Friday

A Mouse in the House


I’ll begin at the beginning…

I recently purchased an older house (built in 1938), and soon discovered I was not alone. I suspect if you’re here you’ve also had a similar experience.

Relax, no need to sell. Mice are unfortunately everywhere so just follow the advice you find here, and you’ll be fine.

I’m not a fan of poisons since it’s mice we’re after, and I’ve heard of too many occurrences of collateral damage. Besides, if your mice problem is that severe, call a professional - really!

A friend had called an exterminator, and later told me the $350 would have been best spent on a few good traps and a little free advice - you’ll find both here.

Yes, there are some links, follow them or not - your call. It's just a quality product - reasonably priced, which I feel confident recommending to help you get rid of mice. And none link to poison!

So, a little preventative maintenance and a quality product, available at most hardware stores, (no you don’t have to buy it from the links if you’re not comfortable with that), and your home will be and remain mouse-free in almost no time.

Good Luck!

Wednesday

Get Rid of Mice : Without Poison

If mice have found a way into your home, don't despair. There are several ways to get rid of mice - without the use of dangerous poisons.

Poison may be an easy way to get rid of mice however, it has many drawbacks. After eating the poison, mice return to their hiding place and die. The dead rodent will lie there and rot, creating a smelly and unsanitary situation. There also is a great danger of children and pets getting into the poison.

Instead of poison, use traps, a time-proven way to get rid of mice. Regardless of the type of trap you use, be sure to place it along the wall where mouse activity is suspected. Mice tend to be shy, so put the trap out unset for a couple days to allow mice to become familiar with it. Doing this will increase your chances of catching mice instead of scaring them away when the trap tries to do its job.

The cheapest and most common way to get rid of mice is with the conventional snap trap. These are typically wooden rectangles that have a spring-loaded bar on the top. Bait is placed on a pedal, and when a mouse touches the pedal, the bar is released, snapping forcefully down onto the mouse and killing it.

They seem to be very fond of peanut butter and chocolate, and both of these items work well as bait. The biggest drawbacks to snap traps are that they are tricky to set, and because they are very sensitive, can snap on your finger before they are placed. Unfortunately, depending on where the trap snaps on the mouse, these traps often don't kill the mouse, leaving it trapped until it dies, not for a day or two.

Glue pads or trays are another option, although my personal experience has been less than ideal. I set out several of these pads where mouse activity was present and caught only crawling bugs. The sticky pads are to be placed where mouse activity has been seen or is suspected. Supposedly, when a mouse crosses the sticky surface, it cannot get off. If left there, it will die and the whole thing can simply be thrown away. I considered the possibility of dealing with a live mouse and decided the pads were not for me.

Another way to get rid of mice is allowing it to live with a box trap. These small usually see-through cubes have a swinging door at one end only. A mouse will enter, the door will shut behind it, and the mouse will not be able to get out. After the mouse has been caught, push open the door and tip out the mouse. This could be while the mouse is still alive, or after it dies. These traps can be quite effective, just consider you will likely have to deal with the live mouse.

A high-tech way to kill mice is with a Rat Zapper. These devices are battery-operated box-shaped traps. Inside the trap is a small metal plate that delivers a fatal shock to a mouse that touches the surface, and the mouse dies in seconds. At $50 - $60, these devices are more expensive than conventional traps, however I have found they are one of the best ways to get rid of mice – especially for the squeamish!

No article on how to get rid of mice would be complete without cats. Cats hunt mice. Outdoor cats tend to be better hunters because they have been exposed to mice. And unlike their indoor counterparts, may have had to rely on them to survive. Even if a cat does not catch a mouse for food, a cat's curious nature will compel it to catch a mouse if only to play with it before killing it.




Types of Mice

Mice are one of the most common and unwanted house guests ever. Getting rid of mice starts with identification.

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 lists to determine the origin of your visitors. Wild mice prefer seeds, oats and unprocessed foods, while house mice will eat nearly anything.

House mice 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 (usually)

Flat upper incisors

Wild mice characteristics:

Head and feet are disproportionately large for body

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 mice infestation:

Unexplained holes in walls or food containers. Mice have the ability to gnaw amazingly precise circles.

Spherical droppings up to 1/4″ 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 running out into the open.




Tuesday

Get Rid Of Mice : My Solution

If you've now succeeded in stopping mice from entering your home, the next step is eliminating those still inside before they breed out of control.

After not having any success with my previous pest control attempts, I wasn't as confident in being able to get rid of mice in my home. A quick google search revealed many products – most were a variation on traps I already owned, except one - Rat Zapper.

I was a little skeptical that I was spending money on a potentially useless device, but I was just so frustrated over the thought of mice roaming around the house while I slept, that $50 now seemed a reasonable investment. Besides, what started as a potential mouse in the basement, soon became droppings in my kitchen – things were clearly getting worse. And I was now losing sleep over this!

I ordered online to speed delivery, and the first night I positioned the trap in the basement and baited it with pet food pellets, but didn't turn it on (according to the directions). The next morning, all the food was gone. Before leaving for the day I re-baited the trap, but this time, turned it on. Could getting rid of mice really be this easy ?

I've felt most claims regarding products were usually exaggerated. To my surprise, when I returned home, the indicator light was blinking - I had finally gotten rid of a mouse! Not knowing how many remained, and feeling the excitement of finally getting some results, I re-baited the Rat Zapper and started to make dinner. Within an hour - another one gone! - I got rid of 3 mice in the next 2 days and haven't seen another one since.

The Rat Zapper requires 4 “D” batteries, and states you'll get up to 30 mice before they need replacing – I sure hope you never need to find out. I especially appreciate how humane and clean the device is. There was no gross mess, and disposal meant there was nothing to touch – just dump the mouse into a baggie, then into the trash. Problem solved!