Determining mouse point of ingress.?

I know exactly how mice get into our bloody house. In the jaws of the cat. She puts them down, they escape, and hide. TBH, we've given up being surprised when they run across the floor.

Never saw one until we got the cat.

They are a present for you and must be accepted graciously, so as not to cause offence

You need a better cat. 99% of the small mammals ours bring in are already dead and are eaten. 50% of the time she'll leave the stomach of field volves, only plays with shrews, she's not 100% keen on mice and will sometimes only half eat one and we take baby rabbits and stoats off her.

As for mice coming in, it's that time of year... I doubt the OP will ever find the ingress route given that mice think a 3/8" dia hole is an open barn door. And that any wall cavities or floor voids are superhighways around the property.

I don't think so. She looks miffed when we intercept one.

Good luck with that. I catch between 40 and 70 a year in our house, and I'v e never been able to find out how they get in, especially given that the house is not far off air-tight.

Feed them with something mildly radioactive and then go hunting trails with a Geiger counter?

Now adding some fluorescein to the talc or flour makes sense, at least it may show where the wee beesties have come from and then work backwards

But do you eat them?

Eek! You might reach critical mass in the mouse nest!

No, but she doesn't eat many of 'em, either. And of those she does, there's usually bits left over.

In years past I have added a camera to the home CCTV to keep an eye on them entering the lounge. Although I do know where they are getting in it was interesting to see where they were foraging.

This years plan is an electrically, solenoid, operated trap so that I can view them remotely and then hit the "TRAP" button!

Our last cat had a habit of biting the heads off mice and leaving them by the front door. We have woods all around us, so I assume he got then there.

I assume this is not motion triggered CCTV recording . I did similar once. Had to use some hammerite paint on a number of items. It was obvious that the paint went from smooth to dimples but when and how. So yes I've watched paint dry, but I got distracted at the critical time, so I still don't know if it gradually imperceptably dimples or rapidly contracts like a contagion.

Are you up to making one of these:

It's not the one I was thinking of but it was an early hit from catflap

I'm sorely tempted. With the variety of Arduino, RaspberryPi etc devices about these days, together with cheap and small cameras, it should be straightforward to make something compact and unobtrusive.

But since we both work from home and tend to leave outside doors open most of the day through the summer, it'd not help for a goodly chunk of the year.

Right on cue, the little furry bugger just meandered through with a bluetit hanging out of her chops.

What can I say, she identifies closely with your wish to bring the outdoors in . . .

Aaaaaaw, she just loves you soooo much :-D

Result!

Yup, arse and tail left ready for bare feet to find is a speciality of ours ;-)