What You Should Do if You Discover Mice in Your House

June 10, 2020
by Charlie Priest

To some, mice can be cute and make a great pet. For others, mice are just pests. You can tell that you have mice if you notice small droppings around the house, holes in the walls and furniture, tiny teeth marks in your food, and shredded food packaging. Mice can be hazardous to your health, so it’s important that you act quickly before an even bigger problem occurs.

Find Out Where They’re Coming From

You need to find out how the mice are entering your home and where they are living. Search the edges of your house for cracks and holes. It’s important to realize that mice can slip into very small spaces. If there is a gap between your baseboards and the floor, they could be slipping in and out of these spaces. They can even fit in between the grating on your air conditioning vents. You will often find droppings around the entrance to their hideout.

Denying the mice access to your home should be your first action. You can purchase material to stuff into cracks and holes that mice can’t chew through. Once you have the entrances barred, you’re ready for the next step.

Buy Traps

To get rid of the mice that are already inside your home, you need to use traps. It’s important to realize that mice are very smart creatures. You might need to try several different methods of trapping them. Many mice can recognize a conventional trap and will be able to lick away the food without setting them off. You can overcome this by using a glue trap. As soon as the mouse steps on the trap, they’ll be stuck. You can also use pressure traps. Place these traps around the edges of rooms where you have seen signs of mice. Place them a few inches apart so that a mouse can’t jump over them in one leap.

Remove Food

The mice came because they found a source of food in your home. You need to find what it is that they are eating and remove it. Try to avoid leaving out food. Make sure that any cardboard or plastic packages are out or reach. Use food keepers and canned goods when possible. If the mice can no longer find food, they will go elsewhere.

The faster you respond, the less time the mice will have to establish themselves. Mice can breed quickly. Before long you could have a large infestation on your hands. If things get out of hand, you may need to call in a professional pest control service.

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