Mice may look cute to some children who have seen Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry, and Ratatouille, but we know the reality is that they aren’t at all cute. They’re pesky carriers of various diseases, such as the bubonic plague and leptospirosis.
You don’t want mice in your home or anywhere near it!
Unfortunately, keeping them out of your home requires a bit of effort. Mice are naturally attracted to homes because there’s food and shelter. While mice removal is better done by professionals, you can also try some methods at home.
If all else fails, you can always pick up the phone and call a professional exterminator. Otherwise, you can try out some of the best ways to keep your home mouse-free.
Understand Why You Have Mice Infestation
First, if you already have an infestation, you must understand why they are in your house. Mice can squeeze into holes as small as ¼ inch. They use sewer pipes and gas lines to get inside your home. You will attract a mouse infestation if there are entry points—such as a small hole in the wall.
They are generally attracted to homes because of the presence of food. You shouldn’t leave food on the table or kitchen countertop. If you have leftover food, keep it in the refrigerator or throw it away in the garbage outside. Mice also favor dry goods such as bread, pasta, and cereals.
These rodents may also come from your neighbors. If they have recently had a renovation or pest control service, any mice in their homes will look for a new shelter. What’s better than the house next door?
Leave Your Home Spotless
It all comes down to cleaning. You have to clean your home. It should be spotless because mice thrive in rubble and clutter.
They love bread crumbs all over the floor. If you keep everything clean, there’s no reason for them to breed in your house. They’ll look for other places to find food.
Trap Them
You can kill mice with traps that will cause them to suffocate or starve. Some traps can even cut off parts of their bodies as they try to wriggle their way free, while others instantly kill them. You will find most mouse traps in the hardware store or home center.
You can trap mice more humanely by setting traps that can’t hurt them. One example is the bucket method. You will attract the mice with food stuck to a spoon propped against a bucket, so they will fall into the bucket and get trapped there.
The original idea was to drown them since the bucket could easily be filled with water. Mice cannot swim for too long. They’ll eventually exhaust themselves and die. Don’t put water in the bucket if you want to keep them alive and release them in the wild.
Close Entry Points
Go back to the main reason why mice are in your home. If they find an entry point, they’ll maximize that and breed in your home. You’ll be surprised by a secret colony of mice inside your drywall or in your basement.
The best way to get rid of them is to close all entryways. They will eventually give up if there’s no way for them to get into your house.
The biggest mouse-accessible entryway in many homes is a pet door in the kitchen. There’s already food there to attract the mice. All they need is to get inside the house using that pet door.
You should close and seal all gaps, holes, and cracks in your home.
Use Essential Oils and Herbs
Catching mice isn’t the only way to get rid of them. You can also use peppermint essential oil, which they hate the smell of.
Douse the cotton balls with peppermint oil and leave them in areas where you think the mice are.
You can also fill a cheesecloth with cayenne pepper, cloves, and mint. Ammonia is another smell that mice can’t stomach.
Get a Cat
You can get the best advice from Tom and Jerry. Get a cat, and it will do the work for you. Cats are natural rodent killers. They don’t even need special training. They’ll happily kill any mouse they come across.
Of course, you need to take care of the cat and make sure to clean it after it goes off on a killing spree.
The presence of a cat in your house will deter rodents of all kinds.
Call a Professional Pest Control Service
You can always call a professional pest control company if the infestation is too much. They have the tools, chemicals, and other materials to keep mice away.
They just need a day to drill poison into your home, and you’ll end your mouse infestation! Always ask lots of questions when picking a pest control company.
You want to ensure they are registered, insured, and if possible, offer a guarantee.
The Takeaway
You can do many things to stop mice infestation in your home. These do-it-yourself methods are good starts.
But if it gets too much, the easiest thing to do is let the professionals handle it.
They will use a variety of traps and poison to make your home mouse-free.
