When I was in college the university set out poison for the mice. It worked, but they crawled into the walls to die, and the stench was horrendous.
I’ve had excellent luck with cheap wooden snap traps. I re-use them. I bait them with a little chocolate. Because it is rigid, even a nibble to the bait sets off the trap. I’ve killed about a dozen mice without any partial results (not stolen bait, no mice trapped by a leg.)
I worked in an office that set out glue traps once. They work really well, but it’s a horrible death for the mice. They struggle until they get their snout in the glue, then they suffocate. The snap traps are much more humane, they kill by breaking the neck immediately.
YMMV but I found sometimes that less can be more. I don’t know that I ever used 12 traps in our entire house let alone one room. My basic plan of attack was one near anything that seemed like a pathway (they liked to slip under our sink cabinet to get to the other floors), one near tempting targets (stovetop), and a couple along the walls since the little buggers like to run along beside walls. But that could all just be me.
PS – resist the urge to have one of the heads professionally mounted on a little wall plaque. Visitors will look at you strange if you do. Or so I’ve read somewhere.
Exterminator came. Placed the triangular bait stations in every room in the apartment including my bedroom. Hopefully this will bring the problem under control and not lead to them liking my room even more.
I don’t see the difference in cruelty. But in respect to keeping it fast(er).
Just push down on the area between the mouse neck and spine to sever it, over instantly. I would rather be stuck in a glue trap and can’t move and wait for death than to have parts of my body broken and stuck under a spring loaded weight bar in worse pain, waiting on death. Then again I’m anthropomorphizing. I’ve seen countless traps where they are stuck alive under the bars or not so pointed teeth of the trap. I’ve caught mice in glue traps and I just put on a glove or fold the part in half and push really hard by the neck until I hear a “pop” and its over. No more pain for the mouse.
The traps with pointed teeth usually get it done really fast though, and are reusable. I don’t put peanut butter, but a piece of dog or cat food, it works every time.
Forgot to add, try to be vigilant with using poisons. If you poison one and it gets stuck behind your wall, its going to stink really bad until it mummifies or decays fully. Not to mention you’ll have a little mouse skeleton chilling out in your house.
EDIT: Nvm, I didn’t read that puzzlegal already put this info. disregard/delete.
