How to Get Rid of Mice |
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Rodent invaders are one of the most common and unwanted house guests in the world. This article will explain the process of getting rid of mice once and for all.1. Mouse identification
Baits for wild mice are slightly different than those used for common house mice so you should make an effort to figure out which you have. Use the following two lists to determine the origin of your visitors. Wild mice prefer seeds, oats and unprocessed foods while house mice will eat nearly anything. If your rodents are larger than 5-6 inches in length (tail included) it’s likely that they are rats, not mice. If this is the case, read How to get rid of rats.
Common house mouse characteristics:
- Head and feet are proportional to body
- Tail is as long as head and body combined
- Back, feet and belly are all the same color (there are exceptions to this)
- Flat upper incisors (you know, the two mouse-teeth that always stick out in the cartoons)
Common wild mouse characteristics:
- Head and feet are disproportionately large for body (sewer rat)
- Short, hairy tail (meadow mouse)
- White belly and multi-colored tail (deer mouse)
- Grooved upper incisors (harvest mouse)
- Large ears and protruding eyes along with a dark brown back and silver belly (field mouse)
Signs of a mouse infestation include:
- Unexplained holes in walls or food containers. Mice have the ability to gnaw amazingly precise circles.
- Spherical droppings up to 1/4″ long. (Rat droppings range from 1/4″ - 3/4″ long)
- Scampering and rustling noises in the walls and ceilings (Pay attention, this could help identify a nest or point of entry!)
- Dirty smudges and urine dribbles on floors along walls. Mice have poor eyesight and tend to run along the sides of objects instead of charging out into the open.
If you’re still not sure if you’ve got ‘em, sprinkle some talcum powder or flour on surfaces along the walls where you think your infestation is centered and wait a few days. If you have rodents in that area you will see tracks appear in the powder. Mice leave tracks that are approximately 1/2″ wide while rats leave tracks up to 3″ wide.
2. Eliminate the source of the mouse infestation
This section will walk you though the process of determining what attracted the mice into your home in the first place, eliminating the attraction and then eliminating methods of entry into your home.
Remove mouse-friendly food sources
House mice will eat almost any available foods (including pet food) but they prefer nuts and grains. Some varieties of wild mice eat seeds, insects, and fruits. Start your food-search in the kitchen, beginning on one side and scouring every nook and cranny for unprotected food, crumbs, spills and trash. Keep your food elevated if possible, in metal or glass containers. Keep your trash in strong, odor-proof containers with tight-fitting lids. If you have animals, purchase elevated pet food dishes and keep an eye out for spills. If you come across anything you think may have been touched by mice, through it away. Even though it has not yet been proven that mice transmit diseases to humans, they are known carriers of several virii that are very dangerous to us. On top of that, their parasites do transmit diseases to us. Rat parasites are how the Bubonic Plague was believed to have been transmitted.
Work your way through your entire house in this fashion; closets, pantries, dining rooms, bars, living areas, children’s rooms, and anyplace that food is known to go. Take careful note of any areas that appear to have been visited by mice, they will steal insulating materials to build nests so check soft furniture for gnawing damage near the floor.
Next, go outside and search a 50ft radius around your home. Look in exterior storage closets and sheds for pet food, seeds, ripe or rotting fruit, and any organic material that shows signs of feeding. Move compost heaps away from the house. Seal up bags of pet food or sacks of seeds and elevate or store them in metal trash cans. Keep an eye out for bird feeder spills and refrain from leaving easily accessible food supplies for pets and other desirable animals.
Eradicate their shelter and cover
Mice will live anywhere warm, quiet and close to food. They have the ability to squeeze through openings the size of a US dime to get inside walls, ceilings, underneath fixtures, behind and under cabinets - you name it, they might be there. The goal of this step is to eliminate the easy possibilities. That’s right, spring cleaning’s come early this year! Clean out all the clutter - closets with cluttered floors, children’s rooms , basements and garages. The point is to eliminate shelter to contain any mice in a smaller area. The average mouse will only stray about 25 feet from it’s nest so this can effectively limit their foraging possibilities, making traps more effective.
Once you’ve finished cleaning out the inside of your house, it’s time once again to step outside. This time you’re hunting for anything that can be used as cover: high grass, weeds, wood piles, stacks of things and debris piles. If you can’t eliminate a cover, move it at least 50 feet away from your house to limit the possibility of rodents running from these places to your home. Create a no-mouse-land.
Block all methods of home entry
Tired yet? I’ll bet! Don’t worry though, you’re almost through the labor-intensive part of this process, so hang in there. This step will focus on securing your home in order to keep more mice from getting in. If you skip this step they’re likely to move in just as fast as you can catch or kill them so stay alert and be thorough.
As I stated earlier, mice can squeeze through openings as small as a dime, as you can imagine this can make a home that is secure to you or me look like grand central station to mighty mouse and his family. Starting outside of your home, assume the mind set of a mouse and examine every nook and cranny from one side of your house to the other with the question “Is this a possible point of entry for a mouse?”. If the answer is “yes” or even “maybe” then fill it in or plug it up with a material that is gnaw-proof - cement or mortar for the big holes, steel wool or metal plating for smaller crannies. Entry points can be as high as 2 feet off of the ground. (Note that there are a variety of rats that can scale trees and walls)
Now take a second look around the perimeter of you’re home for possible hiding places near doors where a mouse can make a run for it when someone is coming in or out of the house. Once the exterior meets your satisfaction, journey back inside and into the basement (if you have one). Look for cracks, holes, and crannies that may lead outside. Plumbing and wiring conduits are common culprits that are easily plugged with steel wool.
3. Eradicate the current mouse population
You now should have identified what was attracting them into your home in the first place and done away with it as best as possible. After all of the work you’ve done you probably have a pretty good idea of where Mickey and his buddies are hanging out and you’ll make good use of that information in this section which deals with eliminating the current mouse population from within your home. The better you performed the previous steps, the easier this will be.
Repellents
Mice have a natural aversion to mint, and will generally avoid it. Plant it around the exterior of your house as a deterrent as well as potting some around your home. Not only will they keep mice away, but they’ll freshen the air as well. Ahhh. Spearmint seeds can be had in garden centers or ordered online.
Catching mice with traps
This section will describe the most popular and efficient mouse traps in use today. Following are some guidelines for trap placement and strategy, then we will get into the specifics of each trap’s function and design.
When you first begin trapping, put out the baited traps but don’t set them. This will get the mice used to feeding from them and make elimination much easier. It may take the mice a few days to get used to the new traps before they are willing to take the bait so wait a while before you move the traps around and check them daily. Mice can detect even the faintest human-smells on traps, a light coating of bacon grease works well to cover this up while offering additional mouse-appeal. When you decide on an area to set up traps, do so in clusters of 5 or more. Remember, the goal is to eliminate the current population. This means killing them faster than they can breed. Just one happy couple can create over 100 offspring each year so don’t dawdle. Speed is the key.
What do mice eat? Effective baits include baked breads, peanut butter and oatmeal, peanuts in the shell, raw bacon, and cotton balls (attractive for nesting material).
Lethal traps: How to kill mice
DIY bucket trap
This mouse trap is constructed from a bucket half-filled with water. It works by baiting the mouse over the bucket’s opening and then causing it to fall into the water and drown.
Materials: 5-gallon bucket, wire clothes hanger, paper towel tube (or several toilet paper tubes taped together), something to use for a ramp, and bait. Assembly is as follows:
- Remove the metal handle from the bucket.
- Thread the wire hanger through one of the bucket’s handle holes, the cardboard tubes and then back out through the second handle hole. Bend the ends down securely. The tubes should almost reach from one end of the bucket to the other (leave a small gap near the edges so the mouse has to jump onto it).
- Mix the bait with peanut butter or glue to make it sticky and generously smear it around the center of the tube.
- Fill the 5-gallon bucket half way with water and place it in the area of infestation. Set up some ramps to help the mice up and you’re done.
Check your bucket every day or two and if the water starts getting stinky, a little cooking oil to coat the surface can keep the smell contained. Never touch a dead mouse and change the water after every kill.
Snap traps
Snap traps have been around for so long because they work, and they work well. Their draw backs are that they can be messy and they don’t always kill the mouse - meaning you may need to finish the job. More often then not they do provide an efficient and quick death and they can be purchased at any hardware store for less then a dollar each. Spring for the traps with wide trigger plates so the mouse only needs to step onto the trap to spring it.
Set these traps along the walls, with the trigger plates facing the wall so the mice are more likely to run into them (remember that mice run along the sides of things). If your mice are trap shy, you can hide these traps by burying them in trays of sawdust or corn meal.
Glue boards
Glue boards have the advantage of being able to catch many rodents simultaniously, but are unpopular because mice are left to die of stress or starvation. These traps can also catch non-target animals. Use them well away from pets and children. These can be found inexpensively in hardware stores and online.
Zapper traps
Zapper traps work by luring the mice inside a small structure and delivering a lethal electric shock. They work well and are easy to clean but are also fairly expensive and eat batteries like crazy, if you are trying to eliminate a family of mice they may be able to reproduce faster than you can catch them with a single one of these around. The most popular version is The Rat Zapper, but Victor makes a less expensive model that seems to work just as well.
Non-lethal (live) traps
If you are planning on releasing trapped mice, do so at least a mile away from your home because they have a knack for finding their way back to their nests. Also be wary of handling them as they can carry parasites that would be more than happy to live on you or the family pet.
DIY bowl trap
This easy-to-make trap baits the mouse into a large metal bowl with a tasty tid-bit and prevents it from escaping because its inside surface is coated with butter, grease or oil. If you place it out with a cardboard ramp, the mice will jump in to get the food but will be unable to escape.
Catch traps
Catch traps are usually made from plastic or metal and work by luring the mouse inside with bait and then snapping shut behind them. They work reasonably well but mice seem to get used to these and learn how to circumvent their mechanisms shortly after they’re introduced.
Ultrasonic (plug in) devices
The federal trade commission has stated that these devices are ineffective in controlling rodents, that they do not cover the advertised area, and that they do not prevent rodents from entering an area. Furthermore there have been no studies that prove these devices work. While an ultrasonic device may provide some deterrence it is likely that the rodents will get used to the sounds it makes and eventually ignore it. Just read some of the experiences people have had with these.
Poisons
If you decide to go the poison route, stick with the poisons that come in tamper-proof bait stations and do not put them anywhere a pet, child, or non-target animal can get to them. It is generally advised that poison be used as a last resort because you will have mice dying all around your house - even in very hard to reach places. Rotting mice mean horrible smells, and decomposing flesh attracts many other pests. Why trade one problem for another? If traps aren’t working, consult an exterminator before filling your home with poison.
Predators
- Dogs - Contrary to popular belief, dogs can be better at killing mice than cats. That’s actually how rat terriers got their name.
- Cats - Yes, cats injure rodents too, and then they play with them and kick them around your house before killing them and presenting them to you as a gift. awwwww, how cute.
Cat’s trained to hunt rodents are called mousers. Neither cats nor dogs are completely effective by themselves. - Barn Owls - Barn owls are extremely efficient at getting rid of mice. One family of barn owls can eat up to 15 mice every night! Consider erecting a nesting box to attract them onto your property.
OMG! I jst went 2 my bedrm 2 get something, when i turned on the light a mouse jumpd frm the windowsill onto my bed. It ran ALL over my bed. I’m sorry 2 kp posting msgs but I’m @ my wit’s end. I wish some1 could advise on how 2 kp them off my bed & on an affective way to clean my mattress,etc. Yuck! I use urine b gone, bleach/water, lysol, etc., but i’m not sure it works. I jst throw the sheets away. I havent bn sleeping in my rm anyway but still! I cant get anther new mattress right now.
In addition to using altoids, I’ve started to use pure peppermint extract. I think it works b/c I put it everywhere except the kitchen where we have the traps set-behind the appliances of course. I’m only hearing the mice in the kitchen now. The creepy thing is we’ve caught 10 in the past 3 wks-3 of those in the 2 days since i started using the mint. The poison hasn’t started working yet. P.S. I’m still freaked out about sleeping in my room, b/c the mice are using the window sill to get on my bed & the bed is too heavy to move w/o totally dismantling it. There really isn’t a good place to move it to any way b/c 2 places are by windows & these mice LOVE windowsills. The other avail. space is betw. the 2 vents that the mice used to enter my room. I wont b comfy til all the little creeps are dead!
In addition to using altoids, I’ve started to use pure peppermint extract. I think it works b/c I put it everywhere except the kitchen where we have the traps set-behind the appliances of course. I’m only hearing the mice in the kitchen now. The creepy thing is we’ve caught 10 in the past 3 wks-3 of those in the 2 days since i started using the mint. The poison hasn’t started working yet. P.S. I’m still freaked out about sleeping in my room, b/c the mice are using the window sill to get on my bed & the bed is too heavy to move w/o totally dismantling it. There really isn’t a good place to move it to any way b/c 2 places are by windows & these mice LOVE windowsills. The other avail. space is betw. the 2 vents that the mice used to enter my room. I wont b comfy til all the little creeps are dead!
I’ve started using altoids today b/c i cant lay my hands on the essential oil. I used some whole pieces & i crushed some & put that down as well. The house smells of mint but i jst saw a mouse run straight 2 1 of the areas where i put down the mint. We’ve put off using poison b/c of other animals but we’ve had 2 start that. By the way we’ve had the electronic repellants abt 8 yrs, they don’t work for us. The mice actually hang around more n the areas where they r pluggd n.
I don’t have a tip. I need help. This past yr my dad has caught 30+ mice. We hv neighbors w/ an infestation b/c they didnt mow their lawn for 3 yrs. We’ve done evrythng we can think of 2 prevent gettng more. I evn had 1 jump onto the bed while i ws on it. It DIDN’T evn react 2 my screams. Instead it nonchalantly walked 2 the foot of the bed & jumpd off. I cant go n2 my rm now & have nowhere 2 sleep.
The new pest control company came out today and put out traps, boxes with see through tops. They put glue paper in the box and baited them with peanut oil. The are coming back Monday to fill in holes. They said it was better to bait in the crawl space and trap in the house to make sure that you don’t have dead mice rotting in the house and to keep the poison away from children and pets.
They also thought that I might have voles rather than mice. This might explain why I have seen them during the day. Either way, this will hopefully work. I am also going to buy the electric sound wave thing, even though it is not supposed to be that effective, along with everything else that I am doing it just adds a little more protection.
If we catch anything, I just need to give them a call and they will come and dispose of it.
It is Day 3 since the pest control person was here and baited for the mice. If they are eating the bait they should be dying soon. I am concerned though about finding all of the mice and preventing mice from getting in again.
They don’t seem to be using our traps. It is unknown if they are eating the poison bait. I do see a lot of mice doo doo in the garage. The only thing there now has been the dog food bag and the garbage can.
These are some other things that we are doing. (The mice should have picked another house to invade. :-))
1. Got a pet food vault to keep the dog food in. The dog food is offered to the dogs a couple of times a day. If they don’t eat or when they finish eating it is then put in a high cupboard. I might get another vault to store the dog food bowl.
2. I am checking for when my son just tosses things in the garage rather than putting in the garbage can. We got a better garbage can that we are going to start using once the trash company comes tomorrow morning. He is no longer allowed to take food in his room, but I am going to have to check to make sure of that.
3. We will keep no food on the kitchen counters. All food is either in a high cupboard or the refrigerator. We always did not put food in the lower cupboards. No dishes will be kept in the sink overnight. Every night we will not go to bed until the kitchen is clean.
4. I called Terminix and they are coming out on Saturday to look for dead mice, put traps out instead of just bait, and patch any cracks or holes where the mice can be getting in. They will also come out when we call to pick up mice and dispose of them whenever I call. It costs a little more than our current pest company but they will do more.
5. We are cleaning the garage. We did this about a month ago, but need to sweep up again.
6. I may need to make my son look for another place because he continues to leave food lying around. Yesterday I found a partially eaten pop tart in his bathroom. Who eats in the bathroom? He spills dog food when he pours it and doesn’t bother to pick up the pieces that missed the bowl. Grrrrrr. He thinks that I need to chill out, but he is failing to understand that his time at home with free room and board is limited because I am really freaked out by mice.
The pest control guy came yesterday and as he was walking into the kitchen the black mouse scurried from the laundry room to under the cupboard in the kitchen. He took the drawers out of the cupboard and baited the cabinets up to where the stove was and baited behind the stove and behind the refrigerator as well a couple of places in the laundry room and in the garage. He also checked the crawl space and put bait in there. The bait isn’t D-Con but works a lot like D-Con only unlike D-Con the mice don’t have to eat it for 5-6 days before they die, but just one meal will do it. Unfortunately they still take 5-6 days to die.
He says that the mice may be “in transit” because he didn’t find a lot of mice droppings or a nest. He said that usually when he is called he runs into an infestation although he said that it was really rare for the mice to be scurrying across the kitchen just when he walks in.
In 6 days, I am sending my son on dead mouse patrol. He was shocked and said “that was f***d up. I told him that I would pay him $100 and he was then okay with it.
The next thing that I am going to do is get a handyman out here to look for and plug any holes to hopefully prevent the problem in the future. I might try that fox repellent as well.
In the meantime, I am trying to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible, as well as the laundry room. Unfortunately, I need to do laundry today, but I think I will ask my son to help me by scoping out the area before I go into it. (He isn’t as bothered by the mice, thank goodness.)
Another thing the pest control person said was that they stay within about a 10 foot area, so I feel pretty comfortable that they will not go past the kitchen. I just hope they eat the bait and leave the house to die.
We still left our “no touch - no see” traps out because I would really like to catch them rather than them die behind my cupboard where it may be really difficult to get them.
I have seen two mice in my house. One was pretty dark, almost black. It ran from my laundry room door to behind the refrigerator. A few minutes later my son moved the refrigerator and we couldn’t see the mouse or any sign of it. We noticed that the back panel of the refrigerator which we bought in December 2007 was coming off and I wondered if the mice were going in there near where the motor was. Anyway, I put out a few wooden traps with cheese on them and we didn’t see anything for about 5 days. My son thought it was my imagination.
We got rid of the traps, and then put out D-Con.
Last Friday, I was vacuuming the kitchen linoleum and I think the noise of the vacuum cleaner near the refrigerator scared the mouse. This one was gray. It ran out from behind the refrigerator with a squeal, stopped and looked at me, then ran through a narrow opening between the cupboard and the stove.
I called the exterminator who is coming this afternoon to check the crawl space and put out bait. Since I had to wait over the week-end. Then we moved the D-Con that was behind the refrigerator in the laundry room closet to the garage. This was to make sure that my dogs couldn’t get to it. I have since added 8 of those “no see no touch” traps and put peanut butter in them as bait.
It has been three days since doing that and we are not seeing any mice . The D-Con doesn’t look like it is being touched and the mouse traps have not gone off. But I just know that they are still in the house. I am hoping that we don’t have an infestation, and we are not hearing things in the wall.
I have been reading the other tips and will try some of those. I think that the exterminator will be blocking all holes and he said that he would put bait behind the stove and the refrigerator, and in the crawl space and check for nests in the crawl space. Once we know that the mice are not behind the stove or in the stove, I think I will use steel wool and block the space between the cupboard and the stove.
I really hate mice. They scare me, so I hope this works. Will let you know if it does.
I can not believe I have mice! I live next to a Family Dollar and they like to be near food. I set traps, but the little invaders took the cheese without setting them off (how is that possible). One thing you can do to keep them out of your room while sleeping is keep a light (fairly bright) on and play music. They do not seem to like either. I know it will be hard to sleep, but it is better than having them climb in bed with you right? I never seem to see them in the day time. I am hoping I just have 1 invader. No matter how many I have, they are all going to overdose tonight!