Living with rats and mice

It's not easy to get rid of mice or rats or other pests. If you have a problem infestation, take comfort from the fact that you are not alone; there are millions of people out there who are facing the same trouble. Here are just a handful of the stories we've heard...

Kept awake at night by the sounds of mice

We moved in to our beautiful country cottage, and that first night lay awake listening to the chit-chit-chit of the mice in the attic. I don't think my husband slept a wink that night.

I was pregnant at the time and the thought of mice running around our newborn baby was horrifying. Despite being committed animal lovers and vegetarians, we went out and bought some traps.

The mice ate cheese and chocolate off the traps without setting them off, clever little things. Someone suggested using something more chewy, so we baited the traps with Jelly Babies and that did work, for a while. We caught three mice that way. But the night-time noises didn't stop, and my husband hated the disgusting job of peeling a dead mouse off the trap and chucking it in the bin. It really was the most unpleasant time we have spent in any home since we got married.

- Carol, Wiltshire

Insomnia strikes thanks to a visiting rat

Right now I'm sitting in my living room, and watching the damned rat that lives behind our chimney crawl into its little hole outside the window.

- Joshua, USA. Reprinted under Creative Commons License.

How not to deal with mice

We had mice in our shed and compost heap for a long time. When we first found them, we let the children have a look, it was like a game. My wife decided to bring one into the house "for a better look". How we laughed as the little blighter ran off and disappeared into the living room. That was six months ago. We still haven't caught him.

- Scott, Hampshire

Rotting mice carcases leave a nasty smell in the house

I came home after a holiday and there was the foulest smell you can imagine. I knew it instantly: dead mouse! I found it under the kitchen sink. I plucked up the courage to dispose of it, and it collapsed into a writhing mess of maggots. Ugh.

- Ally, Scotland

Living trapped rodents are horrible to deal with

We caught two mice on glue traps in the kitchen. Believe me, this is not a humane way to go, it was horrible. They had injured themselves with all their wriggling around on the glue, and the only way we could think of killing them was drowning them in a bucket. I felt sick.

- Lucy, London