The presence of a household pest is never a pleasant experience. With mice in particular, the health hazards alone are reason enough to divest yourself of them. Fortunately for homeowners, removing a rodent population is not nearly as difficult as it sounds. As you work on the logistics of how to get rid of mice in the house however, it is important to be aware of the many options available to you.
A Few Ways You Can Go About Eliminating These Pests
Poison
Poison is a popular method of dealing with mice because it doesn’t require very much input on the homeowner’s part. All you need to do is set up the bait and let the substance do its work. While there is no questioning the effectiveness of this approach, it should be pointed out that it does come with its challenges. The first concern with poison is keeping it away from children. After all, nobody wants to deal with that kind of medical emergency. Strangely enough, the second issue is in scenarios where the poison works. Depending on where the mouse dies, the decomposing body has the potential to cause a wide range of unintended consequences.
Traps
how to get rid of mice in the houseWhere the elimination of rodents is concerned, mousetraps have a well-earned reputation for producing results. Whether looking to kill the mouse or simply contain it, it is more than possible to find a trap that meets your needs. There are humane traps, good old-fashioned spring traps, and even traps that kill the rodent but spare you the sight of the dead body. Recovering the mouse is not an issue with this approach and the traps are often available at reasonable prices. As always, the final choice is up to you.
Natural Means of Pest Control
While the two approaches mentioned before have been proven to get results, there is still something to be said for using a natural mice deterrent. Peppermint works quite nicely to accomplish this and you can use either plants or essential oil with this technique. Leave the plants, soaked cloth, or cotton ball near the mouse’s point of entry as well as in the areas where the pest has been seen. The smell will repel the mice. Another tactic that people have used successfully is that of leaving snake droppings in select areas throughout the house. Since many snakes prey on mice, you can rest assured that those rodents will stay away from places predators might be. You can find the droppings around town by asking local pet stores and shops for a supply. In both of these scenarios, the mice will leave of their own accord sooner or later.
Sonic Noisemakers
If you happen to have pets and small children in the house, snake droppings, traps, and poisons might not always be the most practical means of pest control. A sonic noisemaker is the perfect way to get the results you are looking for with none of the hassles associated with keeping kids away from the bait. Powered by electricity and said to be relatively quiet as well, the noisemaker will keep rodents away without annoying people or becoming a danger to your little ones and pets. For a truly set and forget solution to mice, noisemakers are an option worth looking into.
Prevention
As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. With respect to the extermination of household pests, certain precautions can go a long way towards ensuring that mice are never a problem again.
- Find out how the mice are getting into your house and then block those points of entry.
- Keep food stored safely and securely.
- Kitchen scraps should not be thrown out with the rest of the compost.
- Lumber and woodpiles should be kept above ground.
- Take care to seal cracks and to make sure that your home is “rodent proof”.
- Picking up items like fallen seeds and fruit in the backyard will prevent mice from seeing your home as a reliable source of food.
Those who wish to deal with a mouse infestation have their pick of several different choices. Poison will definitely put a dent in the population’s numbers and traps are a reliable method of eliminating rodents. Even so, peppermint and snake droppings provide homeowners with an alternative means of keeping mice away. Once you have settled on the approach you are taking, the practical side of learning how to get rid of mice in the house is not very hard to grasp.