thanks, gnu.

I did find this thread thru the filter.

As for the bucket thing, I've found that my mice can not only jump very high, but they can climb the walls of lots of surfaces.    One thing I might consider though is putting some cat food in the bottom of a 5-gallon carboy that I have in my kitchen (left over from my winemaking days). If the mice would climb into that to get the food, maybe they wouldn't be able to climb out?

I'll check out the other mouse threads too.