once got a set in one cube) for about a week. Kept the cubes baited but haven't seen a sign of a mouse for about a month now.

You can try catnip oil to repel them and steel wool to block points of entry (if you can find them). But if those options don't do the trick, you may just have to resort to an old-school snap trap. BTW, don't waste your money on those sonic wave deterrent devices. I dropped $50 on one of those and the mice mocked me for it.

steel wool is at kmart and home depot

I agree get the snap trap that is covered you wont see the dead body but you will see the tail sticking out and the lever will be brought up. :( its fast its quick and way better than those sticky traps.

yuck , mice carry deadly disaeses, I don't feel pitty for them.
I agree, get a cat, it'll know what to do.

I have had great luck with the live traps. Be sure you use peanut butter as the bait - its aromatic and it sticks to the trap, so makes the mouse stick in there and struggle for a bit to trigger the trap. Also, mice will easily find their way back within a mile of your apartment, so find a nice park to set them loose a couple of miles from your apartment if you can. Ace Hardware on Market sells the live traps here in SF.

I'm a little surprised no one suggested this - cat poop. If you don't have a cat, I'm sure someone else will donate their litter box remains. I read this suggestion a while ago when reading about "roof rats". People would leave cat poop in the walls where the roof rats crawled up to access the roof. Okay, worth a try. I left my cat's poop in a bag in a garage and never saw a mouse again.

housemice are like warmblooded roaches. just get a snap trap and kill it, and don't feel guilty.

Peppermint oil does work, and high-pitched noise makers make them nuts and drive them away.

I built my own humane trap with a shoe box. It worked. You need to take them at least .5 miles away or they'll find their way back.

BTW: the mouse in the pics is an old world woodmouse, not an housemouse and not an animal that any of you Americans will find easyly in your apartment and one we Europeans won't meet that often inside a building.
Also: as a pearson that studied mice for some time, releasing an housemouse in a wood is just as cruel as killing it with a snaptrap if not more so.

LOL You guys crack me up. Haha. I love this site. Oh and hey Nivio - are your ancestors responsible for building Fort Knox? LOL You came up with almost every feasible idea to get rid of those grey furry visitors you had... LOL. Man I should invite the bunch of you over to get rid of the ones in my summer cottage.

PLH - what do u sugggest we do then with the housemice? Fry them for breakfast? =P

There are many good suggestions on this thread already and some not so helpful. Despite the live capture traps, check daily, and sealing up any access points I suggest you keep some sort of basket with a bag or cloth inside of it near by. You will most likely be able to catch it yourself.

I agree w/Elvira and friends. They say Peppermint oil works wonders!

I had a mouse problem for a few months. My apartment was full of holes and management only closed up the two largest. My dad bought me a foaming solution that hardens when dried and that was effective for a while. Mice were still getting in and management came in again and put down one sticky trap (or so I thought). I ended up taking in an alley cat and apparently the mice went next door and they're terrorizing my neighbors and their little dog.

I recently found a second sticky trap. Well, actually, my cat found it and I spent over an hour trying to cut him loose. :(

Question: Why do people care about being humane to these things?? They are foul, nasty creatures.
It's the circle of life, people.

Anything but glue traps, please!

I found a mouse someone had trapped in one of these left on the sidewalk. The poor thing had been left to die slowly, and was trembling every time someone walked by. I know mice can be annoying, but that is where I draw the line! Better a traditional trap that kills instantly than a slow death by glue trap. ):

Cats are not humane killers! And why would you want your pet to play with a mouse that you assume to have diseases!

we have mice too now. last winter we had one but it went away on its own i think from lack of food but now there is more than one and one of them is always in my bedroom at night which is scary even though there is literally not a crumb for it to feed on. ours arent even scared of us. my friend was sitting on the couch and the mouse just jumped on his knees. it was very unpleasant. we tried to find the holes but havent managed. our building is incredibly old and they must be living in our walls. our landlords are most likely slumlords and wouldnt even care to get exterminators. they are impossible to get a hold of anyways.
were trying those ultrasound traps for now. i just want to catch the two we know we have before there is 15...

Cammy: I don't think there is an ideal solution, probably snaptraps are still the best one, at least they are quick. At my parents', we had a mouse problem years ago and we had to use glue because, for some distorted reason, snaptraps are illegal in my country and glue is not. The whole thing was atrocious. BTW: mice are not nasty, they are quite intelligent and clever for their size and live span.

I forgot: you can also fry them for breakfast (if are able to get them) but I won't recommend it, I'm told their meat is too sweet and not really tasty (zoologists will try anything...)

Hahaha PLH - you made me laugh. All you guys here are great. =)

that mouse picture is kind of cute. poor little guy....