# Rabbits and Mice :(



## Thumperina (Oct 3, 2013)

Yesterday it seemed to me that I saw a mouse in the house. I wasn't sure as I saw it with my side vision and it was gone as a flash. Thought it could be gray bird feather that wind through the window blew (I have cage with cockatiels in that area)
Today... one of my rabbits couldn't be found anywhere and I started my search. Found her in the far corner in garage (rabbits have access to garage, they spend their nights there, while spending days outside). I lifted up a blanket that was concealing where Foo-Foo was, and then I saw a mouse (I don't think it was a rat but who knows). This time I saw it clearly. Without questions, we will want to get rid of the mouse (I hope there is just one).
Can they be harmful to the rabbits? If yes, do they attack/ bite rabbits? Spread diseases? Can they only spread diseases when they bite or just by being there? Any ideas on what kind of trap would work best? 
I do have some glue traps but I am afraid rabbit can be caught in it too. Is it necessary NOT to house rabbits in garage until we catch the mouse? Or is it OK of they spend night there? It supposed to get MUCH colder within couple of days. 
Can mice be harmful to my birds (they are in the house)?


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## Tauntz (Oct 3, 2013)

Yes, mice can be hazardous to both your birds & rabbits. You might want to get the traps that catch the mouse alive for you to take off. They have them at Walmarts & other stores one brand is called a "Mice Cube." Any product to rid you of mice could possibly be hazardous to your birds or rabbits so I would make sure they are safe in an enclosure or cage away from the mouse traps or whatever you decide to use to get rid of the mouse/mice. I've used the Mice Cubes before & they do work, just make sure you check them frequently if you use them.


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Oct 3, 2013)

Pleases don't use the glue traps they are very inhumane. You can get humane traps then just let the mouse go outside. In my opinion it's completely pointless to kill them because they are everywhere outside. I don't kill anything but other people may have a different opinion though.


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## Tauntz (Oct 3, 2013)

The Mice Cubes are a plastic box that allows the mouse to go into it but it can't get out. It doesn't hurt the mouse but as I stated you want to check it frequently. Once a mouse is caught you can take the mouse off to a far away area to free it. It is sort of like those "Have a Heart" no-kill traps just mouse size & plastic rather than wire. I personally don't like the bait/traps that kill either because it can harm the bird or animal or child you are trying to protect from the mice.


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## Thumperina (Oct 3, 2013)

thanks you all. I really think that we got this problem after we got birds not a long ago. We use natural corn cob litter and I had a trash bag with used litter in garage and somebody made a hole in it day after day (I thought it was a rabbit) until we threw it to the trash container. Now I think it wasnot a rabbit. 
Also, it is still hot out here, so I close front garage door not all the way to the cement - I was leaving a 0.5 inch gap for ventilation. Not big enough for a cat to get in (that was my concern) but was enough for the mouse


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## Thumperina (Oct 4, 2013)

Walmart didn't have any no-kill traps so I went to Menards and discovered all sorts of different traps there. I got MouseInn SleepAway which is basically a box with tablet of valeriana root in it. Door can be only pushed one way - in. They claim mouse gets sedated by valeriana. 
Another one I got was a simple plastic trap where you put peanut better, I set it up in garage and found it triggered next morning but nobody was in. Apparently one of my rabbits was curious about it. 
Anyway, nobody got caught last night((
From watching youtube I found out about bucket trap. I know you think it's inhumane but it seems to be effective. I am not saying I will use it but I will keep it in mind if nothing helps. Apparently it can only be used when no rabbits are around. 
I also saw a Pest Offense Electronic pest repeller, which they claim repells mice but has no effect on birds and rabbits (I have both). A bit more expensive ($20) but may be worth it.


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## Tauntz (Oct 4, 2013)

It does take time with most if not all mice traps. Mice are very smart & cautious since they are prey animals too. I went online to Amazon.com & found the Mice Cubes & other mice traps (unfortunately all were not humane): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...eld-keywords=mice+cube&sprefix=mice+c,aps,205

Not a bad price & with 2 day shipping if you are a prime member. The Mouse Inn & Mice Cube seem to be almost the same except the Cube doesn't provide any Valerian root sedative for the mouse once he is caught. Anyway I hope you can soon be rid of your mouse/mice. I feel sorry for mice but when it comes between the life of a mouse or the life of ones beloved "pets' there is no choice the mouse/mice must go! Good luck with catching the mouse!


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## missyscove (Oct 4, 2013)

I'm definitely not a fan of glue traps and would either use something that would result in instant death (like a snap trap, but not where your rabbit would have access) or something that would trap them alive for re-release. 

You'll also need to figure out where they're getting in and block that off. I would also seal up any food that would be attracting them.


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## Thumperina (Oct 4, 2013)

Ok, I just cought one and drove far away to release. 
One of the traps (TOMCAT live trap) triggered with peanut butter inside. I already found it triggered in the morning and it was empty. This time I didn't want to take it far away to just check (you can't see through). So I opened it in the tall trash can. The mouse WAS there! It jumped pretty high trying to escape. It was disgusting. 
Then I drove my car to a wildlife park. Was breathing the air with his feces while driving and being at risk that bucket would fall. Now, tell me why is it worth the risk of contracting one of their viruses that can be even fatal to humans??? I have my child's stuff in the car, too. 
Anyway..... you like it or not but I am going to set up a bucket trap - perfect idea I saw at youtube. You can do it either with or without water. 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9zLtgmtpTY[/ame]


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## Nancy McClelland (Oct 4, 2013)

When I've used traps with other animals around, I've put them inside a milk crate with 20 pounds of weight on top--too heavy for the rabbits to tip and the holes are small enough for a mouse or rat but not for a rabbit. We had rats, so, they got killed as they were into everything including chewing on the hoses and wiring in the cars which cost quite a bit to fix.


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## Thumperina (Oct 4, 2013)

Lol after releasing the mouse, I just dropped trap outside the house, thinking I would look at it later, as I had more urgent things to do. When I looked at it later, it was shut with somebody sitting in!!! Another mouse got in! 
My bucket trap doesnot catch anybody. I am using my hubby's "junk" peanut butter, while I used daughter's all natural (if not organic) butter when it worked successfully. Something to think about


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## Thumperina (Oct 5, 2013)

Number of mice relocated within 2 days: 4. 
2 yesterday, 2 today. The second one today looked like a little baby (it got himself into my trash bucket in garage and couldn't get out), now I am concerned we have a nest. How large is normally their litter? 10-12, I read...
Strange thought came to me today: nobody gets caught during the night, but usually I see activity after 9am (my rabbits move to the yard by this time) and trap triggers during late morning-noon hours. The door to garage stays open, so I thought maybe I am attracting mice that dont even live in my garage to the peanut butter in the trap?


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## Sophie's Humble Servant (Oct 6, 2013)

Your garage door stays open? Yes I would say you are offering a buffet to the mice if that is the case. Plus your garage is shelter for them. I would say that as long as there is a way for the mice to get in, especially an open door, you will constantly have problems with mice.


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## missyscove (Oct 6, 2013)

Is this a door from the garage to the house or from the garage to outside?
If you're leaving a door to the outside open, no wonder the mice are attracted to your smorgasboard!


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## Thumperina (Oct 6, 2013)

missyscove said:


> Is this a door from the garage to the house or from the garage to outside?
> If you're leaving a door to the outside open, no wonder the mice are attracted to your smorgasboard!


Neither one.
Garage has front door that slides up and down with automatic opener (standard garage door) - this stays closed. Another door is from the house to garage - only used when we need to go through it. The one that stays open during the day is the door that leads from garage to the backyard, and we have been keeping this one open during day hours for a very long time. Never had spotted any mice before. I do keep hay in garage and rabbits have bowl of pellets when they are inside garage (normally for a night or bad weather). I don't keep any bags of rabbit food there. 
I would say that problems began when my husband brought cockatiels home and people who gave them, also gave some corn cob litter. I thought why cant I use it for the rabbit litter too (normally I use wood pellets + newspaper)? Plus, some used corn litter was put in the bag of trash that stands in garage til it fills all the way up. this is when I found holes in this bags for several days in a row thinking that rabbits made holes. 
Today, we cleaning out area of garage where mice were spotted. haven't seen anybody so far. 
What household cleaner would you use? All cleaners say not for porous surface. I need to clean cement floor and the wall. Wall looks porous, not sure about cement. 
I was surprised not to see anything about killing germs or disinfecting on the bottle of bleach. Or, do I have special, laundry bleach? I was thinking to use it. 

For those who are concerned about conditions for the rabbits: they do come into the house too, but they like to be outdoors and they love their garage. No cars are stored in garage. Rabbits have rugs and lots of boxes to lie in and on.


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## Tauntz (Oct 6, 2013)

You can use white distilled vinegar with water for safe cleaning. Clorox bleach if you want/need to use it, be sure it is REGULAR Clorox for disinfecting. No Splash Clorox does not have the same disinfecting qualities of the REGULAR Clorox. A friend who called the Clorox company was told this when she was looking to disinfect some bird feeders/baths/houses. Think the No Splash Clorox is mostly for laundry brightening than for disinfecting anything.


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## Thumperina (Oct 6, 2013)

thanks. Clorox is the brand, and it is not the only brand that makes bleach. The one I have is Nice! Regular Bleach (cleans and deodorizes). It says it can be used to deodorize toilets, so it's not for laundry only. BUT, it doesn't say a word about disinfecting anything... Very, very interesting. 
I though BLEACH should be BLEACH, whatever you call it.


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## Tauntz (Oct 6, 2013)

Yes, it used to be. Now days it truly pays to read the entire label to know what you are really getting. There are so many different products even within the same name brand. It can be confusing & easy to accidentally pick up the wrong thing when you are shopping.


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## Thumperina (Oct 7, 2013)

Got a difficult dilemma tonight. We have a large box where some miscellaneous stuff is kept, and I guess we were too lazy to look through it during our garage cleaning. It was moved out with everything in it, to let me wash the floor, then it was just moved back in. In the evening I heard a noise coming out of that box. Probably another baby mouse got stuck in it. What was I to do? I did't want to just leave it as it was. Use peanut butter trap overnight? I thought we decided not to attract anybody else (even though all garage doors are kept closed overnight, I am sure there is a lot of tiny gaps outdoor mice can use to get in if they smell peanut butter). So I chose just to move the whole box outside, with everything in it. Don't know if it was a good or bad idea. Put it by the trash container. Couldn't put it further away from the house as there is still a lot of good stuff that I don't want to get stolen.
The problem is that I will be busy in the morning and during the day, and won't be able to look through the box til probably evening.


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## Thumperina (Oct 7, 2013)

I like idea with white vinegar for cleaning. A lot of cleaning is still ahead. What about baking soda? Can it be used productively?


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## Lokin4AReason (Oct 11, 2013)

i used vinegar on just about anything that needs cleaning ....

kills and eats away on about anything .....


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