If you've recently suffered the loss of a beloved feline friend, noticing signs of a mouse infestation after years of a rodent-free home can be like adding insult to injury. While you're likely eager to rid your home of mice as quickly as possible, you may still be reluctant to use glue traps or old-fashioned snap traps to kill (or warfarin to poison) your new home invaders. Are there any humane options that can allow you to quickly and effectively rid your home of mice? Read on to learn more about your less-lethal options.
What preliminary steps should you take before rodent-proofing your home?
In many cases, you'll find that mice seem to congregate in certain areas. For example, you may have never seen a mouse inside your house, but could find yourself frequently dealing with chewed engine wires or nests made from ripped paper in your garage. In other cases, the mice may congregate in the room with the easiest access to food -- your kitchen. Figuring out where (and why) your mice congregate can give you the knowledge you need to target your eradication efforts accordingly.
In many cases, sending your mice on their merry way may be as simple as setting up some deterrents. If you have problems with mice chewing through the wires in your vehicle, lawnmower, or other piece of equipment, spraying a mixture of vegetable oil and hot pepper onto these wires should send hungry mice running. If your mice are instead sneaking into your kitchen cabinets, performing a deep-cleaning with lemongrass oil or another natural deterrent can lead them elsewhere. You'll also want to trim the shrubs around your home, as foliage overgrowth can provide the perfect nesting and tunneling spots for wild mice.
What can you do to get rid of the rodents already in your home?
Even after taking some action to deter future rodents from sharing your home, you'll likely need to get rid of the mice already living (and breeding) there. Live traps can allow you to catch these mice and release them far from your home, and can be reused indefinitely for additional cost savings. If you're unwilling to handle live mice or would like to kill them in as painless a way as possible, using traps that rely on electrocution to instantly zap the mice can be another good (and mess-free) option. Like live traps, electrocution traps can be reused until your rodent problem is well under control.
For professional help, contact a company like Environmental Services Pest Control.
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