What is the best way to get rid of mice in your house and how to do it. The best way to eliminate rodents from your home is to reduce their access. But if you live next to a field, as well as having to deal with other pests like moles, you may fail to eliminate them permanently as they will always come back. The following are the most effective ways and remedies to get rid of mice naturally from your home.

Block holes in both exterior and interior walls to stop mice

Mice may at times leave your home to get easier foods elsewhere. To prevent them from coming back start with the interior walls and block all the holes. Leave a space for them to leave the house. The space you leave should be sufficient to prevent them from making new holes as they will always make new holes if the space is narrow and traps them preventing them from moving freely. They only ever eat when they are hungry and you can be positive that they will eat with glee at the first chance they get. They will exploit any small cracks and holes in the wall to navigate the labyrinth that is your home – in fact, they can squeeze themselves in a hole the size of a dime if they have to. Such small holes are often overlooked by homeowners as a minor nuisance that “can be fixed later”.

To easily locate the holes the mice passes through, look for greasy stains and faeces. You may also get a unique smell coming from those areas. Mark the areas with some chalk and then clean them.

You should then take scouring pads and seal all the holes. To prevent the pests from pulling the pads away, secure them properly on the walls. If you happen to get large holes within the walls consider doing some repair to provide a lasting effect.

After a week, try to find evidence on continuing mouse activities within the building. If you happen to notice that they are still dwelling within the house try to look for the unsealed holes and seal them. After you have sealed all your interior walls look for the holes in the outer walls and repeat the process.

Shore up your porch and extensions to the home with hardwood boards or other material made specifically so mice cannot bite through them. If you find holes in the wall, first put some metal wiring atop it and then cover it over with a paste that will harden. The steel wiring will break the teeth of any mice trying to chew their way out and will ruin their day.

Seal any gaps you find with caulk, stuffing stainless steel pads into larger gaps before sealing. Keep doors firmly closed at all times, and add weather-stripping if necessary. Dog- and cat-owners who like the convenience of a having an entrance for pets should consider an electronic pet door. This type of device can be trigged by your pet’s collar, which will allow you pet into the house, while keeping everything else out. A very clever gadget.

Clean your home, kitchen, attic, basement or apartment regularly

Rodents will always stay in a home where they get food to eat, but if they lack food, they will eventually escape. You can purchase air tight containers to store your food in places not accessible to the mice. In addition, you should keep all your trash cans far from your home to reduce the smell. The smell from the cans highly attracts the mice. And on’t forget to clean an attic regularly as they like the warmth they find under the roof space. You may also find a mouse or two have taken up residency in your basement.

Mice are attracted to a place where they can hide easily and also get food. Get rid of every possible source of food and water by fixing leaky taps and putting all food in air tight containers. Always keep the trash cans away from your home and observe regular cleanliness routines to avoid any junk pile. Seal all the holes on your property that are being used by the mice to enter and exit from your home. Rodents leave a specific scent behind where they are especially active, mark that area and block the entry points. If you are unable to deal the with problem by yourself, don’t hold off calling a professional mouse removal service.

Clean up carefully after each meal, and do not leave any pet food sitting around where rodents have easy access to it. And of course, make sure that they cannot get into your garbage can. Fit your kitchen garbage with an airtight lid so that any pests will have a difficult time getting in to devour the virtual mouse stockpile that is likely inside.

Mouse Facts 1. As they do not have great eyesight, mice tend to see best in light that is dim because their other senses are very sensitive and alert 2. In order to go about their business, mice use their whiskers to sense things from changes in temperature to rough and smooth surfaces 3. Mice will gnaw down on anything from cables to cushions at every opportunity because they have teeth that keep on growing and grow up to five inches a year 4. They make the most of their short lives as they have a life expectancy of only 2 years 5. Every wondered how long a mouse tail is, well it can grow as long as their bodies 6. They are very attracted to human habitation especially in winter because of the warmth and food they provide, which is why people often resort to mouse control methods to get rid of them 7. Mice do not weigh very much, in fact they can weigh up to one ounce 8. Did you know that mice will use the scales in their tails to help them to climb which are why they are great climbers? 9. Sometimes we can hear a mouse squeak, but in fact, most of the time we can’t because their pitch is above the frequency level of human hearing 10. Did you know that mouse can jump at least 12 feet without ever damaging itself in the process? 11. Their droppings are not the most pleasant of the things and in fact they are dark and soft, measuring on average 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length 12. They never travel more 10 to 25 feet from their nest at anytime when foraging for food 13. The origin of mice is thought to have been in Asia and then they spread out to the out reaches of the globe through sea trading. 14. When they breed, they will start at two months and produce between 5 and 10 litters each and every year which each litter providing between 5 to 10 young. It is the speed of this process which makes mice such a populous species 15. They eat on average 3 to 4 grams of food each and every day; in particular they are very partial to cereals and seeds. 16. Cooked mouse has been used as a cure for many ailments down the years from, smallpox, and coughs

Use peppermint oil and home remedies

There are a number of home remedies to get rid of mice. You can either use pure peppermint oil or a type specifically meant for use as a repellant. Some local health stores can be selling essential oil at a good price, but inform the store attendant that you want to use the oil for repelling mice from your home. With the information they may inform you whether the peppermint they have in the store will work for the purpose.

You should use a good amount to attain good results by ensuring that the oil you have used provides a strong scent to repel the mouse. Using more oil is essential. Use at least five drops on a cotton ball.

You should then find the best location to place the cotton ball. The best areas should be those the mice will use to enter the house. The step is essential. You will be targeting the them to get the concentrated smell before they enter the house which should repel them. Many people who have used mint oil and failed to eliminate vermin from their homes often fail on this step. If the mice are within the house, there is a likelihood that they won’t leave the house after you place the cotton wool soaked in peppermint. However, they may find other holes around the house without the scent to escape.

It is also a good way to block the trail the mice leave within your house. They will use the trail to communicate to others about the way into the house. Locate the areas with the help of droppings and the grease marks they leave behind. Then place the cotton soaked with the peppermint oil across these trails. While using other mechanisms to get them from your house, you can also use this method to drive them out from their hiding areas to the traps.

The concentration of the scent coming from the soaked cotton will reduce with time and stop working after it gets weaker. Always keep the peppermint fresh to keep it effective. Soak the cotton wool in peppermint once in a month to increase the concentration. But if you are dealing with a recurring problem, change it at least once in two weeks.

Peppermint is one of the natural ways to get rid of mice, but doesn’t work efficiently for those that are already living within the house. If the scent is strong enough, it will prevent them from making a dwelling home within your house mostly when located on the trail. If you happen to place the mint in a place they are currently living, it will most likely not push them away.

Use rodenticides

Use them on areas where domestic animals and children have no access. They work efficiently in killing the critters. Some people will not be entirely at ease with the use of poisons, and there are questions around how humanely it is to exterminate an animal in this way.

If you are going to use poisons to kill mice, they can be an effective method of pest control. For example, you may leave some poisoned food at the spot which they often visit. They will eat poisoned food and die. However, you should be very careful, especially if you have children and pets at home. Unfortunately, there are cases when kids have eaten poison and ended up in hospital with intoxication. It also concerns pets which could actually die if they consume the poison. Therefore, make sure that kids and pets have no access to places where you leave poison. Such poisons are generally inexpensive and can be purchased in any supermarket or a specialized store.

How to get rid of mice fast with the use of electronic repellent

You can easily reduce mice from your entire house or business with the use of ultrasonic electronic repellents. They are able to travel from floor to floor easily a condition that makes them to hide in any place. The mechanism is easy and will assist you without considering the area they are hiding or nesting. The plug-in repellent devices emit multiple sounds which make the rodents uncomfortable in the house eventually eliminating them without killing them. To achieve better results, you may place them in different locations as an effective method of how to keep mice away..

Use mouse traps

Mouse traps are usually in three categories: the wood spring loaded trap, the wire cage and the electronic trap. They tend to be pretty good in reducing the number of rodents around the house although they will catch one mouse at a time and only if you place them in the best place. It is one of the most humane ways to kill rodents as they die pretty quickly compared with the use of poisons etc. You can also get mouse traps that don’t actually kill the mouse, but only stop it from leaving the trap. You are then free to let it escape somewhere far from your house, like a nearby field. Not everyone though will be comfortable being anywhere near a live mouse though!

When setting a trap, the bait is quite important too. They tend to like fat and sugar, so things like cheese or butter can be quite effective, and from my own experience, they can’t resist tomato ketchup!

Combining the traps with other mechanisms like the rodenticides or repellants may be more effective, but you will need to try a number of things to see what works for you.

Use glue strips

When the need calls for it, glue traps can be an effective tool for catching and eventually getting rid of mice altogether. Though it depends on how bad your mouse infestation is it is always better to be prepared for the contingency that they have made a permanent home in your house. Because the unfortunate truth is that if you see only one scurrying around all over the place, odds are there are at least several more than are crawling around the walls somewhere, just waiting to snatch at a plate of food that was carelessly left out in the open.

The major problem with the strips is that you will have to place them in an exact location and if not, you will hardly get any result. You will also have to un-trap the mice and dispose them correctly.

Use a natural predator

Another good way to deal with the pests is to prevent infestations in the future, is to invest in a cat. How to get rid of mice naturally – a natural predator like a cat can easily reduce the number causing an infestation in your home within a short time. There are many services that offer cats for free – such as cat rescue centers. These cats are generally very good mousers. If you want a tamer animal, you can purchase a cat or find one at a local animal shelter. You’ll have the benefit of a new pet as well as natural elimination of mice..



Use of Professional Mouse Exterminators

One of the most effective methods is to hire experts from pest control agencies. An awareness of rodent biology, eating patterns and behaviour are important skills that professional mouse removal services will have. Seasoned experts will come to your house, find places where they live and use special poisons that are safe for your family.

They also decontaminate the infested areas after complete removal of the pest. However, if you want to do it yourself, you can do that by following some of the other advice given in this article. Although this is the most expensive method, it is the most effective. Besides, these people know lots of various methods for ridding your home of pests. On top of that, pest control agencies offer warranties. It means that if mice show up in your house again, they will return and do the job for free. Although there may be various companies which can offer solutions for how to get rid of mice, there are some which really stand out when it comes to their thorough approach, their fantastic levels of customer service and the great value for money that they offer. They will be able to deal with your problem, no matter how big or small it might be, but you will need to do some research to find out about recommendations or reviews on business websites or directories. Sometimes a local business association can be helpful in finding a reputable company.

You may wish to check out one of my other posts –

How to keep snakes away from a chicken coop

How to get rid of chipmunks