Do you have current mouse problems? And want to get rid of them as soon as possible? Then you are at the right place where you can learn about mice, and how to get them out of your home. It is important to remember that mouse infestation can get out of control if not dealt with as soon as it is recognized.
A mouse plural as mice is a small mammal that belongs to the order of rodents. Mice are popular for their home invasions for food and shelter. The best-known mouse species is the common house mouse also known as the Mus musculus. While the common house mouse is a feared infestation rodent of the house, it is also a popular pet in many homes. The deer mouse also is known as Peromyscus maniculatus, and the American white-footed mouse also known as Peromyscus also sometimes live in houses. Field mice are another type of mouse that is common in homes it all just depends on the area that you live in.
Mice may prolong life up to 2 and a 1/2 years, but the normal wild mouse typically only live for about four months. Mice do not live long due to primarily owing to heavy predation from cats, dogs, foxes, birds, snakes, and sometimes even certain types of insects. Even with its very high predator list, it is still considered to be the second most successful mammalian genus living on earth today, right behind humans. This is because of their remarkable adaptability to almost any environment and its ability to live with and off humans.
Mice are not always the harmless looking rodents that they look, and they can sometimes be harmful. Mice can damage crops by eating them and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces. In North America there is a deadly disease called Hantavirus that is attained by breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse feces. Cats became household pets a long time ago to be thought of as their predation against mice and other rat relatives. While cats alone cannot get mice out of houses and due to their ability to get into the house from slight cracks and abilities to dig and slide into very small spaces. Mice reproduce year round in only 50 days having litter sizes usually ranging from 10-12 mice, making the mouse a commonly feared rodent infestation problem.
Signs of Mouse Infestation
- Unexplained holes in walls or food containers. Mice have the ability to chew amazingly precise circles into objects.
- Spherical droppings of waste up to 1/4 and inch long.
- Hearing scampering and rustling noises in the walls and ceilings, pay attention as these could lead to a nest or a point of entry.
- Dirty smudges and urine dribble on floors and along walls.
- Add of course visual eye site of a mouse could always mean there is more.
- If you have problems figuring out if you have a mouse problem sprinkle some talcum powder or flour on surface where you think the might be walking and wait a few days to see if there are any mice tracks.
Eliminating the Source of Mouse infestation
Before going straight to killing the mice, you must first to eliminate mice infestation by determining what’s attracting mice into your home. House mice will eat almost any available foods in house including pet food. Start your food search in the kitchen scouring everywhere searching every nook and cranny for any unprotected food, crumbs, spills, and trash. Keeping your food as elevated as possible in sealed metal, glass, plastic containers, while maintaining your trash in cans with tight-fitting lids. If you come across anything that you think may have been touched by a mouse then threw it away immediately as mice can transmit diseases to humans being known to carry several virii that are dangerous. Do this around your entire home searching though all rooms where food would ever go.
Mice will live anywhere warm, quiet and close to food as they have the ability to squeeze through openings the size of a US dime to get inside walls, ceilings, and many small places around a home. So cleaning out your home is a critical step in eliminating the east access possibilities for mice. Once your house is cleaned you need to examine all nooks and crannies where there are any small openings in and around your home. You need to have the mindset of a mouse and examine all possible entry areas that you can spot and plug them with a gnaw proof material such as cement and mortar for big holes, steel wool or metal plating for smaller crannies. Remember that entry points can be as high as 2 feet off the ground.
Eradicate the Mouse Population in Your Home
Mice can produce over 100 pups in a single year, so taking care of your mice problems as quickly as possible is a must. Different ways to trap mice:
Cheap affordable ways to get rid of mice
- Repellents can be used to get the mouse away from your home. A natural repellent that mice avoid is mint, so planting mint around your home with not only keep the mice away but freshen that air.
- Snap traps are one of the oldest mouse traps that work very well when baited. Bait that can be used is peanut butter, baked bread, oatmeal, peanuts in the shell, raw bacon, and cotton balls (attractive for their nesting material).
- Glue Traps are another affordable method for catching mice, but they are considered to be a very inhumane way to get rid of mice. A pest attractant scent is dispersed throughout the glue, so no batting is required just place and catch. It can be terrifying when picking up the glue traps with the mice still alive as they can still be squeaking and wiggling making this a bad choice for those who are sensitive.
- Mouse poison is another way to kill mice, but it is also considered an inhumane because it is not instant and can be painful. The reason rats and mice respond to poison is because they are unable to vomit.
Human-Friendly Mouse traps
- Live mouse traps are more expensive than other traps, but they catch the mice in a humane way. If you want to catch mice and let them go without killing them. When the rodent enters the door of the trap closes and contains the mouse for live release.
- Another humane, effective way of getting rid of mice is using essential oils. Oils of peppermint, mothballs, ammonia, and onion have been known to drive mice away. Many people also use fox urine which is known to send mice packing because the fox is a natural predator to mice.
- Having a house cat is a very effective way to keep mice out of your house. Since cats are natural predators of mice once they smell a cat in a house, they run away.
