Posted by graeme allen on April 4, 2006

Q: I live in a 3 year old house I have mice in my integral garage and are now in the loft .I am trapping some in the garage and in the loft but they keep appearing.I am trying to eliminateall sources of food from the grage i.e. wild bird food.Once they are in the garage can they climb up from behind the walls or could there be a nest in the loft as well?How often do they breed? Any help appreciated.

Graeme.

Habitat: suburban/yard

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Mice are very good climbers and can easily scale up inside walls if there are places where they can get a good foothold. Eliminating any food sources is good but they're often after a good place to make their nests - especially in the fall. You haven't told me where you live but in areas that get fairly cold weather, they often move into human buildings for shelter as the season cools down. Keep in mind that there are lots of different kinds of mice. The House Mouse, found all over the world, is most likely to stay in and about human buildings. But native mice will use buildings too so it's hard to know what kind you have. Mice reproduce at an incredible rate so within a few months can have several litters. Trapping is probably your best bet but you'll have to release them quite far (a mile or more) from your home to ensure they don't return. Best of luck.

John Wiessinger ( April 4, 2006)