Pet rats& Pest House Mice in apartment

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JuhSuhCah

New Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2021
Messages
2
Location
Halifax, NS, Canada
I need help. So. I live in a place that has a lot of mice. And, yes. I have a lot of clutter but make sure food stays away. But the neighbours on either side are very messy and disgusting. My landlord has informed me of this because we have a good bond and she has put them on notice and was checking their apartment every 2 weeks but. I dont think she has checked in a while because the mice are back and bad. If their apartments are a source of food and water, I am bound to have a problem. My landlord doesnt know about my rats and insists i put down mouse traps, which I take away when she isn't in my place to fix something because they're snap traps and glue traps. I hate the glue traps. My landlord tries to play off the mouse problem like she doesn't know we had them. I was in unit #16, I complained and told me this was the first she heard of it. Until I met the neighbours in #17 and she told me SHE had mice. The landlord tried to play it off again like 16 only had them and then I told her that I knew 17 said she had them, all of a sudden, the landlord waa now saying unit 16 and 17 had them, not just 16 anymore because I now knew about another. 17 got evicted for different reasons and my short lease was up and 17 was bigger and available so I moved across the hall. Then, when I still complained, she literally said " they must just love You! You're the only unit that has them".... yeah....okkkay. I came back to her and she asked how the mice issues were. I told her they were bad still. But that I talked to several MORE neighbours and they also had mice so it wasn't just me like she suggested. She said that she didn't know because no one else has told her..
Which is a lie. But a anyways. So. I cannot control the pest problem because I dont own the building And it's an apartment building. I cannot make other people be diligent. But despite that, we kinda have an okay bond.
So.
My rats see the mice.ive two females and one is slinky, cautious and brave. The other is big, fat but lots of muscles and skittish. Both around one year, with the chunky skittish one being a few months younger. Now. My skittish one...when she sees or hears a rat and it's night time, she sits near the cage edge and stays still. If I Am by, she freaks out to me as if like " do YOU see that? How do i communicate to mom that there's these things running around? What are these? I smell them.everywhere!!!". The little one smells them but with her ruby eyes, her eye sight isnt that good. Or her hearing. But my girls smell them. And the mice are everywhere. In every room, except one room is kinda left alone.. I've been trying to find and locate any holes to block them
Ive tried peppermint oil, onions, Windex because of the ammonia so the stronger the smell of ammonia the bigger the perceived predator to be. I've even taken old paper towel my girls has peed and pooped on a BUNCH to try to get the mice to stop but there's so many entry points, it being an old building. I even tried mouth wash so that it will get on their feet and burn or the smell will deter them. It's hard to keep up with all the entry points and it doesn't seem to be working. This means, my girls can't free roam like I am.used to letting pets do. It also means I have to let them.play on just my double size bed. I bought a play pen but...i am a single mom and the one I bought for 17$ well...my big chunky one jumps over the edge and the wall easily falls down. She wint stay in it hahah. Now. I do have a third bedroom that isnt alongside the exterior wall like my livinf room, kids bedroom and my bedroom is. These three rooms connect and walls are paper thin between apartments and the neighbours units set up this way too so the baseboards run through every ones living room, second and first bedroom. Anyways. This little room, one baseboard. Which I have blocked off and I will give the floor a quick clean to sometimes let my girls play freely but im so scared I missed so mouse droppings or pee and they will catch something. But the one.issue I wrote on here today about?? When their cage is close to a place where I recently picked up clothes that been on the floor too long, or by my dresser OR OFTEN IF I see my rats doing the behaviour I will describe, then get off my bed to see what's going on, ill.startle a mouse not *near* their cage but close...but okay. So. When they smell mice waste( not so bad if its waste) or a live mouse, the big one dominates the littler one. Well she is the boss, thats been established. But I mean, makes her squeak from agressive grooming and nipping. They'll be in the hide togeher and ill her the littler one squeak over and over. Until I loud yell the big girls name, tap the cage if it is close enough or get up to look, the big one does this continually . Now. It also happens when they are completely away from mice when I put their cage in the craft room but it isnt as often, just here or there. I wish I could keep them there because I keep them on my craft table BUT I have disabilities so I'm often in bed and that means the girls wouldn't be around me enough. These are my first females. I do have a second cage because for a while, I did think the new younger one was too...rough. But I've also seen the smaller one hold her ground and it got better with time but
I'm scared for my rats. They have stress barbering I'm pretty sure. And I'm just see the smaller one getting picked on, ran over, groomed, squeaking etc.. too much. Plus. The little one and i dont have a close bond. She wants nothing to do with me. It wasnt like that when it was just her and i (rescued her And her cage mate had to be put down after 2 weeks of having them so it was her And i for 3 weeks) And the first while after gettimg the second one, the smaller one and I had a good bond. But now? But she doesn't want to be held, pet etc... again. She's a slinker. Doesn't use her back legs too much. I'm scared she may have hind leg degeneration. But...i also see her use them. Because of her vision, I have a single level long cage lile a bunny cage... i do have a tall one but rats are actually burrowers and so the idea of a tall cage (that I can't find shelves for so i use hammocks) doesn't seem fun for her. She will stay on the bottom and there isn't much room. Where as the bulkier one prefers the tall cage and barely comes down from the highest point. I think she likes to stand on guard to see the mice and doesn't like to not be able to see her surroundings.

I'm doing a major clean and declutter this weekend. And will be looking at baseboards to see how I can block any holes even around pipes (suggestions?) I feel like such a bad pet rat owner but I honestly have never taken as good of care of another pet in my.life. It sucks there's mice here but I have to work with what I got, stay here and tackle the mouse issue. I cant move....

So do You think it's because ofnthe smell of mice that the bigger one picks on the little one more? Should I separate them? The little one doesn't seem happy and barely comes out other cage. What should I do about the Mice? I have 2 sonic thingoes. And i plugged one in the living room when the girls were opposite end of living room and shut my bedroom door and when I did have them in the craft room which is out by the living room, I took the living room one out and put another in the bathroom which isn't far behind the craft room down the hallway but the entrance to both point in the same direction and I heard those sonic repellant, the ultrasound travels more like light, then it does sound so if your light can't reach the rats where the sonic repellant is, then neither will the sound the rats and mice hear...is this true? I stopped using both repellant because I think my rats heard it and were stressed...how...how do I k ow if they are stressed? So many questions! I feel hopeless
 
Hello!
I had one mouse in my apartment once. Used a "tip trap" bought at home hardware store. Reusable, black plastic elbow shaped. Bait one end (not w/peanut butter!) set on floor/area on other side w/door open. Walk into trap to get "banana" other end goes up and door falls closed. Go to where you want to let it go, eg backyard garden area, open door and shake out mouse (not too hard)! Washing/disinfecting - maybe do abit of research on this one - and reuse. Very easy, SAFE & INJURY FREE for both of you! Portable (eg on vacation in cheap motel.....), quiet.
Try it!
C
 
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