Pest Management - How to Get Rid of House Mice

Mice are very common. They live in woods, in fields, and in urban areas, and a warm house is a tempting place to shelter and look for food! Scratching and scrambling noises in the walls could indicate that you have a mouse problem... but it could be some other type of pest too. Figuring out how to get rid of house mice first requires confirmation that it is actually mice you're dealing with. What works to control and manage one type of pest won't necessarily work for another.

Differences Between Mice and Rats

Mice are quite different from rats, in both appearance in in behavior.

• Mice are generally tiny little creatures, with small heads and feet.

• They prefer nesting in soft materials like cardboard or papers. Any cluttered areas in the home are at risk for attracting mice, who can enter a house through a hole as small as an index fingertip!

• Mice are very curious. They like to explore new things.

• They will eat almost anything (but prefer cereals and grains if available).

• Mice are superb climbers and can jump very high for their size. They're also excellent swimmers.

• They are very fast... you might catch just a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye before they disappear (don't ignore this - if you think you have a mouse inside the home, it's time to deal with them before they start breeding more).

• Mice are nocturnal. They are mostly active at night and in the early morning before the sun comes up.

• They can be found pretty much everywhere! Homes near fields and woods are at risk for being infested, but so too are homes in urban areas.

Tips on Dealing with Mice

There are several ways to deal with mice:

• Through the use of traps. There are the traditional mouse traps ('snap traps') and the highly INhumane glue traps, as well as humane live traps too. It's important to get a trap specifically sized for a mouse, as one sized for a rat is too large.

• Mouse repellents and poisoned baits / rodenticides. These can be highly toxic and are NOT at all humane. Great caution is needed when using these, particularly in households that include children and pets.

• Through ultrasonic devices that emit sound or vibrations that mice don't like. These ultrasonic devices are more humane, but they might not be effective over the long term. Mice may become accustomed to the sounds or vibrations, in which case another method will need to be found to deter or repel them.

It's important to immediately deal with any mice in the house. Mice breed like crazy, and if they're not dealt with in a timely manner, you'll end up with a far bigger problem! Once any mice currently in the home have been removed, then attention should be turned to preventive pest control. Anything you can do to rodent-proof your home can only help to minimize the risk of a major issue. Knowing how to get rid of house mice is useful... but knowing how to prevent the problem is equally as important - and prevention is actually the most humane pest control method available.