Ugh, we JUST had this problem, too. My cake supplies are stored in plastic tubs in a cupboard in the garage. How they got in there, I'll never know because there were no holes and the door is hard for me to open. I went to grab some crafts I keep in the top of the cabinet for Christmas and notice its a little sticky up there. I climbed up to find chewed fabric, papers, and the tacky glue. I proceeded to pull everything out of the cabinet and they had chewed through the plastic tub the Sweetex comes in and had eaten it (and left their evidence, too!) It was so gross. They chewed through a bag of royal icing mix and a package of premade gumpaste. I sanitized or tossed anything that couldn't be and talked to DH about moving that cabinet inside somewhere.

It's just winter time...they come in from the canyon & hills behind our house for the warmth. Thankfully there's been no evidence of them inside. Hubby set out traps in the garage and caught three and there are more traps set but nothings been caught for a week or so.

Um... Artie? Hon? Why in the world were you confined to your bedroom all winter???

Well, everything is scrubbed and disenfected. The kitchen is shining. I had to throw out at least 10 rolls of ribbon and 2 doll toppers (wasn't sure if I could clean the hair well enough). Luckily, I didn't find any traces of them in my drawers - I don't think that they were there, but I would rather get it all cleaned and be safe. The pantry was gone through, fridge cleaned out, under the stove - you name it we did it. We found absolutely no trace of the suckers in our kitchen. I think some how this one decided to come up from the basement. We discovered they are eating birdseed that is down there - that must be sustaining them. We have traps set out, and bait set out. I told DH that if they are still eating the baid in a week, the exterminator is coming, because though he swears he knows what he is doing and can get rid of them, I am not taking any chances.
As to a pp about being appalled that I would be putting this on a public forum - I have nothing to hide. I have mice, I am taking care of the situation. If I was on the forum and saying - "eh, they'll go away" - that would be different. I was a little offended by your comment and do not want to come across as b****y (I hate when forums get nasty - so I am not wanting to start anything, please.), but wanted to say something, especially if someone new is on the forum. I came on here to get support and help - that's what this board is about. These forums aren't just for the good things that go on in our lives. I know I am not the only one to have this problem and it is good to read all the stories. We all need a little humor in our lives!! The thing with the church just cracked me up!!! Thank you for all your stories and support and suggestions.

Thank goodness no mice in this house. We purchased it 8 months ago and had fears of critters since it's an older house (1930s) and we are in a wooded area (let me tell you about the coyote pooping in my backyard that I practically ran into the other day!). We now watch about 6 different cats wander through our yard over the course of a day, and I was lucky enough to find two snakes while raking grass this summer (long story, hubby let it grow too long). I think that's the reason we don't have a mouse problem. Thank goodness!

My sister has a problem in her house (she lives in an old log cabin). She had to put her dog's food in a container with a lid too. When my niece was a baby my sister went into the kitchen one night to warm up a bottle and didn't turn on the light. She heard a crunching, turned on the light, and there was a little mouse eating out of the dog's bowl! They catch them in traps, put them in tupperware containers, and freeze them. I guess that's how they like to kill them. I don't get it. I guess the trap doesn't kill them and they don't want to just bash them. Ew.

Ya know...now that I think about it, I should probably quit catching the neighborhood cats that think my kids garden is a gigantic litter and maybe put them out a small amount of food so they keep coming back. I haven't seen (notice I said seen) any mice in this house. THANK THE LORD!! It could be the local Meow Mafia that roams the 'hood! Im serious, we have about 50 different cats that I've seen in a 2 week period since my son (2yrs old) discovered that if he throws his snackies throw the little hole in the bottom of the window screen he can watch the Cat Circus!

I really dont like cats all that much, in fact I downright cant stand them but as long as they are keeping the critters away I wont evict them until the summer time!

First of all let me say we've all had mice, just because you may not see them, does not mean they are not there. My dad has sold real estate for 30+ years and I've seen mice in brand new homes. Anyway... I have a story for you...
About 14 years ago my husband and I lived about 1 mile from a chicken farm. ( I live out in the country, so there are lots of those around here!) I got up one morning and several of my pots and pans had were laying in the floor as if they were knocked out of the cabinet by something. I just assumed my husband had been looking for a particular pot and had gotten out these and forgotten to put them back. I picked them up washed them (because they had been in the floor) and put them back up. The next night I came home from my parents house and I saw this huge tail hanging out of the cabinet. I called my husband, who was on his way home from work screaming that there was something in our house, he was still an hour away, so I called my brother and he said "Oh, it is just a rat" I said "If this is a rat, I'm moving because this tail is huge !" So he agreed to come over and get it out. While waiting on him I went to the bathroom, when I came back, there was a full grown POSSUM in my kitchen !!!!!
Afterwards, I was told by a pest control guy that most spaces that rats can get in a possum can also get in with a little work.

from mice to possums! LOL Anyone have a story to top the possum?

I used to park my car behind a church when I went to work. My DH took the car in one day for an oil change. The technician called him over and proceeded to show my DH dry dog food all over my motor, around the rims, and even in the hood. He asked my husband if we had a dog which we do and her food is in the garage. It was our dog's food in my car. We knew it wasn't the dog that was storing her food. It turned out that a mouse somehow got into our garage and had taken the food to store in my car. We believe that it probably hitched a ride from the church where I park. Everytime we lifted the hood, the dog food would rattle all the way down. There were two small holes in the hood that the mouse went into to drop the food in. We had to rig a thin hose to our vacuum to get the dog food out. The technician had a good laugh though.

Two ways to help deal with mice

Do what indydebi said, go around the house inside and out caulking up any holes and cracks

Use baited traps placed inside and out, ours are little black boxes with poision inside which get checked anually by rentokill.

And I agree with a previous poster you don't neccessarliy know when you have mice and by the time you do it is very rarely just one mouse!

If you have a cat and want it to keep the mice away don't feed the cat too much or it wont hunt! And they do like to show their "Trophies" off!

The first yr we moved into our house here we had several mice. My sister Ann came over and set traps. She had done this at my mom's too. I call my sister the "exterminator". I have seen her just step on a baby mouse and crush it...no qualms about it. After the first year never saw anymore. This year though found mouse poop ( why do they poop every inch they walk?) everywhere. This guy must be Desperaux because he is a brave mouse...he even pooped in the room our German Shepherd ( stupid dog) sleeps in. I am still finding poop....in the attic ( 3rd floor) my closet, bedrooms, dining room etc. We caught one but no others...they don't seem to like the peanut butter...I know we have more somewhere...I'll get you my little pretty and your little friends too.....

Another way to keep mice out is pure peppermint oil. I use the stuff from LorAnn and it works great. A drop in the corners of the house and garage and we haven't seen a mouse since. There are woods and a corn field right behind us so they try to get in.

Another pleasant way to keep them at bay is fabric softener sheets. Several friends with RV's swear by them when stored for the winter, and when they open them up in the spring they smell fresh and clean.....and zero mice!

I just remembered a funny story, I can't believe I forgot it until now! Several winters ago I kept telling my husband there was a mouse in my VAN and he completely blew me off. Even the obvious evidence they left he said was just dirt!! Well, one day in the spring I went to pick up one of the kids from practice and when I stopped in the parking lot a little mouse ran out from under the hood, all over the outside of the van; up the window (DD screaming bloody murder!), until finally it fell off onto the blacktop. Well, by this time the entire baseball team was chasing the poor little mouse all over the place trying to stomp on it. I don't know how it managed to get away unscathed, but it did. Needless to say, DH was ordered to set traps inside the van, and sure enough, we caught at least three more! We never had them after that winter and thankfully now I have a different vehicle!

i have one!!!! a story i mean not a mouse!!
when i was living in a house that was in front of some farm land. one day i was down in the laundry room and saw a mouse scurry buy. i was like what ever. ( i grew up in the projects with roaches so a mouse was nothing)
i never in the 5 years in that house saw a mouse upstairs in the main house or any evidence so i was like if they stay down here fine. so one day i was in the play room which was next to the laundry room again downstairs. there was a locking door that separated the rooms. so i am cleaning the room up and i hear scratch scratch... i call hubby...... he locate it to my PURSE!!!! that is on the floor. so hubby gets a plastic bat from the toy pile and beats the heck out of my purse. i mean wailing on it. while i am standing on the stairs!! cause in my purse was too close for comfort. not it was personal!! lol
we carry the purse outside to open it and dump everything out. i wouldnt even go outside i just looked out the screen door. out comes my wallet, makeup and cell phone that was on VIBRATE!!!!!! all smashed to nothing!!! there was no mouse it was someone calling my cellphone and it vibrating in my bag!!! we still laugh about it.

my other story is that mice will get into anything. when my hubby used to smoke he kept a pack in his car. so we were going to the store one day, and hubby goes in to the car console to get his smokes. well, a mouse has gotten in and ate thru the pack and ate the cigerettes!!! he must have been really needing a smoke!! lol actually he was taking the cotton in the filter for a nest i think. but he got into the car, in to the console and ate thru the pack to get it!!!

ConfectionaryPerfection:

That's a funny story!! Also, many congratulations on your weight loss.