How to Get Rid of Mice

• by Darcy Logan

Introduction

• They are cute when you see them at Disneyland or in a pet store, but not when you see them running around your house. Having them in your home is not only creepy, but unsanitary. Mice have been known to carry over 200 diseases.¹ Some types of mice have even been known to carry hantavirus.²

• This guide will cover how to get rid of mice effectively, humanely and permanently. Although it may take a little bit of work in the beginning, in is worth it the long run.

How to Tell if You Have Mice

• Because mice are nocturnal, they can often reside in a home undetected for some time. ³ If you happen to see a mouse during the day, it is usually a sign that there are several mice in your home.³ Here are some of the more common signs that there are mice in your home:

1. Mouse droppings.
   1. Mice deposit 50 to 75 pellets or droppings each day.⁴
   2. Dropping are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long.⁴
   3. They resemble black grains of rice.⁵
2. Gnaw marks.
   1. Gnaw marks will be about 1/32-inch wide.⁴
   2. Mice typically gnaw 1-1/2 inch wide holes in cardboard and similar materials.⁴
   3. Marks will often appear on food containers and food packages.⁵
3. Musky odor.
   1. House mice and their urine have a very particular musky odor to it.⁶
   2. Smell may be found in cupboards or drawers.³
   3. Rats do not have the same odor.⁷
4. Scratching or squeaking sounds from the walls and ceilings.
   1. Mice are known to have caused structural damage by chewing on wood.⁸
   2. They will also chew through wires and use insulation to make nests.⁸
   3. The noise is often louder than people would expect from mice.⁴
5. Mouse nests.
   1. They are usually made from fine shredded paper or other fiber type material.⁹
   2. Nests are often found in sheltered locations.⁹

• If you're not sure whether or not you have mice, try this wonderful little test. Place a cracker or a piece of bread with peanut butter along the wall or on the floor and scatter flour or talcum powder around it. Leave it over night and check for tracks in the morning.⁷

Methods to Avoid

• There are four pest control methods that are not recommended because they are either ineffective, inhumane or provide greater health risks for you and your family. These methods include ultrasonic devices, glue traps (glue boards), poisons (rodenticides) and cats.

Ultrasonic Rodent Repellents

• Ultrasonic rodent repellents claim to use "ultrasonic sound waves attack the auditory and nervous systems of most common pests causing them pain and discomfort." According to Louisiana State University, the frequency hearing ranges of various animals are (in Hertz):

• If you review some of the claims the devices make:
  1. One device stated that the range of sound waves emitted from its device was between "approximately 30,000 to 65,000Hz."¹¹ Since cats can hearing ranges up to 64,000Hz, they would most likely be able to hear it.
  2. Another device claims that it uses "patented Digital Pulse Technology" that is safe for pets except "hamster, gerbil, mink, chinchilla, guinea pig or similar pet."¹² Notice that cats hear better than gerbils and guinea pigs. Cats, dogs and people hear better than chinchillas. Therefore, if it is capable of bothering them, it should be bothering the rest of us.

• Ultrasonic devices have been tested both in laboratories and in the field and most of the results showed that these devices are not effective.¹³ The same goes for electronic, magnetic and vibration devices.⁶
  1. In the 1980s, the Federal Trade Commission forced several companies to give refunds after charging them with false advertising.¹⁴
  2. Furthermore, ultrasonic devices do not penetrate behind objects and mice quickly become accustomed to regular repeating sounds.⁶

Glue Traps or Glue Boards

• Glue traps, or glue boards, are essentially a tray of very sticky glue. The mouse is then caught when it steps in the glue. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Here is why you should avoid using glue traps:

1. Although glue traps are designed to suffocate mice (which can take hours), they often die instead from starvation or dehydration (which takes several days).¹⁵ During this time, mice have been known to try to free themselves by tearing their skin off and/or gnawing their legs off.¹⁶
2. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend glue traps because they can increase your risk of being exposed to hantavirus.¹⁷
3. Glue traps often trap and kill birds, squirrels, snakes and even kittens.¹⁵
4. Children and pets can get caught in the glue, which can be very difficult to remove. (Use vegetable oil.)¹⁶

Poisons (Rodenticides)

• There are three types of rodenticides on the market today: acute toxins, calcium releasers and anticoagulants. Most sold today are anticoagulants (or blood thinners) that cause mice to bleed to death internally.⁸ They can take a long time to kill. Some of them require rats and mice to eat them each day for a week before they die.⁷ Here are some reasons why you don't want to use rodenticides in your home:

1. Mice that feed on the poisons will die where they live.³ In other words, in the walls of your home. This can cause a terrible odor as the mice slowly decay.⁵
2. To kill all the mice in your home, it can take up to three weeks before they are effective.⁹
3. Poisons pose a great danger to children, pets and wildlife that eat the poisons.⁷
4. Pets and wildlife are also in danger should they eat mice that have been poisoned.⁴

Cats

• We grew up seeing cats chasing mice on cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, or The Simpsons's Itchy & Scratchy. It makes sense that cats would be great at getting rid of mice. This is not true.

1. While it is true that mice are instinctively afraid of cats and that the initial odor of cats will scare mice away, the smell of cats can also acts as aphrodisiac for mice.^{18 19} Scientists exposed mice to the smell of cat urine for several weeks. After two months, instead of being afraid, male mice became more aggressive and more attractive to female mice in heat (which means more little mice).¹⁹
2. Furthermore, mice have gotten used to living with pets and often obtain food from the pet's dish or from what pets spill.⁹
3. Mice are capable of finding places to live and hide that are out of reach from cats.⁶
4. It is possible that cats might be able to spread hantavirus if they come in contact with infected mice.²⁰

Step 1: Make Your House Less Mouse Friendly

• Like any other creature, mice are in search of food, water and shelter. Taking steps to provide less opportunity to find these things in your home is one of the best ways you can reduce mice in your home. Start by searching in areas that are within 50 feet of any food sources.⁴

Food and Water Sources

1. Do a thorough cleaning of your house. Vacuum or sweep under furniture and furniture cushions, behind and underneath stoves and refrigerators, and in and behind cabinets.²¹
   • For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Clean Your Kitchen, How to Clean Your Bathroom, How to Clean Your Bedroom, How to Clean Your Living Room or How to Clean Your Apartment.
2. Place garbage in tightly covered trash cans.⁷
3. Feed dogs and cats in dishes. Pick up any food that they don't eat.⁷
4. Wash the dishes before going to bed each night.²¹
5. Wipe off stoves, counters and tables.²¹
6. Sweep or vacuum any food that may have spilled on the floor.²¹
7. Make sure any bird feeders are off the ground out of reach of mice.²²
8. Throw out any open containers of food.²²
9. Make sure any places where food is stored or processed is mouse-proof.⁹
10. Make sure all food is stored in plastic, metal or glass containers or similar type of resealable, airtight container.⁹
11. Fix any leaking plumbing, dripping faucets or other areas that will give mice access to water.¹³
12. Close off drains in showers, sinks and bathtubs when not in use with inexpensive rubber drain covers or metal drain screens.²¹

Shelter Sources

1. Recycle newspapers, paper bags and cardboard rather than letting it pile up.²¹
2. Keep clothing and linens in sealed plastic boxes or bags when not in use.²¹
3. Remove any overgrowth of shrubs, foliage or vegetation around your home.²²
4. Dejunk attics, closets, basements, crawlspaces and garages.²²
5. Remove trash, old boards, weeds and junk cars where mice can hide.⁷
6. Don't pile wood, lumber, pipes or other materials against the house.⁷
7. Store materials at least 8 inches off the ground and 12 inches away from walls.⁴

Step 2: Preventing Mice from Entering Your Home

• Preventing mice from getting in your home, also known as exclusion, is the most successful and permanent form of house mouse control. Before you try to trap or kill mice, you need to take the proper steps to keep them out. Otherwise, you will be fighting a losing battle as new mice will replace the old ones. While this might seem like a lot of work, these measures will also help prevent other pests from invading your home as well as help winterize. Since mice can enter your home through any openings larger than 1/4 inch and are attracted to houses when the detect heat escaping through openings, the goal of this step is to get rid of those areas.^{6 4}

• As stated earlier, you need to seal up any openings larger than 1/4 inch.⁶ This is about the same size opening as a pencil.⁸ Here is how you do this:

1. Seal gaps around pipes with steel wool and caulk or mortar.⁴
2. Seal openings around vents and utility cables with caulk or cement.
3. Seal any openings on your house's siding.²²
4. Seal cracks or holes in your home's foundation with caulk, metal or concrete.
   1. Seal up large openings with 1/4-inch wire mesh.⁴
   2. Do not use use latex, plastic, rubber, boards less than 1/2-inch thick, plastic screening, vinyl or insulating foam to seal holes.^{4 6}
   3. Place soapless steel wool or copper mesh inside holes before sealing to prevent rodents from chewing through.²¹
5. Makes sure all doors, windows and screens fit tightly.⁶
6. Cover the edges of doors and windows with metal to prevent rodents from gnawing their way in.⁶
7. Cover openings around chimney caps with screen.s²²
8. Make sure patching material is smooth, which prevents mice from pulling it out or chewing on it.⁹
9. Cover (either under or over the vent cover) air vents with mesh screens cut to size and fastened with caulk or a staple gun.²¹

Step 3: Trapping Mice

• Trapping is the best way to get rid of any mice in your home because they do not rely on hazardous rodenicides and you can safely dispose of any trapped mice.⁶ There are two types of mice traps available: live traps and snap traps.

Live Traps

• Using a live trap is the most humane method for removing mice from your home. It's even recommended by PETA. Just as the name implies, the traps are designed to capture mice alive. You can also make your own.¹⁵

1. Set traps against the wall in areas where you have seen signs of mice.
2. Check traps at least three times a day.¹⁵
3. Place a towel over the trap to keep the animal calm.
4. Transport captured mice to a designated release site or a wooded area at least one mile from your home.
5. If you live in an urban area, take mice to a veterinarian or an animal shelter to be euthanized.¹⁵
6. Live traps are sold at hardware stores, humane societies and online:
   1. PETA Catalog: Humane 'Smart' Mousetrap
   2. Google Product Search: "Live Mouse Trap"
   3. Amazon.com Product Search: "Live Mouse Trap"

Snap Traps

• There's an old saying about snap traps, "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese".²³ While snap traps are less humane than live traps, they are more humane than poisons and glue traps. They are also recommended by the CDC.¹⁷ They are also inexpensive and effective when used correctly.⁹

1. Set traps so that the trigger is sensitive and will spring easily.⁹
2. Position the trap so the trigger is next to the wall.⁵
3. You can purchase snap traps that are covered and easy to set.
4. Dispose of mice quickly by placing them (bagged) in an outside garbage container or by burying them.³

How to Set and Bait a Trap

• No matter what type of trap you purchase, it is important that you set, place and bait them correctly. If you don't, you'll be unsuccessful.

1. Set traps close to walls, behind objects and in dark corners where you know mice have been active.⁹
2. Make sure you have enough traps. Using too few traps is a common error people make.⁹
3. Place traps no more than ten feet apart.⁹
4. Leave traps baited but unset until the bait has been taken at least once.⁹ You may have to do this again after a mouse has been caught.
5. Do not use cheese to bait traps. It gets rancid too quickly.³
6. Good baits for mice include peanut butter, chocolate, dried fruit, bacon or a few drops of vanilla flavoring on a cotton ball.^{9 8}

• Once traps have been set for two weeks without catching a mouse, and all other signs are absent, you can be sure that the mice are gone from you home.

Conclusion

• Getting rid of mice does not have to be a nightmare once you know how. Best of all, while it may take more work in the beginning, many of the preventative methods will last for a long time.

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References for How to Get Rid of Mice

1. ↑ Michigan Department of Agriculture: Questions & Answers about Mice  
2. ↑ Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides: Mice
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Utah State University Extension: How Do I Keep Mice Out of My House?
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11} University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Controlling House Mice  
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Georgia Faces: Menacing Mice Move Indoors (December 20, 2007)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9} UCIPM Online: House Mouse Management Guidelines
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7} The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Rats and Mice: Keep Them Out of Your House and Yard
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4} The New York Times: Mice News
9. ↑ ^{9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13} Illinois Department of Public Health: House Mouse Prevention and Control
10. ↑ Louisiana State University: Frequency Hearing Ranges in Dogs and Other Species
11. ↑ Health Safety Pro: Electronic Pest Repeller - 5000 Sq Ft Coverage: Health Safety Pro
12. ↑ Official Home Page: Riddex Plus Digital Pest Repeller - Electronic Pest Control - Tv Website  
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} University of Tennessee: Managing Pests Around the Home  
14. ↑ University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Ultrasonic Pest Control? Save Your Money
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4} Helping Animals: Glue Traps
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} About.com: Using Mouse Glue Traps to Get Rid of Mice  
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Center for Disease Control: Trap Up!
18. ↑ Discovery News: Fearless Mice Cuddle Up to Cats (December 13, 2007)
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} MSNBC: Cats Can Help Male Mice Get Ladies (May 9, 2008)
20. ↑ About.com: What Else Did my Cat Bring Home?  
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8} The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: How to Control Pests Safely  
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5} DuPage County Health Department: Let's Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
23. ↑ Quote Garden: Humorous Quotations