When home and business owners consider the ways to get rid of mice, they often forget that many of these methods can be both ineffective and even dangerous. The solution for a mouse’s infestation is varied, but typically, targeting a mouse’s natural fears is sometimes the best method to take. This is easier said than done, so with this in mind, what is the best way to get rid of mice and prevent an infestation?
To get rid of mice, you should prioritise preventative measures first, such as utilising home remedies, sealing food in airtight containers, using traps in enclosed spaces, and removing all clutter. Using animals, such as a mice-trained dogs can also work well to eliminate mice.
Are you currently trying to figure out how to get rid of mice? If so, then this guide is for you.
Here we offer some tips and tricks on tackling mice and explore some of the common infestation problems posed by rodents for UK home and business owners alike.
Additionally, we will also take a look at how we at Project Multi Pest can offer an effective and comprehensive solution to rid you of this common problem.
What Attracts Mice To Homes?
Common mice often rely on people in order to survive as like us, they need shelter, food and water. Clutter, pets, unkempt gardens, and cracks and crevices are typically what attract these pests to homes.
Once inside, mice will start to breed rapidly and also attract other mice that get the okay that the home is safe and stocked with a plentiful supply of food and moisture.
Feeling cosy and content, mice will live and make nests underneath skirting boards, underneath furniture, and typically reside in areas close to food sources. These pests can cause serious damage to electrical wiring, upholstery, and structures due to their burrowing and gnawing behaviours.
Since mice can climb across vertical surfaces and other surfaces that support their feet, these pests will regularly crawl on kitchen counters and spread potentially dangerous germs and pathogens everywhere they roam.
Types of Mice
The house mouse is a common foe for businesses and homeowners. As the name suggests, these critters like to stay and play indoors.
The house mouse is something of a magician and can disappear through a hole of less than a quarter inch.
On top of that, the house mouse likes to rampantly breed; often delivering a litter of 5-7 pups almost 10 times a year! That’s potentially 70 extra pups scampering around your property, breeding and causing havoc.
Countryside dwellers may stumble across the wood mouse in their garden, also known as field mice. These little creatures are small and chunky with large eyes and ears.
While they often set up shop in hedgerows and gardens, they are fickle beings simply searching for a spot that offers the most food and warmth.
For the purpose of this guide, we will focus primarily on the problems posed to homeowners from the house mouse. But please note, if you have a tale to tell about any kind of mouse, then at PMP we can help.
Identifying a Mouse Infestation: The Tell-Tale Signs
If you are fortunate enough not see your new companion in person, then you will probably first discover house mice by finding their feces! They drop them everywhere – in your cutlery drawer, behind the washing machine and even in your slippers.
Or you may hear them before you see evidence of them, by the scratching noises they make in your wall cavities.
But these small rodents are highly adaptable and will go to great lengths to avoid being detected. So let’s take a look at the signs of a mouse infestation for you to look out for.
Droppings
A major sign of a small rodent invasion is mouse droppings. They will leave a hint of their existence in the form of small dark mice droppings that look like grease marks. Take a close look at your cupboards, and especially the cutlery drawer.
Newly formed droppings will be shiny, whereas older droppings will be dry and crumbly, helping you to identify whether you are dealing with a fresh problem or an old one.
Odour
Rodents have a distinctive and sometimes foul smell attached to them. Active infestations may also come with a nose wrinkling odour of musty unpleasantness.
Hiding Spaces
You can check for mice in their favourite hiding spaces. Mice love to make a home in our lofts and eaves. They will carry stashed fabrics up into the roof to make their bed and duck down in the night to search for food.
They can also be found dwelling behind kitchen appliances, and in many ways, they share this trait with cockroaches that also tend to do the same.
They like to be close to pipes where they can scurry in and out at will. Cavity walls are another firm favourite, especially if they feel out of sight. Check closely all your small crawl spaces, suspended ceilings, airing cupboards, and even under the stairs.
A mouse in the house may seem harmless, but these fuzzy creatures carry disease, chew electrical wires, steal insulation, and won’t think twice about urinating on all your stuff.
In short, a mouse problem is exactly that – a problem – and any unsuspecting home can fall victim to an invasion of mice.
The Best Ways To Get Rid of Mice
In this section, we will discuss some of the most common methods used in pest control to get rid of mice.
Mouse Traps
There are also several types of mouse trap products, but they are not for the faint of heart. The main varieties are Kill Traps, Catch-and-Release Traps, and Glue Traps. Kill Traps will kill a mouse instantly and are oftentimes more humane than other methods, though you will have to dispose of mice bodies.
Catch-and-Release traps, also known as Live Traps, catch a mouse without harming it so that you can relocate it to another area.
With this trap, you should check them at least once a day and use a baiting substance like peanut butter as a food source to lure mice, and you will need to relocate any live mice you catch. Make sure you do this well away from your home, as you will find that they simply stroll back in.
A glue trap is extremely effective, but is considered to be very inhumane. Therefore we would not recommend you use this for catching mice.
Mouse Poisons
One of the most common methods for flushing out a mouse problem comes in the form of mouse poison disguised as bait to get rid of mice. If the word makes you wince, it should. Poisons, while effective, are far from the most humane way.
A mouse can take 4 days to die after ingesting the bait, typically through cotton balls soaked in the toxins, and there is a great deal of suffering involved. After ingesting poison, a mouse will crawl away to die, usually within your walls making it difficult to dispose of the aftermath.
As time passes, unpleasant odors start to seep through and there is little you can do but wait for them to fade.
Pet owners may also feel uncomfortable with the idea of poisons as they can potentially pose harm to their pet’s health, specifically through food poisoning by way of accidental ingestion, or secondary poisoning if a pet happens to eat an infected mouse. Again, we would not recommend poison as a way in which to control a mouse infestation.
Pest Control
Utilising pest control services to catch mice and provide mouse control is the most effective method, but common pest mice control, even with professional pest controllers, can often be quite inhumane when it comes to rodents.
The pest control industry seeks to eradicate the problem quickly but can be quick to use toxic poisons without trying other methods.
At PMP, we prioritise humane methods like mouse traps, mouse proofing, and rodent catching dogs to eradicate and prevent mice infestations.
We strive to present an innovative and safe variety of pest control for our clients.
Best Mice Prevention Tips
Preventing mice from entering your home is the strongest tool you have in your arsenal. Consider following these steps to prevent a mouse infestation and deter mice:
- Close all holes, entry points, and cracks greater than ¼ inch with expandable foam.
- Seal all pipes leading to outside water supplies, garden hoses, and hot water tanks with steel or bronze wool.
- Check and maintain all vents and gaps in attics and under window sills to ensure that they do not provide an easy entry point.
- Cap or screen your chimney with mouse proofing to stop mice climbing up and down.
- Add door sweeps to the bottom of your garage and any outbuilding doors.
- Maintain your garden by cutting your grass regularly. Make sure that you trim back branches that could potentially form a bridge to your property and try not to plant shrubs or greenery too close to your house as it encourages rats to dig under the foundations.
- Do not leave pet food or leftovers out on display and make sure that you seal your bins before disposing of them.
- Make sure that you store all your food supply in a cupboard or in glass, metal, or plastic containers. And the higher you can place your food supply, the better.
- Avoid hoarding and excess clutter as it provides places to hide, shelter, and materials to the nest.
- If you have pets such as cats and dogs, make sure that their food bowls are not left unattended.
- Use peppermint oil, peppermint sprays, cayenne pepper, or anything with a strong smell to place around all cracks and crevices. Peppermint oil tends to have the best smell and you could also place dryer sheet stuffings around your garden as well.
Remove Clutter
The more clutter you have, the more attractive your home will appear to mice. Try and ensure that all unnecessary and miscellaneous items around the home are removed or placed in storage.
Always maintain a clean and sanitary home – this way there will. be no crumbs or leftovers for themie to get their little claws into.
Keep Your Garden Clean
The garden is the first point of contact these animals will notice, and if your garden is unkempt, this will signal to mice that your home is worth exploring as a possible dwelling.
Seal All Cracks and Crevices
Mice need a way to get indoors, so make sure you inspect your home and seal all cracks and crevices that you can find.
FAQs
What is the fastest way to get rid of mice?
Trapping and removing mice is the fastest way to get rid of the problem. Additionally, at PMP we employ a safe and highly effective method for ridding your home of rodents without the trauma that poison can cause, by using our pet dogs Gracie and Monty.
Not only are these dogs instinctively trained to scare mice away, but they work well to flush the pests out of their hiding spots and can quickly dispense of them.
Will mice go away on their own?
If you do not take steps to eliminate the creatures from your home, the problem will not go away, and in fact, it will become worse over time. Mice will continue to reproduce and the coverage of their colony will continue to grow throughout your home and even out into your garden.
How do you know if mice are gone?
You can typically tell if the vermin has vacated by no longer being able to see mice crawling around your home. Additionally, if you stop hearing noises and you no longer find feces in corners or in their preferred nesting and hiding places, this is also a sign that the problem has been banished.
A steel wool cleaning brush and a powerful disinfectant can help clean up any feces and urine stains, but be sure to follow the preventative measures listed above to ensure the problem does not reoccur.
Will mice leave if they smell a dog?
Any larger animal or pets in the home will scare mice away, but there is no guarantee that their presence will completely cure a mouse problem. Using a professional rodent catching dog to help flush out mice is the most effective strategy when mice are in hiding.
More than likely, the presence of a dog will drive the mice into hiding, and it is just not feasible to expect an average pet to be able to hunt down and remove every mice inside the home.
At PMP, however, our highly trained Parson Jack Russells area experts playing hide and seek, and always come away victorious.
Why Choose PMP to get rid of mice?
At Project Multi Pest Pest Control, we employ a swift, safe, and highly effective method to get rid of mice without the trauma. We believe in dealing with the problem as fast and kindly as possible, to reduce the suffering that poison can cause. Our method uses a combination of well-trained dogs and traps to flush out the problem.
Once your site is clear from all the mice, at PMP we don’t just pack up and leave. Our informative experts will provide you with preventative solutions and recommendations in order to ensure that your property remains mice-free.
