Mice invasion is among the worst kind of pest attacks that you will come across. Coming up with a plan to get rid of the mice fast is critical. You do not want to have a host of them in your house. Once you see one mouse, there are more. Also, watch out for some mice droppings or mice in attic signs.
Mice breed fast. As such, you need to act fast and decisively. Furthermore, mice are destructive and can cause diseases. They are also very elusive. As such, to get rid of them, you need different strategies. From natural to artificial. All will need to be on your radar if you want to get rid of mice in your house.
So, how do you begin?
From Where Do They Enter?
Mice are very cunning creatures. To add to that, they are good at burrowing. Thus, to get rid of rodents, you will need to know where they get in. Find their entry before attempting to begin the extermination process.
Trying to get rid of mice before this process will only take you around in a circle. So, before any other method, find their entry and exit points.
Use Snap Trap Mouse Traps
The use of the mouse snap trap is a tried and tested way of getting rid of pesky pests.
This trap snaps the mouse’s neck, killing it instantly. It is one of the most effective ways to get rid of mice in attic and in your house. Experts recommend that you begin with at least six of these traps. Furthermore, you need to be strategic with where you place them. Just spreading them across the house won’t be effective. Plus, you could risk injury this way.
After identifying the area through which they enter, you could place the trap here. Also, seek places where mice could be curious enough to explore. Do not set the trap in the open.
On top of being useful, the snap trap is one way to get rid of mice humanely from your house. The trap snaps the mouse's neck once, killing it instantly. Thus, you do not subject the mouse to a drawn-out dying process.
Use Mouse Catcher Animals to Get Rid of Field Mice in Your House
One of the most popular ways is having the right animal that can catch mice. There is a common way - using a cat. But you can also use the rat terrier dog.
This step is especially when you live in a rural area and are prone to invasion from field mice. Field mice are not easy to distinguish from house mice. However, to get rid of the field mice from your home, the remedies for the house mice will work too. Field mice may gnaw through wood, which makes them dangerous if you have storage around your home.
Bait and Poison
This way of getting rid of mice in your house is disputable. Many people consider this option inhumane. While you do need to find ways you can get rid of the mice humanely, know that they spread diseases.
So, in this case, would you rather be humane to the mouse or yourself and your family? While using poison can be slightly different from the others, it still will work.
Once you poison bait, place it in places mice will be comfortable reaching for it - under cupboards, behind cabinets, and under beds. Make sure that the bait is away from pets.
However, you will need to work this plan along with the others, as rats might soon avoid the bait.
Use Strong Odour To Send The Mice Away
Mice will often find ways into your house using scents. Once one mouse finds its way into your home, it leaves behind a trail of pheromones. These pheromones act to call others into your home, which will lead to an invasion.
When you clean, use a cleaning agent with a strong smell, such as ammonia. This agent removes any traces of rodent pheromones.
The use of a strong odor is one of the ways that you can get rid of the mice humanely. Rather than kill, you will be removing the scent that allows others to come into your home.
Clean Storage Areas
Mouse in the garage always finds their way into your house through the storage areas or in places cluttered with junk. As such, always ensure that the storage area or garage is clean and free of clutter.
Cleaning is also another way that you can get rid of the mice humanely. Since you are working on prevention, you will be keeping them away. However, this should always be the first step. Once one rat finds its way into your house, then you need all the other methods.
Use Live Traps to Get Rid of The Mice
Live traps involve bait and trap that keep the mouse alive but trap in either a sealed container or a net.
This way, getting rid of mice in your house is also humane. However, it has some disadvantages, as you can only catch one mouse at a time. Therefore, you will need several in the event you have countless flocking to your house.
Once you trap the mouse, you then carry it sealed in the trap and dispose of it in a place far away from home.
Glue Traps
This trap uses boards and glue to trap mice. This trap is less effective on adult mice, however. The adult mice may avoid it, just as some may learn to avoid the snap trap or the bait and poison.
Still, this is one way to get rid of your house of field mice. This trap could especially work when you are in a rural setting, where you could place this trap somewhere around the storage and have the field mouse trapped on it.
Once a mouse sticks to it, it cannot shake itself free, meaning that it will starve to death, or you will have to come and dispose of it far.
However, you need to be careful with this trap as a way to get rid of field mice in your house. Other pets will get caught in this trap too. Also, you might need to dispose of the trap along with the mouse.
Use of Natural Repellent
Many scents could work to help you get rid of mice in your house. Among them are strongly scented soap, cat urine, and peppermint oil.
This use of repellents is a humane way to get rid of the mice in your house, so you will not feel guilty about it. However, when it comes to soap, you will need one with an overpowering scent so that it can be useful.
With peppermint oil, you can mix it with water and then spray it on the entry points that mice use. Alternatively, you can combine it with diatomaceous earth, which helps in keeping the smell of the oil in the air for longer.
Use Mouse Proof Storage
Use containers that do not give in easily to mice to store your food to get rid of mice in your house.
Mice will often find ways to open and get into containers. In extreme events, they might even eat through food containers to get their food.
The reason mice, even field ones, will come to a human home is because they know it is warm and full of free food. As such, ensure you keep food tightly sealed in mouse-proof containers.
Call Pest Control Professional
When all else seems not to be getting rid of the mice, then it could be a sign that you have an infestation. In this case, make a point of calling a professional. Getting rid of mice in your house, especially when it seems like they are a swarm, is a delicate and dangerous exercise.
Sometimes, it may not necessarily be that your actions are not working. When the mice are swarming your place, then individual traps or poisons will not get rid of them. Neither will traps or repellents. If anything, once the mice realize the others are dying, they will move to a deeper location for more security.
This means more warmth and more heat means a high reproduction rate. A house mouse can have seven to eight litters, each with up to 16 babies! A field mouse will have two to four, each with about seven to eight.
As such, when all else fails, you do not want to give them the resources and time to reproduce some more.
When you call a professional mouse control, they will help you since;
- They can identify mice's best entry and hiding spots.
- They know how mice get out of traps and, thus, are trained for catching mice, even the brightest in the litter.
- At the very least, they will give you tips on how you can seal their point of entry. If not, you could ask them to seal them for you.
- Once they do their job, they will follow up and help you update your traps for efficiency.
When you work with an exterminator, you can effectively control even the worst swarm.
