Hi Folks, I'm just wondering why people are taking a reactionary response to mouse catching, rather than a preventative one.
I lived in downtown Toronto for over 20 years. Not only was our house over 150 years old, but it was right next door to a warehouse which used to be the home to various business enterprises. It ranged from furniture manufacturers, to ice cream vendors to car phone installation garage for Rogers Communications when they were linked with Cantel. One of the businesses who leased the place was a tofu processing plant. While it wasn't a large scale plant, it did have it's share of uninvited friends. These uninvited friends took the shape of 14 inch long sewer rats. They would chew on anything we put out. They chewed right through bread bags, and even aluminum cans. The one thing we made sure to do was not just catch the rats, but look at their source. We knew that the next door plant was not the most sanitary place in the world, and the rats had to be coming into the house from somewhere, so we attacked the problem on two fronts. We shut down the plant, which cut off the rats food supply, then we looked at possible entry points in the house. Range hoods or vents that did not have a damper or broken flaps. Holes in the sides of the house which would allow an attacker to enter the house. We also checked the sides of any drains to make sure the wall leading to them wasn't coming apart. We didn't leave a single stone unturned, no matter how remote the possibility of entry was. Suffice it to say, we successfully eliminated the rats, mice, cockroaches and any other unwanted little friendlies. Essentially what I mean is that you should be looking for the source of the population of critters and not trying to catch them once their in the house. I love it when I would visit a patient at home, after they told me this giant sob story about how they don't understand why they have so many bugs in the house, or mice, or that their landlords are slum lords, only to find that it was the patient who was a complete slob, and just didn't take care of their environment. My tenants would be the same way. When ever they complained about rats, mice or bugs, I would call in the exterminating company, and follow it up with a visit to the apartment to find out where they're coming from, as they can't just be walking in the front door with the tenant. I'm not saying that you are like this, but I'm hoping it makes you think of what you should be looking for instead of placing a band-aid solution on the problem. Victor Gouveia
