I will be liberal. I'll be a tree-hugging, dolphin-saving pinko commie about it.

Thanks for the idea/ray of hope. Will report back.

This stuff tastes and smells like food. They'll start showing up for it soon enough and they'll eat it for a few days before they start disappearing.

Drop blocks anywhere you're seen droppings. Rodents leave a trail of urine and they follow it as they stagger around, repeating old paths like ants.

Be liberal with feeding your furry friends. You can always throw away un-enjoyed blocks.

Thanks, penumbra. I'm pretty sure I was eyeing that stuff up tonight at Downtown Hardware, where I picked up another ton of glue traps for the kitchen.

So far they've ignored the dessicant that the building exterminator put down (pink corn cob?looking thing). There is nothing for them to eat in my kitchen; I think they're chowing down in a neighbor's apartment. But I'll give it a go.

Run by Home Depot and get a poison called Tomcat. Get the blocks and not the pellets. The pellets end up spread around and the stuff is quite serious.

Tomcat is a desiccant, causing the rodents to head outside of the house in search of water. That helps reduce the likelihood of a rodent dead in your wall.

I have used this stuff against a infestation here in Jersey City. Ever since, I have left a few blocks out and have completely eliminated rodents from the brownstone I live in. It also worked well to rid mice as well as rats from my former house and barn in the Midwest.

If you have pets, you can buy housings the blocks go into and are held in place for when they are potentially accessible by your pet. You do not want your pet, particularly dogs, getting near the stuff as they like the taste. Having said that, I have a dog and leave Tomcat out, inaccessible to him, and never had issues.

There is no reason to live with rodents given the technology available.

Allergic. To cats, anyway. Not so fond of ferrets. You're probably right that either would fix the problem.

Cat or ferret would probably solve your mice issues.

I have the same problem. We have tried everything and it dosen't seem to work. You just have to get use to it.

Is anyone else having a mouse problem? I've lived in cities for most of my life, and I've never encountered mice like this: They elude every type of trap I put down (glue, snap (big), snap (small), plastic-house-type thing... In fact, they usually poop directly on a new trap when I lay one down. (And yes, I appreciate the humor of that.)

My landlord sent someone to mouseproof, but that was a week ago, and I was seeing mice again the same day. I've tried to find holes to plug; friends have come over to help. I can't find any more holes, but somehow they're getting in.

The landlord says there's nothing more that they can do. There's a monthly exterminator, too, but my mice laughed at their poison and traps.

Thoughts? (Other than the fact that I have clever defecators as house guests?) My landlord has been helpful, but I still have mice running around my apartment. Can they wash their hands of the problem since they've offered some assistance?

New Construction will always bring mice up looking for new homes.

Also mouse proffing is a good idea but a mouse can get through the smallest place (even a hold a quarter their size) so mouse proffing an apartment may seem like a good solution but you need to make sure you get all the "known" holes.

I have found (through my own experiences and with friends) that as long as their is open food/crumbs out on countertops they will come and get it. If there is no food left out there is nothing to come for. I had 4 or 5 mice come and everytime there was food out. Once I started sealing up everything and keeping it in the fridge or cabinets I never had a problem.

Hope these help.

since getting a cat decades ago have never had a rodent problem . . . but the dislocation is common. if you try to set out poison, beware: the critters may decide to die in an inaccessible part of your wall and you will deal with nasty odors.

If possible seal up all openings in the foundation of the building and look for other possible openings -- I had a mouse one time -- so I bought a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter to bait my little "Have-a-Heart" traps -- the next day I checked the traps and of course nothing -- but I just happened to look out one of my fourth story rear windows -- I could not BELIEVE it but out on the phone wires, just stuck out there was the tear-off inside Skippy Peanut Butter lid that I had put in the top of my kitchen trash can. The little bastards must have been coming from the next door building along these high phone wires -- and somehow this folded paper tear-off Skippy lid managed to get caught between two of the phone wires and it was just dangling out there -- swinging in the wind -- hard to believe but I SWEAR it is true! I sealed the small hole on the outside wall where the wire entered -- it was rather a big hole for phone wires and a mouse (or mice) were getting inside the walls right there.

Something to keep in mind is that pet food left out for cats and dogs is one of the main food sources for mice -- that and trash not closed up -- ok and other crazy things like lunatic neighbors!

In my case two girls who were subleting with a dog moved out suddenly mid month and left an open bag of dog food in the building next door and it took the landlord over a month to find out that no one was in the apartment -- guess the real tenant was away for a while and these girls just left the large bag of dog food there and open -- why the mice then did the high wire act to my place I have no idea.

I've lived in downtown JC almost 25 yrs. and never had a big problem with mice, only seeing the occasional mice that got through any holes I hadn't plugged with steel wool.

I'm not talking about brillo pads, go to Downtown Hardware where they sell steel wool in different grades from xx fine grade for using on counter tops to remove stains to xxcoarse which is what you want to plug holes up with as they can't chew through that grade and it irriates and cuts so they won't go near it.

I've use steel wool for plugging holes and it works every time to keep out mice. Keep dry good in glass/plastic containers, don't use or bring home paper bags (the glue is food for roaches) and you won't see roaches or mice but maybe a couple of times a year, irrespective of construction.

The cheap traps sold at Downtown Hardware are fine if you're not using the HavaHeart traps.

Rats are another problem: You should be aware though, that like NY, NJ being a waterfront city with old piers, etc, you have huge Norway rats and other breeds that are underground by literally the millions. There are other topic threads here about it including one I posted but too lazy to search it. As the rapacious development goes on in downtown JC, unfettered, you will see rats everywhere as they seek new homes!

i've been seeing some mice too. caught 3 in the last week on glue traps. the other day i went to the stores along newark and bought some oil of peppermint. supposedly that keeps them away. haven't really seen anything the last few days.

Are you sure that those rats aren't coming from City Hall?

We never had any rodent problems, but then one started making an appearance in the apartment after then began work on an empty brownstone next door-- we put out traps and havent seen any for a while now, but it makes sense that new construction would move them out.

karindiann, I'm with you. Mice I can deal with... a roach problem would make me want to move (i know, its ridiculous, but even typing this is creeping me out!)

I lived on your block, in a ground floor unit, until about 9mos ago. We always had a problem with mice -- not horrible, but we probably caught one in a glue trap 2-3 times in the 2 years I lived there. Perhaps they just live in the area. Then again, there was construction going on the whole time I lived there as well.

Mice are a pain, but to me they're not nearly as icky as roaches...and I've never had a roach problem in JC. Perhaps I've just been lucky where I've lived, but I don't think they are nearly as prevalent in JC as in Manhattan.

Yes, it is common for mice to be disturbed by construction and seek out new homes. Set up some traps so they don't get a foothold, block any points of entry (holes in foundation, etc.), and you should be okay. You can even get Havaheart traps, if you're squeamish about killing. . . .

First, just like to say hi to everyone, as this is my first post!

Glad I found this place, as JC is a hard place to meet people.

I live on Jersey Avenue, a block down from VVP. I have been there for over 3 years.


Now, onto the subject:

Is anyone else having a mice problem during the past year or so, since all the new construction downtown has been happening?

When I first moved in, there were no mice in my apartment or in the streets.

But since they strarted digging up the streets to put in all these new buildings, I've seen mice (more than 1) in my apartment and there have been several times where I've walked past a dead mouse in the streets.

My landlord thinks that the mice used to live underground where all the vacant lots where, but now that there is so much building going on, they have had to move around Downtown to find other places to 'live'.

It's disgusting.

Is anyone else noticing an increased 'population' of mice?