Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

What is the best way to get rid of mice within a (book) store?

Kage D, asked:


I work at a book store, and unfortunately we found some signs of mice – my boss thinks she saw something running along the floor boards, I found a chewed edge to a candy bar, the bait was stolen off several mouse traps (cheese on snap traps), etc. The main problem is that we sell cans of pop and chocolate bars and bags of chips, and while attempting to get rid of the mice, we have to make sure that they don’t get into them.

My main two questions are, first and foremost, what is the best way to get rid of mice safely and quickly, without customers noticing (we do have a backroom, which is very cluttered and messy), and how do we protect both the food items, merchandise, and the health of ourselves and customers?

Tags: , ,

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Book Stores. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “What is the best way to get rid of mice within a (book) store?”

jsfnita Says:
October 29th, 2009 at 3:25 am

Do NOT feed a mouse a cookie. LOL
They have poison that imboms (i dunno the spelling) their body and they wont stink when they die in the walls and under the floor.

bill loomer Says:
November 1st, 2009 at 5:57 am

first, i would suggest using the older, wire and wood mouse trap. those new plastic, clothes-hanger-type traps really don’t work as well (mice can steal the loot without tripping the trap).

also…don’t use cheese. use peanut butter. the mice can’t simply grab it and run…they must dine there!

i’m not a mice expert, and i don’t hold stock in any mouse trap company, however i did stay at a holiday inn express last night!

brk Says:
November 1st, 2009 at 5:53 pm

a cat. just went to a bookstore and they had a cat.

Mr B Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:50 am

Mice are quite smart and resourceful. And unfortunately, reproduce quickly. The easy answer is to get an exterminator.
Other, less expensive methods are available as well. First you need to find out where the mice run and feed. Since they urinate constantly and they like to run along walls, look for grease marks and small droppings. A black light will show you their urine trail. Once you find their trail, get a toilet paper tube and crease two lines to form a flat sided tunnel. Put a treat on one end of the tube: A cracker and dab of peanut butter works great.They will eat the peanut butter as soon as they’re sure it’s not a trap. Now comes the easy (mouse-friendly) part.
Get a tall (at least 20 inches) bucket. A trash can works well.
Balance the tube precariously on the edge of a table or counter with the treat hanging directly over the tall sided receptacle.
The mouse will scurry to the treat (they like tunnels) and fall into the trap.
Set the fella loose at least a mile away from your abode.
Good luck

Barbara B Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 12:36 am

I agree with the CAT method. Most customers won’t mind a cat being there, cats are generally neat, and they are independent so they won’t care if you leave them there at night.

petra Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

How about adopting a store cat?

Lui Says:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:47 am

You may want to consider the cat after the mice are gone. The reason is that you don’t want the cat bringing dead mice to customers as a gift. Cats are thoughtful that way, and humans are just scared by it because it’s death.

I suggest finding where they’re coming in, it has to be from somewhere, and close that off.

For the candy bars, put them in a fridge or a cooler, in either case the mice can’t get in. Chances are that without food, you’ll have no mice. If there’s no reward for them, there’s no reason to be there, there’ll be food elsewhere.

Also I’m not sure but I think if you can find skunk spray and spray it outdoors it might help. Skunk spray is a spray that has the chemicals that skunks emit, so it basically is the smell of death. Most animals, and humans dislike the smell, so it can be an easy way to deter them, not sure if it’ll work though.

Anyways though, basically sounds like your mice are coming around at night, because you didn’t comment on customers running about screaming. So they’re coming out when it’s safe, sneaking some food.

So the first order of business is to put away the food, hide it in a fridge or a cooler. Second order of business is to track down where they’re coming in and seal it.

But you’ll likely find that with no reward, they’ll feel no need to come inside, they’ll just move on.

Leave a Reply