Caught wild mouse under floorboards, but released too near ?

[doggyplop]

ive just caught a mouse under the floorboards using a humane trap, but i fear i may have not released it far enough away to avoid its return, ive never done this before.

the mouse was only in the house for approx 2 to 4 days and i released it about 600 metres away under a rock pile near a field and other houses, but between my house and the rock pile is a busy housing estate and road,

and im thinking the mouse will not remember my house from other identikit houses ?

will it stay in the sparse outskirts of the estate rather than wander through roads and gardens to get to my house ?

will it even remember my house seeing as it was only in it for a few days ?

if it does return, can i capture it again in the same way or will it be a bit wiser now and avoid the trap ?

i wish i had released it further away but i figured speed was of the essence and on this large housing estate the open area i targeted seemed ideal, empty wooden buildings, rockpiles, trees etc.

any comments welcomed as i fear i may have made a newbie error in this mouse capture saga.

cheers

[thunder]

Welcome to WAB, DP. 600 metres may not be far enough - but given the terrain in between, and the sort of habitat, you could be lucky. If it returns, and you recatch it, take it further - two km should be enough. As for being shy of the trap, this seems very much an individual thing with mice. Some you can never catch again, some seem to become addicted to the free food and cosy bed I have certainly caught mice four or five times (until I eventually gave them a long ride from which they didn't walk back!)

henrya

[doggyplop]

thanx for reply

its been 30 hours now and no sign of the little blighter, but just in case, ive put 5mil galvanised netting over the air bricks, but im concerned 5mil is big enough for my friend to squeeze through ?, i could not find smaller in the time frame ive possibly got.

im wondering if airbricks/air vents are popular with house mice ?, i really can see no other way they get in, and they always never get in the actual house, just under the upstairs floorboards and cavity walls.

[fluff11]

the blighters can still get through 5ml wire,all you need is for a pregnant baby doe to get through it and bingo a new mouse colany sets up in your house.

[FoxtonWildlifeRescue]

Oops!

They say you should release them at least a mile away. maybe you'll meet again and you'll get another chance

[doggyplop]

aaarrgghh, its back !, little sod !
its took it 3 days but its made it back, straight back to the same spot under the upstairs floorboards.

next time its going bloody miles away !

[doggyplop]

it seems to be avoiding the trap this time, has it sussed this out or will it eventually succumb to the lure of food and go in ?
cheers

[thunder]

Originally Posted by doggyplop

it seems to be avoiding the trap this time, has it sussed this out or will it eventually succumb to the lure of food and go in ?
cheers

You can only hope! Some, as I said before, become trap shy, but others not.

henrya

[doggyplop]

quick update, it finally went into the trap 3 days after getting back in, but the trap was in a different place.

to be honest i dont think it was the same mouse, is it possible another moved in sensing it was not the territory of another mouse anymore?, bit of a coincidence it moving in 3 days after the other was caught ?.

if it was the same mouse it was a lot quieter this time around, treading carefully so as not to put itself in bother, clever or what !

released 2 to 3 miles away this time, is that distance deffo enough ?, im still concerned it was not far enough but i did not have all night to hunt for mouse habitats !

[Dogghound]

That distance is far enough. However mice are quite sociable creatures so you may have more than one. I would keep the trap there for a couple of weeks just incase.