re: A mouse or two...is there more

Wild cats are your answer. My parents built a house in an old pasture out in the country. They had field mice pretty bad the first year. My mom hates cats, but finally my dad convinced her it would stop the mouse problem. You need a barn cat that you feed once a week to keep them around. Cats will go nocturnal if dogs are around. They will solve your mice problem. They will reproduce on their own. Hawks and your dogs will keep the cat population in check.

I've seen this ecosystem play out in real life for the last 15 years. Same exact situation, ponds, out in the country, mice problem, and dogs.

Think of feeding the cats like having a gigantic white oak tree in your back yard. (parents have one). The deer come right up next to the house eat the acorns at night and then go back out into the woods to live their life. Your cat will do the same. It will come out the woods to eat an easy meal but it will adapt and mice will be the main course. You might kill 1 or 2 around the house with traps, but that is only a temporary solution. Mice reproduce more quickly than cats.