Mighty Mouse - A new species?

[Apache]

Here's the thing: I have mice in my garage. Uninvited, munching, craping and piddling everywhere. I caught one in one of those humane mouse traps and donated it to my neighbour's garden because he likes nature and stuff. Anyway, I quickly realised that the mice were breeding faster than I was catching them so I went into Terminator mode and put down a tray of poison.

This is where it gets wierd: Within the hour, the humane traps were triggered (but empty) and the tray of poison was covered in garage debris - sawdust, bits of paper, a small plastic Spider Man (motionless so obviously beaten into submission), anything that was lying around was piled into the tray of poison hiding it from view.

Not to be deterred and bullied, I cleared away the debris and re-set the humane traps. Again, within the hour, the humane traps were triggered (but empty) and the tray of poison was piled high with garage debris - a lego instruction leaflet, a large plastic spider, sawdust, sweet wrappers, paper clips and so on - piled high so it couldn't be seen.

What the heck is all that about? I'm starting to feel cerebrally overshadowed by my garage mice. They're toying with me. They're plotting my downfall and working out how they can take over my house but keep me paying the mortgage.

Discuss...

[Board Game Geek]

Install a cat in to your garage.
Wait for the carnage to ensure.
Remove cat at the end of the operation.

Okay, so you'll be back to the carp and piddling problem everywhere, with the new addition of mouse carcasses, however, once the job is done, you cleanup once and that's it.

[SueEllen]

Install a cat in to your garage.

Make sure the cat is quite ferral or from a farm otherwise it will bring the mice to you as "gifts".

[ferret]

Wait for the carnage to ensure.

ensue

Set up a video camera in there and see what exactly is triggering the traps and covering the poison. Do you have kids? Sure it isn't them messing about? Stop using the humane traps would be my suggestion.

Maybe it is rats and not mice?

[SueEllen]

The OP could also get a ferret.

[BoredBloke]

Remember that after installing the cat you should install a dog to remove the cat and so on.

[poser]

sit in your garage armed with an AK47 and night vision goggles an wait for the rodent barstewards to arrive... then do a tackleberry on them!

or is that extreme?

[BrowneIssue]

sit in your garage armed with an AK47 and night vision goggles an wait for the rodent barstewards to arrive... then do a tackleberry on them!

or is that extreme?

I think that might be moles. "There's only one way to kill mole. Blow it's bloody 'ead orf!"

[NotAllThere]

Use a classic springloaded bar mousetrap with chocolate or peanut butter bait. On each of the two occasions where we've had mice problems (different houses), this has been extremely effective, and we've had no re-occurence.

Forget poison, forget "humane". Snap the vermin.

[BoredBloke]

I think that might be moles. "There's only one way to kill mole. Blow it's bloody 'ead orf!"

We had moles in our garden once and my dad set traps for them. He told us how the traps worked, often not killing it and just holding it there until it just died through lack of food etc. He also told us that they have really sharp claws. One day one of the traps fired off and my little brother ran over and pulled it out of the ground. There wriggling in the trap was this mole. He took it to the patio and let it out. The mole made a bid for freedom, back to the grass while he tried to stop it by pushing it back with his foot (wary of the claws). In the end he smashed its head in with a lump hammer - much more humane than letting it starve to death in a mole trap. Then the dog ate it. Nice!