Getting Rid of Mice and Other Rodents

If you see a mouse in your house, don’t kid yourself-his entire extended family has moved in with him. Reclaim your home or apartment, once and for all. All it takes is a few basic steps and you can rid yourself of these little rodents once and for all!

You Will Need

* Snap traps or glue boards

* Peanut butter and/or chocolate

* Steel wool

* Caulking compound

* Door sweeps (optional)

* 24-gauge galvanized steel (optional)

* Moth balls (optional)

Step 1: Set traps

Set traps in areas where you’ve seen mice. Put a dab of peanut butter or a bit of chocolate on each. And don’t be stingy-put out a lot of traps. (Snap traps and glue boards work equally well, but snap traps are more humane because death is instant.)

Step 2: Don’t cook

Eat out or order takeout for a few days so you can stick a few in the stove and under the burners, where mice like to nest.

Don’t set traps near any pilot lights!

Step 3: Repeat

After you’ve caught some mice with your traps, rearrange the furniture a bit and put out traps in some new patterns. Always wash your hands with hot water and soap after disposing of a mouse.

Step 4: Inspect rooms

Go from room to room looking for holes in the walls, floors, and baseboards. Mice can squeeze through holes as small as dimes.

Step 5: Patch

Patch up the holes by stuffing them with steel wool-which mice won’t chew through-and then sealing them with caulking compound.

Step 6: Examine doors

Examine doors that lead outside; they should have a “sweep” at the bottom that prevents mice from running in. If they don’t, install them.

(If you can fit a pencil under a door or in a hole, a mouse could crawl through it.)

Step 7: Scatter moth balls

Scatter moth balls in front of your front door and garage door. They’re a great mouse repellant. But don’t put them indoors-they’re highly toxic.

Step 8: Check for rotting walls

Still not gone? Have a handyman pull out your sink; the moisture often leads to rotting walls. If that’s the case, have 24-gauge galvanized steel installed where needed.

Step 9: Prevent future infestations

Prevent future infestations by storing food in strong, lidded containers (especially pet food and bird seed), using covered garbage cans, and taking the trash out promptly.

Be aware that when you begin exterminating the mice in your house, they instinctively step up their breeding, leading to even more mice!

Learn more about how to get rid of household pests