How To Get Rid Of Mice

  • March 17, 2009
  • 51,152 Views
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If you see a mouse in your house, don’t kid yourself—his entire extended family has moved in with him. Reclaim your home, once and for all.

You Will Need

  • Snap traps or glue boards
  • Peanut butter and/or chocolate
  • Steel wool
  • Caulking compound
  • Door sweeps
  • 24-gauge galvanized steel
  • Moth balls
How To Get Rid Of Mice: Set traps

Step 1: Set traps

Set traps in areas where you’ve seen mice. Put a dab of peanut butter or a bit of chocolate on each. And don’t be stingy—put out a lot of traps.

Snap traps and glue boards work equally well, but snap traps are more humane because death is instant.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Don’t cook

Step 2: Don’t cook

Eat out or order takeout for a few days so you can stick a few in the stove and under the burners, where mice like to nest.

Don’t set traps near any pilot lights!

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Repeat

Step 3: Repeat

After you’ve caught some mice with your traps, rearrange the furniture a bit and put out traps in some new patterns. Always wash your hands with hot water and soap after disposing of a mouse.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Inspect rooms

Step 4: Inspect rooms

Go from room to room looking for holes in the walls, floors, and baseboards. Mice can squeeze through holes as small as dimes.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Patch

Step 5: Patch

Patch up the holes by stuffing them with steel wool—which mice won’t chew through—and then sealing them with caulking compound.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Examine doors

Step 6: Examine doors

Examine doors that lead outside; they should have a “sweep” at the bottom that prevents mice from running in. If they don’t, install them.

If you can fit a pencil under a door or in a hole, a mouse could crawl through it.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Scatter moth balls

Step 7: Scatter moth balls

Scatter moth balls in front of your front door and garage door. They’re a great mouse repellant. But don’t put them indoors—they’re highly toxic.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Check for rotting walls

Step 8: Check for rotting walls

Still not gone? Have a handyman pull out your sink; the moisture often leads to rotting walls. If that’s the case, have 24-gauge galvanized steel installed where needed.

How To Get Rid Of Mice: Prevent future infestations

Step 9: Prevent future infestations

Prevent future infestations by storing food in strong, lidded containers (especially pet food and bird seed), using covered garbage cans, and taking the trash out promptly.

When you begin exterminating the mice in your house, they instinctively step up their breeding, leading to even more mice!

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Comments (13)

hallmarcus72

Great video…there are some really good tips. The only thing I have to add is NEVER buy the Ortho Home Defense mouse traps. I read today that there is a big lawsuit coming about them and it sounds like a bad choice.

about 1 year ago by hallmarcus72

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alhmra

see this: Killing Mickey Mouse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSvjOeW-J-w

over 2 years ago by alhmra

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sergiuzburatoru

There are some things that we have to be careful about when dealing with mice. This is very important. I see that people complain here in the comments about several issues that they are dealing with. This doesn't work if you don't really know what you are doing. Thanks for sharing a lot of interesting information with us. As a pest exterminator I understand how important this is actually. Regards, Sergiu Zburatoru, Manhattan Mice Exterminators, Inc. sergiuzburatoru[at]manhattanpest[dot]com <;a href=";http://miceexterminationforbeginners.blogspot.comL";>;how to get rid of mice<;/a>; | <;a href=";http://miceexterminationforbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-kill-mice.html";>;how to kill mice<;/a>; | <;a href=";http://miceexterminationforbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-exterminate-mice.html";>;how to exterminate mice<;/a>;

over 2 years ago by sergiuzburatoru

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Alison_Henry

I'm still amazed that nobody thinks of using humane traps - first instinct is to kill. Humane traps can be made from almost anything in your house, and as long as you check the traps regularly you can release your little furry invaders without harm to them, and without having to touch them and risk a little nip. Intentionally killing a pet mouse can land you with a hefty fine and maybe even some light prison time depending on the circumstances, but for some reason it's fine to intentionally kill a wild one. Bottom line is: killing is a LAST RESORT. There's enough cruelty in the world without people going out of their way to add more.

over 2 years ago by Alison_Henry

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Wynne_Evans

Clear, Entertaining, intriguing Intellectually stimulating! Well-researched. http://mcatprep.yolasite.com/

over 2 years ago by Wynne_Evans

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NepalKat

I have a How-To for getting rid of squirrels that I'm going to post today or tomorrow. It's an old Asian method that works like a charm and costs next to $0. Watch for: ";How to get squirrels out of your attic."; I may not have a video for it, but it really doesn't need one. (That's why I'm waiting to put it up, but I may just go ahead without it.) ---- NepalKat

over 2 years ago by NepalKat

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JRSYGRL

I posted about the Tomcat traps earlier. The company called me and were very nice and sorry - apparently the wooden snap traps have and ";S"; on it for setting it to sensitive. I did not notice this. This may be why the traps were not going off. I explained that the Victor trap with the ";metal petal"; where more successful for me. Victor also have some snap traps with the wide plastic platform which may only catch the mouse at the tip of it's snout - I do not know. Tomcat was nice to send me a few ";Spin Traps"; which may be good for people who do not want to see the dead mouse after it is trapped. You just throw them away - not sure how much they cost. I will try them inside my house since I have pets.

over 3 years ago by JRSYGRL

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purpletiger

Good point about the steel wool and caulking. Mice are destructive. They do not need food sources (if you have everything in sealed containers), they will just chew up the wood in your home for food as they make their nests. Note: mice (pets or wild) carry diseases which are harmful to humans and pets. http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct_rodents.htm They also carry fleas and mites that can trigger asthma symptoms in some people. In cases of severe infestation, glue traps may be your only way of bringing the problem under control. I used three rat sized traps, placed in line with the travel line (usually a dirty/greasy line around baseboards and entry/exit points) and overnight caught the entire family (37 mice total). Now, snap traps catch the occasional intruder and the visible signs (grease trails, droppings, etc) have virtually disappeared. I have yet to hear of any useful purpose for vermin.

over 2 years ago by purpletiger

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Brandy_Willis

I use to be the person who thought mice traps that kill were mean and I would buy the traps that caught them and I would realease them. But I have so many mice that has bred in my home that these catch and realease traps just do not work! I tried for months using those but they would get in the traps, eat the food, and be smart enough to get back out (how, I don't know??) I only caught 2 and that was it! So after having them bred in my house and mice poop everywhere I had no choice but to use the traps that kill (though I still get upset &; have even cried over seeing them dead in them) I hate that I have to use those kinds of traps but sometimes you have no choice! I have 4 kids who don't need to have mice poop everywhere for them to breathe in or touch! They even poop in our silverware drawer! Ahh! We live in a field out in the country so they are always running through the fields. My big dog outside even catches them and eats them...yuck! And sad. But sometimes you can't help but to kill them so you can protect your family. I think one is in my air ducts now cause I hear it sometimes! What am I to do about that???!!!

over 2 years ago by Brandy_Willis

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JRSYGRL

WARNING- DO NO use Tomcat brand wooden snap traps. I am very upset and sent this message to the company today: I am very upset with your wooden snap traps. One was placed in my house and did not trip and just feed a mouse for weeks until I switched to a Victory brand snap trap which killed the mouse instantly within hours. 3 more mice where killed by VIctory traps in the same night. The only mouse that your traps did capture - caught him on the end of his nose. THIS IS BARBARIC AND SADISTIC. THIS MOUSE DID NOT DIE INSTANTLY! This is totally unacceptable and disturbing - even if this creature is vermin - it is extreme cruelty . Your yellow plastic platform is too wide and comes too close to the metal snap to kill the mouse instantly. I took the traps back to Lowes and talked to the manager and told him I was going to Home Depot to buy more Victory traps. He said he will be notifying corporate. I am writing to Lowe's Corporate as well and demanding that they remove your traps from their shelves and will boycott their stores until they do. I will be posting this on the internet every where I can until you change your design.

over 3 years ago by JRSYGRL

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cris2per

I am looking to get services of any pest control company in california. I am only aware of companies which take a year contract but I am looking for one time service. Is anyone aware of any company which does that? Also, if you have any experience with them, please share that as well. <;a href=";http://www.pestbomb.com";>;pest control<;/a>;

about 1 year ago by cris2per

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hallmarcus72

Thanks for the tips. I don't want to have to deal with the mess the old-fashioned snap traps leave though. I found this one online that seals the mouse to avoid just that. http://www.victorpest.com/store/rodent-control/m265#desc

about 1 year ago by hallmarcus72

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worksferks

This will only work for short-term mice extermination. Yo could try more humane to exterminate mice problems from your house. At that rate you might just want to get a cat, since many cats are avid hunters and have no problem getting rid of a few rats or mice. But with a mice/rat infestation, it's best to call a professional unless you know what you can do and what your situation is like. And sometimes not calling a pro and doing it yourself is the best way to learn and even save a couple hundred or even thousands of dollars. Look for some mice extermination articles on google. Anyways good mice extermination post and good luck guys. More at: http://www.miceexterminationinfo.com and http://www.miceexterminationinfo.com/tag/mice-extermination

about 1 year ago by worksferks

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