overrun with mice at 85 East End Ave

Forget the traps, forget the cat (unless you can find a good mouser and they are rare), you need to get the right kind of poison, and it's probably not sold at your local grocery store.

You also need to act immediately or you will have dozens. They're cute when they're little.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/mouse-poison-c-21_129.html

You want the blue or green bricks.

We experienced a mouse infestation after our neighbors' basements were flooded here in Long Beach a couple of years ago. I tried everything, nothing worked, then I found this and bam--mice disappear and never come back.

Landlords have a responsibility against vermin but as a practical matter, if you buy this stuff and follow directions your problem will be solved, and that might be better than hassling until the exterminator shows up.

Put all the bait out at once, don't be stingy.

Yes you have legal recourse - you have an implied warranty of habitability, and you can cancel your lease and move without penalty if you claim constructive eviction. You might have to sue to get your money back, but you will.

That said, cats do work, doesn't matter if they're "mousers." Mice and rats instinctively panic when they smell a cat, and they will not return.

Ask any bodega owner.

This sounds awful. I'm so sorry. We've been through this and after many months of poison, traps, etc. we finally found someone (Ecology Exterminating, see link below) to come and rodent-proof our apt. As I always say, I was tired of killing them; I didn't want them to get into our apartment in the first place. They went throughout our apartment sealing up all means of entry and finding spots that my husband, super, and other exterminators missed when they were simply throwing down poison and glue traps. This was the best few hundred dollars I've spent in years and they give you a 6 month guarantee. They are very professional. I'm not sure about legal recourse but I would pass the bill along to your landlord. Good luck.
http://www.ecologyexterminating.com

Meanwhile, nothing beats a snap trap IMO. Poison can be dangerous & then if they die in the walls or whoknowswhere, you're sniffin' them up for days, maybe weeks. With those glue traps, you've got a LIVE crazed rodent you need to deal with. Put the snap trap on a sheet of newspaper or in a shoebox for ease of disposal but then don't dispose of it indoors or the stink will begin whereever you place it - Warn the super. The exterminator is a great idea but when I have them I want to do something RIGHT THIS MINUTE & I say: You can't beat a snap trap; a corpse is yukky but VERY satisfying. Go get 'em!

glue traps and steel wool

stevejhx "Yes you have legal recourse - you have an implied warranty of habitability, and you can cancel your lease and move without penalty if you claim constructive eviction."
It would be VERY unlikely that a court would allow you to cancel your lease because of a few mice because the owner has "set traps, put down poison" Unfortunately for you the courts have ruled that the landlords for a $6K apartment and a $600 apartment have the same standard of care. So the fact that your place is supposed to be luxurious won't help in court. The judge will say "This is NYC, we have mice and rats here." I think it's a total waste of time to go the legal route here.

The domyownpestcontrol is the way to go. Plug the holes, put down the poison, put down the snap traps, clean your apartment (inch by inch), don't keep any food source out where the mice could eat it, and ask your neighbors to do the same. Offer to buy poison for them too. (your landlord may pay share the cost if you ask nicely)

You can exterminate away this problem. Exterminating is the most cost effective and least time consuming way to fix what is obviously a HUGE nuisance.

call 311 and filr a complaint. The landlord will respond very quickly to the city.

New York City Rules:
For every mouse you see their are 5 that have access to your apartment. See one? must catch 5 before it's over. That does not mean you have witnessed 3 of the five....I'm talking 15!
As a life long New Yorker I take a very low tech approach. Glue Traps and peanut butter. The little rodents can't resist the stuff. Buy a boat load, get a little peter pan and convince yourself that your Teddy Roosevelt out on the open Savannah or prehaps Jacob Astor in his early years paddling up the Hudson. Get your game on brother, in PA the hunt for deer, in the big city...rodent hunting. If it makes you feel better...wear orange.

007 - don't call the landlord - this is not a stabilized apartment - you call the city and you can be guaranteed that the landlord won't renew your lease even if the mice problem is solved and you want to stay.

From what I remember living in Brooklyn, glue traps don't work, and neither do regular traps baited with peanut butter -- I would try Fluter's solution.

also, knitters (who keep mounds of nice comfy wool lying around, and therefore attract mice) say peppermint oil (you could probably find at Whole Foods) on cotton balls is supposed to deter the little critters.

Also also, you need to stuff every crack and cranny of your home (around the stove, for instance) with steel wool THAT DOES NOT HAVE SOAP ON IT -- a hardware store will sell it to you.

But honestly, the best recourse is a cat.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

i had a mouse problem about eight years ago. the exterminator drilled holes in the wall, placed the poison INSIDE the walls, closed up the holes, and that was the end of the problem. that's what worked in my case. good luck.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I literally walked out yesterday and have just come back. The glue traps are still empty, as are the snapping ones. I will go down this list and try every suggestion. Mostly I would like to trap them and deliver to the building's management company.

i think the delivery is a great idea. can you put it in a gift wrapped box with a bow. will definitely give someone something to think about :-)

Yeah, steel wool in every hole. Have someone mouseproof the apartment, its the ONLY sure way. Killing them is not enough if there are tiny holes they can get in through.

And by someone, I mean deduct that cost from the rent.

I had an entire family of mice back in the 80s in my apt above Balducci's. I had to catch them all on glue traps and dispose of them - Picked each trap with a mouse on it with a mop stick and put it down the chute. It was just awful. They used to play at night and I felt like I was in some kind of horror movie. Anyway, I had a hole in my radiator and they patched that up and I did routine extermination and the problem was solved. I really felt bad for the baby mice. I have mental problems as you can see.

Jazzman, one mouse will not get you out of a lease; an infestation will.

Just get a cat; they work wonders.

Steel wool beats cats. And I am allergic anyway.

I set a snap trap in a macaroni box - the kind with a cellophane window.
That way you can peek at the critter without focusing on its lifeless little
body. Then just close the box and toss it away.

For traps, kosher salami. But plug all the holes under the central air, if you have that. Steel wool, bricks from construction sites. That's what worked like a charm for me back in the sixties. Put your bed in the middle of the room, since they like to run around the peripheries. Good luck.

Steel wool definitely works well. If there are no holes there is no way for them to get in (or out). Its a simple matter of mass conservation. Personally I think sticky traps are inhumane, and just awful. So is catching a half dead mouse in a snap-trap. Interesting idea about putting the mouse trap in the spaghetti box.

Has anyone heard of dogs deterring mice?

OP. I have seen this happen at most unexpected bldgs. (including new constructions, no less), so you aren't alone. There are solutions if you notify the management--both in terms of: (1) getting the mouse problem addressed by professional exterminators; and (2) going to court on this. I don't think you need to go and be your own exterminator.

mmarquez110, yes, apparently, from what I have heard, dogs, too, have a keen instinct to chase after rats/mice which addresses the rodent problems--granted that the activities take place at the height/locations where the dogs have access (most dogs aren't as agile as cats, so any activities in and around the sink might escape them).

It may be horrible -- but I had a friend who woke up with a RAT sleeping on the small of her back. SHe adopted two cats and had all holes closed with steel wool...

Don't get a cat just to catch mice. But if you want an entertaining, low maintenance, loyal and loving companion who will deter mice from invading your space and put a hurt on those who (literally) "slip through the cracks"....cats rule!

Perhaps you could BORROW a cat for a few days? Apparently just the smell of a puss scares the bejesus out of those rodents.