How to Get Rid of Mice

Mice are clean rodents, but that doesn’t mean you want them in your house! They can ruin your furniture, kitchen appliances, computer cables, clothing and food. And their urine and feces can spread diseases, including Salmonella, which causes food poisoning. Mice are prolific breeders. The average mouse lives around a year and becomes sexually active by the end of its second month. During the next eight months, that mouse can have up to a dozen litters. And each litter can have between 4 to 6 babies, called “pups.” As a result, once mice get inside your house and start breeding, they’re difficult to get rid of. Usually, mice come into homes during the autumn to get in from the cold. But they also might come in at other times. For example, if their regular habitat is disrupted during major renovations to a nearby house or building in which they’re living, they might take up residence in your home.

How to Tell If You Have Mice in Your Home

Mice leave telltale clues of their presence in your home. They leave their droppings (feces), which are dark, around 1/8-inch long, and shaped like rods. Mice follow the same pathways and leave droppings there. If they get into your pantry, mice will nibble through plastic bags of rice and other kinds of cereals and grains, which they love. Mice also will leave gnawing marks on boxes and bags. If they get behind your walls, you might hear the mice scurrying around at night. If you should find mice in your home, how do you get ride of them? Here are four good ways. 1. Don’t Let the Mice into Your House in the First Place Mouse-proof your home. Make sure all screens are fastened tightly to the windows. Not only can mice climb vertically, but they also can jump twelve inches high. Mice also can slip through extremely small spaces -- areas just ¼-inch wide. So plug up all cracks and openings, including spaces around vents, drain pipes, and holes that phone lines or computer cables go through. You can use steel wool, screening in which mesh is smaller than ¼ inch, or sheet metal. Don’t use soft materials, though. Mice can gnaw through anything that’s softer than their teeth -- and mice teeth have pretty hard teeth. 2. Get a Cat A good mouser can help keep the mouse population down -- as long as you put it to work before the mice get a chance to settle in and breed. 3. Seal Your Food Your home provides the mice with food and shelter. So if you deprive them of food, you’ll reduce their incentive to stay. Put rice, cereal, sweets, and other foods in metal or hard plastic containers that seal shut. If you have a dog or cat, put it in one of the sealable pet food containers you can find at your local pet shop. 4. Trap or Poison the Mice Getting a cat and sealing your food works only if the mice haven’t begun seriously breeding. If they have, you’ll need to use traps or poison. Snap traps are very effective. Contrary to popular belief, peanut butter or something sweet makes a better bait than cheese. You also can use a sticky trap, but should kill the mouse after it gets stuck to it. Many people consider sticky traps inhumane, though. If you use poison, make sure you put it in areas where children and pets can’t get to it. Also, because the mouse will go off to die, make sure you don’t mind the smell of a dead mouse decaying between the walls.