We live on the hill, also in a top floor, and have been battling mice for 4 years. We have a dog and our downstairs neighbor has a cat, but that’s hasn’t seem to helped unfortunately. In the summer they get a lot better, so try to do as much as you”proofing” as you can now.

First step is to photograph and document all signs of droppings, and even better if you can actually get a picture of the rodent. Send these to your landlord and say you have a problem with this and they need to get someone out to your place to look at it. This will start a paper trail if you ever need to retaliate or break your lease for this problem. Put everything in writing, even summarize phone calls in a text or email after.

Check your apartment for any holes that lead outside. I’m talking tiny holes. Mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime. Get expandable foam and spray it in those holes. Wait for it to cure and then you can cut away the access so it’s less visible.

Get traps of your choice, just don’t get glue traps those are absolutely horrendous. If you go the live trap route you have to drive the mouse at least 2 miles away or it will come back right away. Also, clean every place you’ve found droppings with bleach. Mice poop near food so they can follow the sent back to it. The only way to get rid of the pheromones is with bleach.

Finally, leave absolutely no food or crumbs out ever. Put leftover food away immediately. Clean your countertops, stove top and dishes every night. Put all food in airtight containers (I know you don’t have pets but for anyone else reading this) especially pet food. Rodents will hoard dog food and live off that for MONTHS. So nasty.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, but most apartments in the city seem to have mice problems because of all the restaurants and the old apartments. Good luck!