I live in the country and seem to have neon signs at every hole into my adobe to show mice the way in. They come in most in the fall and I've trapped 17 since September. We use all kinds of traps. I like the grey plastic easy load and set traps best. I use peanut butter as bait and it works for mice and moles alike. Putting moth balls around the house at suspected entrances seems to work as we just heard that one lately. That sticky mat that captures the buggers alive is not humane and you can't even pull them off without pliers....sick trap and waste of money. I think the used traps sometimes get a smell of death to them as used traps often don't work well again unless washed or replaced.

Living in the country here also, ....
there is always mice when you live in the country , you just have to keep them in some sort of
reduced control.

I seem to get them in my laundry room. So all I can store in there is tinned foods . I continue to look for places they
could be coming inside . 🙁 It would be nice to be able to store potatoes , and other root vegies in there but I just
don't want the mice into the produce. I don't want to store 5 or 6 gallon pails in there either , as I've seen mice
start chewing the plastic and after some days or weeks they eventually chew a hole .

I know there is mice lately as I've seen mouse poo in there, and I keep it vacummed in there just so I
will notice any new mice droppings, ( not to mention being sanitary )

I have traps setup and do catch some mice but sometimes you have to wait for the tiny babies to get bigger
before you can catch them.

an improvised trap I have used successfully in the past is 2L soft drink/soda bottles, put them on an incline, spray/pour a lil cooking oil inside the opening, drop your bait in.. peanut butter works well as did pumpkin seeds surprisingly.

They can crawl through the hole easy enuff, but can't get enough traction/trip to escape.

it may even catch some crawling pests such as roaches as well.

Yes, mice are a common issue in the country...especially in fall as they migrate indoors.
I also use(and reuse) spring loaded traps with PB as bait, and also bait centers to help keep them from overtaking us like a zombie horde.
I have found that storage totes, for some reason, seem to keep them away from a lot of my dry goods.
Also, Tupperware containers...they can't seem to smell what is in them, and therefore ignore them. Mind you, the same cannot be said for rubbermade or other brands of containers...Tupperware is the only brand that works.
We also use metal popcorn cans...those work really well.
I have tried all the natural deterrents...to no avail.

I use nonworking, bleach-cleaned fridges and freezers for seed and food storage...drilling small holes strategically, hi and lo for air movement. It's guesswork to find where there may be coolant lines you might pierce , drilling.

Also, for potatoes,cabbage,etc. make a wood/plywood box with plywood hinged top, fixed sides,bottom and ends, and cover completely with your size/choice of 1/4" hardware cloth by the roll....usually 3' width roll. Ventilate sides generously...before adding wire-cloth... with a 2" hole saw bit in a drill. After applying wire, add 2x4 carrying handles on ends, and 2 on bottom, to keep off the floor. (Or make a standing version, with shelving, or cover a cheap wardrobe unit?)

When i lived on a farm, i made one 8' long, to use full length plywood. For wirecloth, use #8 robertson screws with fenderwashers for lasting wear/tear/moving.
This may not keep out rats over time, but is good for mice/moles.They can get thru 3/8" holes
I'v also watched for used metal utility cabinets, even metal school lockers which are vented, but narrow.
All these are subject to proper location, air movement, temps and humidity.

I have tried poison blocks but they just chow down on them, make a great green powdered mess and keep on eating me out of house and home. I like the sticky traps for the kitchen cupboards. I dab a bit of peanut butter or cheese in the center and get whole families with them. I have learned the fine art of removing them with a pair of tongs giving a quick jerk to break their necks. The cats are usually waiting for the treats. Not so inhumane once you get a bit of practise and if you are dilegent about checking the traps.

I also have the 'tin cat' traps, and some other types of live traps, I had to modify some types, which I switch out along with different baits. Its an on going war. DH will be building new cupboards and we will line them with hardware cloth in a way it cannot be seen. I have done the same with the basement pantry. All food is stored in glass jars or ceramic crocks which are cheap at auction sales when they have hairline cracks. They still work well as mouse proof containers for dry goods and can be set on the floor as well. 45 gal. metal food grade shipping barrels with clamp down lids are fantastic for those on farms along with the mentioned old fridges and freezers. Kept in the shade and out of weather, they are very effective storage for all sorts of stuff.

I did learn the hard way that mice love soap; the home made kind without any chemicals and made with pig fat. I now keep the soap in metal bread boxes with slide up lids; real handy for getting a bar when needed.

they hate Irish Spring soap lol

they hate Irish Spring soap lol

I hate it too, and now that you mention it, I do have 2 bars of it that I left sitting out for a lack of space and they are still on the shelf fully intact. Maybe I should try spreading chunks of it around as a deterrent. Trouble is, the perfume would keep me out of my cupboards as well.

As tempting as it is to eat my cats....we survive together for a reason. Ive seen the rats kick the cats butt though. The dogs cant catch them.

I learned this while rolling home, nomadic. Every time I moved somewhere...the mice invaded. Its not very manly to tell people I had to go Great White Hunter...on mice...but that is the reality. By the time you notice one mouse...there is already a lot of them. They follow each others pee trail. Once you decide to kill them...you must kill EVERY single one of them in the area. Every one. That means a few sleepless nights. They learn fast. You have to set traps...and get them immediately after the trap snaps. If the mouse escapes it will learn. If a mouse is dead...the following mouse will learn. I've seen cabins and trailers destroyed by them. I lost one motorhome because of them and it is no joke. First I used traps...and then they learned. Then I used sticky traps...and they learned. Then I used poison...and they learned. Once you decide to go to war with the whiskery whiry wrascals ...you musk kill every single last one. Creepy mouscicide...and you can feel bad about it later....but the only way to really do it is to bait it with a tiny piece of bread actually tied onto the trigger of the trap covered with the wafting aroma of peanut butter. Traps don't always go off. Make them wrasle with it. When you set the mouse trap, don't just set it, hope for the best and get pissed of why the mouse took the bait without it going off...or escaped, wounded and pissed off. Set the hinge just barely in so a swift breeze could set it off....an I must REPETE, wake yourself from your slumber at the sound of the snap...to drown the wounded trapped sucker in the toilet. Creepy "Silence of the Lamouse" stuff..but.... If not, the escaping mouse will learn as well as his pestilent peeps.
I'm getting older and my reflexes aren't as sharp any more. The Great White Mousecateer is passing into tales of past glory and daring do. There are a few times where I hear the tell tale SNAP in the night...and I can no longer rouse myself. At that moment...I know the mice have won. Woe is my food storage

Has anyone tried the electrical deterrent plug-in-a-jiggy thing?

Has anyone tried the electrical deterrent plug-in-a-jiggy thing?

Hmmm, not sure what you mean...
Are you referring to the whatchamacallits, dohickies, or thingamajigs?
And no, I haven't tried them, but would love to hear from someone that has...

I used to do a combination of things in my last house. Due to a large fire my house was over run in a day. Besides doing what is be named above, I also took my pail an set them on blocks inside a tub of water. I can't tell you how many swimming mice I pulled out by they were too busy swimming to snack.

Has anyone tried the electrical deterrent plug-in-a-jiggy thing?

I can tell you how to make a bird cooker with a welder if that helps. It only cooks meat eating birds(as you bait them to land) but it makes a great show if you have been in the bush camps a bit too long without proper entertainment... 😯

Well, it's been a few days and we haven't caught a single mouse yet despite a dozen or so trap strategically located (we went all out using principle of war : selection and maintenance of the aim!!!) Might be a mix of the electrical deterrent and/or my 3 year old running around the house making cat sounds. 😉

Or it may be that the mouse left the house : there was a big pile of droppings by the gap close to the garage door a few days ago. But no signs of mice anywhere around since. Did the electrical deterrent literally scared it sh!tless??? 😉