Wherever you find man and his settled life, you can easily find rats and mice. Man gives building for shelter, nesting and endless supply of food. Most of the rodents will not prefer traveling 50m away from their nest and living place. Their ability to reproduce the fastest can lead to harmful problems for humans, like plague. Therefore, it is imperative that you know how to control mice.
Winter is the only time when you will notice rodents entering your house. We are constantly trying to keep are house free from the rats and mice. Trapping them is often very unpleasant and messy and so you must know how to control them.
Here are some simple steps to control mice.
Things Required:
- Flashlight
- Snap traps
- Glue boards
- Copper mesh or steel wool
- Screw driver for stuffing the copper mesh or steel wool tight
- Vacuum cleaner
Steps:
- The mice have finally made it in your house. The first question, which most of the people would want to know is, how did the mice get in here? Where have they come from? The first step will be making a thorough inspection of your home. Start from the outside and check for holes through which the mice may have entered. Next will be checking all the bottoms of your doors, you will have to get a door sweep for stopping the mice from entering from the outside.
- The next important thing will be closing all the holes, openings or cracks, which you find in the foundation of your home. Now, focus your attention on the inside of your home. Start putting out glue boards and snap traps on the inside of your house. You can start with your garage and te around the water heater area. Mice will always look for warmth, so they will reside near the water heater area; always put traps around those areas.
- Next, go to your attic and pop your head inside. Make sure that you have a tall ladder, which is tall enough to get your head inside the attic. You must never step on the top step of the ladder; it will be a long fall if you lose your balance. Around the opening area of the attic, you will have to place some snap traps and glue boards that are in reach. Therefore, if you happen to catch something, you can easily remove the mice that are caught in the trap.
- Now, start setting traps in your basement or crawl area, again these should be places within an arms reach for removing them easily. Always remember that you must never use mouse poison, because if the rodent consumes the poison and dies in an inaccessible area then your house will stink of odor. This will be the last thing you want in your house.
- Once you have closed all the holes and set all the traps, start putting very little amount of mouse poison inside your house. However, you must make sure that it is inside the locked rodent bait station and away from the reach of your kids and pets. Keep checking your traps regularly, just so you can dispose if you have caught anything in the trap.
- For cleaning the mice droppings, make sure that you are wearing a mask on your face so that you do not have to breathe mice droppings. Also, make sure that you are using a disinfectant, like Lysol for spraying on the mice droppings before you vacuum the droppings. Keep in mind that, you must never touch a dead mouse with your bare hands. Wear unlined gloves while you are dealing with pest control type situation.
- For removing the mice when you find them in the trap, always carry a bag or bin with you for sweeping the dead mice right into it. Again, you will have to be careful when you are disposing them because they should be in children’s reach. Keep inspecting the traps on a regular basis. Happy hunting!
Tips and Warnings:
- The first step for controlling the mice will be sanitation. Make sure that you clean up any clutter that you find inside your house, basement or garage. Remember that you must clean the dog feces that are in your backyard.
- After you have cleaned the mouse droppings, you must throw out the vacuum bag. Close all the holes in your house for preventing mice from entering your house. Make sure that you have added door sweeps on any door leading from the outside for preventing mice entering your house.
- You can use plaster for closing the holes, which are present inside your home and consider choosing quick drying cement for closing all the holes on the outside. Be very careful if you are using any kind of mouse poison.
- Keep in mind that, you must always put the mouse poison in small quantities because mice will eat only small quantity at one time. Never leave any kind of debris outside your home.
- If you are using poison, then it will take several feedings for the mice to die. Be patient!
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