I dont want to get rid of her….

[MountainBuns]

So Caroline is living in my room and we have been doing well so far. Yesterday night I heard squeaking and woke up. I looked off my bed and a mouse zoomed across the floor! I was so scared, jeez I HATE mice. I told my Dad and I want to take her back downstairs, it would be better for her there. My plan was to get a puppy pen to put behind one of our chairs so she could have that area and I could let her out every day for 6 hours at least. For some reason my Dad  wont let me and my Mom really wants me to get her out of my room. Now my parents are saying that we might have to get rid of her and take her either back to her previous owners, to a animal shelter or sell her “free to a good home.” I have been thinking about it for a while really hard. I feel guilty about giving her away but its whats best for her. I hope I can convince my Dad to let her stay downstairs.

I wish one of you could take her, I would know she is in good hands then. Im actually considering taking her to a shelter, but Im not sure. Any suggestions?

[kurottabun]

Do you mean that your parents both have conflicting views about where the rabbit should be? I.e. your dad wants Caroline in your room but your mom doesn’t?

[Mikey]

Wait, Im confused why youd have to get rid of her because of mice? How did the mouse problem devolve into rehoming your rabbit?

[kurottabun]

I think OP meant that it’s safer for the rabbit to live downstairs since now there’s a mice problem in the bedroom, but the dad doesn’t want to have the rabbit downstairs while the mom doesn’t want her in the bedroom.

According to an earlier post in February, OP’s mom was never fond of the bunny from the start, so this mice issue is probably an excuse to rehome the bunny.

@EatSleepBunny Mice problems will need to be resolved anyway regardless of whether there’s a rabbit around (I’m pretty sure your parents wouldn’t want mice running rampant around the house). It’s not really relevant to whether Caroline should be rehomed or not. Have you tried talking to your parents about it? If there’s no more mice in the house, then Caroline should be able to continue staying in your room, right?

[MountainBuns]

So Im sorry I forgot to include this vital piece of information, but I cant take Caroline downstairs because my brother is an asthmatic patient. Caroline’s fur affects him.

[Deleted User]

I don’t get why it’s such a big deal if she lives in your room. You’re cleaning it and keeping up with Caroline.

[Mikey]

As long as the bun doesnt eat the mouse and the family doesnt use poison as the mouse killer, there are no concerns or relation between bun and mouse. Bun should stay in your room and snap traps should be used in places your rabbit cannot get to. Worst case, keep your bun penned for a week and have snap traps all over the room (where you cant step on them, of course).

Thats why Im confused how this conversation devolved into rehoming your rabbit over mice that have nothing to do with your rabbit.

[Bam]

Are your parents concerned the mice are attracted by Caroline? Mice are not attracted to rabbits, but they are attracted to food. You should keep her hay in a feeder and don’t give her hay on the floor where mice can get to it. Mice are drawn to leftover food, but rabbits as a rule eat their pellet and veggie portions in one go, leaving nothing for a mouse to scavenge.

I’m sorry that your brother has asthma.

[MountainBuns]

Yeah I think that might be the problem. The food. Caroline likes to flip her food bowl over, and spill pellets all over the floor. I think I will start to store her hay separately in a different room. They think that the mice came because of something that has to do with Caroline because the mice problem started a couple days after we got her.

[Mikey]

Is it a field or shrew mouse? Theyre not really attracted to pellets or hay. Shrew and field mice are attracted to high carb and fatty foods, which rabbits shouldnt be having. They might go after an old fruit or veggies, but even that would be a last resort for these types of mice. Easy bait for field and shrew mice are peanut butter, bread/toast, and various nuts and seeds. All of which rabbits shouldnt be eating.

If your family doesnt want to do snap traps/you dont feel comfortable with snap traps near your bun, I have a few live trap ideas that work (youll have to act fast when you hear it, though). Over the course of a week we were able to capture and release ~5 mice.

[MountainBuns]

Yeah I feel like Caroline might get herself stuck in a glue trap or a snap. I’d guess the mice are typical house mice. We dont live in an area with fields, but Im honestly not sure.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Please don’t use glue traps. They are horrifically cruel. If you need to kill them, please use a quick snap trap.

[Mikey]

Agreed, do NOT use glue traps. They are terrifying and not how they are advertised. Similar with poison, it is not fast acting. Snap traps and live traps are best to use, especially since you have pets (electric traps are also quick, but need to be kept away from pets and children, and can be expensive!).

If youre in northern north america, I think its safe to assume its a shrew mouse or field mouse as theyre very common up here as home invaders. Heres a video to follow for DIY live traps – I use the first one shown (the bottle snap; caught one) and the second one shown (paper folds over a bin – BUT DO NOT ADD WATER TO THE BIN unless you will be able to grab them out within minutes of them dropping in; caught four), and in both, I use peanut butter as the bait as its got a strong scent and they are very attracted to the smell and flavor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDqAcM9FQRs 

And of course, finding the hole they were able to enter through is needed as well. Typically, there is not only one mouse and once there is a solid entrance, they will continue to enter. You can fill holes with steel wool as they cannot bite or dig through that 

[sarahthegemini]

Snap traps and electric  = equally horrific. You don’t need to kill the mice for goodness sake. Catch and release. Might be more challenging but it’s better than killing the poor things 

[Mikey]

Snap and electric are quick and painless (when set up correctly!) whereas glue is the opposite no matter how you set it up. Mice often skin themselves and/or chew off their limbs trying to escape those. Similar to poison, its rare their take a fatal dose all in one go so it causes internal damage until their body gives out/they bleed out internally. If someone doesnt have the choice to do live traps (infestations, for example, as mice can breed very quickly and can pop out many babies), snap or electric is the way to go.

If any of this is too graphic, I apologize. I tried to make it as clean as I could (google will give you nightmares).

[Deleted User]

Sorry but I can’t handle mice.

Last winter a teeny tiny little mouse came running out of my bathroom. I lost it. I’m talking cartoon mom screaming and swatting with a broom. It ran behind my stove and was never seen again. Probably warned its friends not to mess with apartment #80 cause she crazy.

[Muj Mom N Bun]

Hah! Don’t worry BunNoob, a few years back I had a mice issue in a former place and I also lost it… unfortunately I ended up going a bit unclear on it bcz there was 1 the first time, then a few weeks later another… until I began to not sleep at night bcz I heard them scratching around… tried snap traps and the little clever guys just took it as a free meal, thanks, come back again…. ? so, I too, felt that glue traps were horrible but sadly I got to the point where I accidentally stepped on one one night and I just cldnt live with myself. The next day the glue traps came in and, armed with a half of peanut in its center, by morning, I was minus a mouse. I will, indeed, admit that the first one was a baby and I sat beside it on the trap and wept like a baby myself at having had done this too it. It boiled down to, I didn’t invite you to live here… you gotta go!

I stuffed every entry way, holes around pipes, baseboards, gas leads, etc.. with steel wool and from then on, I simply laid on my sofa and listened to the screams of the next door neighbors!

[Muj Mom N Bun]

Aside from the mouse, please stuff holes and stop them from getting in… and consider talking to your parents about the fact that you’ve been very responsible with the care of Caroline.

Hoping for the best for you All! Minus the mouse

[Luna]

Posted By Mikey on 4/17/2018 10:12 AM

Agreed, do NOT use glue traps. They are terrifying and not how they are advertised. Similar with poison, it is not fast acting. Snap traps and live traps are best to use, especially since you have pets (electric traps are also quick, but need to be kept away from pets and children, and can be expensive!).

If youre in northern north america, I think its safe to assume its a shrew mouse or field mouse as theyre very common up here as home invaders. Heres a video to follow for DIY live traps – I use the first one shown (the bottle snap; caught one) and the second one shown (paper folds over a bin – BUT DO NOT ADD WATER TO THE BIN unless you will be able to grab them out within minutes of them dropping in; caught four), and in both, I use peanut butter as the bait as its got a strong scent and they are very attracted to the smell and flavor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDqAcM9FQRs 

And of course, finding the hole they were able to enter through is needed as well. Typically, there is not only one mouse and once there is a solid entrance, they will continue to enter. You can fill holes with steel wool as they cannot bite or dig through that 

Thanks for sharing the video on live capture . I would surely use those techniques if I ever have a mouse problem. Do you know why the water is put in the bin? So that you hear the mouse drop in?

[Mikey]

@Luna, Youll hear it fall either way. People add a few inches off water as the mice wont be able to jump out. Surprisingly, mice can jump a couple feet high  But if you leave them in there for more than roughly 10 minutes, it wont really be a live trap any more. Even without water, though, you need to grab them fast. Theyll be stunned for a good 1 to 3 minutes after the drop, but once they compose themselves again, they dont hesitate to launch themselves out. When I use this trap, I have gloves nearby so as soon as I hear the drop from the mouse (and often, the paper too lol), I can throw the gloves on and gently toss the mouse into a little tupperware (with a few small holes, enough so it can breath, but small enough holes it cant chew or dig out during transport).

Just a side note that mice tend to chew on themselves if they get stressed. Although live traps are awesome because theyre no kill, you still have to be able to transport the mouse within a few hours to avoid the mouse harming itself. Ive heard you can take up to 8 hours, but Ive personally never waited longer than 3 hours. And, one last note, when transporting, go about a mile away. If you release too close and dont have all of the entry holes sealed correctly, there is a high chance the mouse will come back.

[MountainBuns]

Yeah, Glue traps are extremely painful for the little guys. Its not their fault that they are hungry and found some food. I think catch and release may be in order. I will keep you all updated of the situation!

[Mikey]

I wish you good luck!!

[Luna]

Good luck ESB! I hope with the mice gone your parents will go a little easier on you and Caroline .

[MountainBuns]

Thanks!

[Author]

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