How to Get Rid of Mice in Your House
This article will cover how to get rid of mice in your house. Having mice in your home can cause BIG problems, so you must get on it right away.
Our story goes back to last week when we drove into the garage and thought we saw something move around in the headlights. Since it’s getting cold, it is the time of year when mice start to move into warmer places (i.e., my garage or basement).
A mouse in your garage means they can try to move into the house. That won’t do. Mice can cause a serious amount of damage if you don’t deal with them quickly.
What you need to catch a mouse
Mice are full of disease and just general gross-ness (not a word, it should be a word).
I use neoprene gloves and a mask when dealing with any vermin. I’m not a genius with this stuff, but the last thing I want is to get sick from dealing with mouse droppings.
The Best Mouse Bait
To catch mice, you need bait. The cheapest way to bait your trap is with some peanut butter. I use peanut butter to bait all my traps. No double-dipping! You don’t want to be spreading germs back into your peanut butter.
You won’t need a lot on the trap either; you are trying to lure them in, not feed them forever.
I have found that a teaspoon is good enough.
Different Mouse Traps To Catch A Mouse
Easiest and Cheapest Home Made Mouse Trap
If you want the cheapest and easiest way to get rid of mice in your house, it’s by using a bucket of water.
It’s simple. Fill up the bucket and use a piece of wood as a ramp-up to the top of the bucket.
Next, put some peanut butter on top and the inside; the mouse will climb in it, eat the bait, and fall in. The next morning you should have a drowned mouse.
Result:
Fail!
The mouse ate as far down on the bucket as it could reach, then got away with a nice peanut butter chaser. Clearly, he didn’t get the memo about falling in. This technique has worked for many people, but I guess my mouse is a little smarter onto the next step. Still, I wanted to try the bucket idea.
Cheapest Mouse Trap
First, we tried the classic mousetrap. It still works, and I have the sore fingers to prove it.
Lock the trap and put a little peanut butter on it, and you should have a dead mouse the next morning.
Results:
Success, sort of! I managed to kill one mouse, but that’s it. With six traps set around the garage, the mouse was picking it clean and moving on.
I tried to set the traps as carefully as I could but only managed to get one. If you are going to try this technique, get several traps and place them around where they travel, usually against the walls.
Mouse Glue Trap
These are the best traps for catching mice. Though I will admit, they are a bit inhumane. You put them down along the wall where the mice walk; they step on the glue, get stuck, panic, and die.
Result:
It works!
I caught one, and it was stuck in there dead when I found it. From there, you throw the whole thing out and move on.
Note The first night, it worked, but the little thing managed to move it and get free; the second night, we made sure it couldn’t be moved, and we successfully caught the mouse.
As it’s getting colder in the garage, the mouse manages to get out of the trap, I’m sure as soon as it warms up, we will catch him, but this is good to know if you’re in colder climates.
Live Mouse Traps
There are still ways to get rid of mice in your house without becoming the Terminator. If you do not want to kill the mice, you can opt for a live trap.
How a live mouse trap works
Live traps are the more humane way of dealing with mice. Put some bait in the trap, they walk in, the trap closes, and then you can release the mouse in a different area.
This is the kinder way to do it, but the mice can return.
Personally, I don’t want to deal with a live mouse. Leaving them alive means that they can come back. Since your house is a source of heat and food (and you’ve probably got a pretty sweet pad!), they are going to find you, and they will tell their friends.
Click here for the more humane way to deal with mice
Mouse Trap with Sound Emitters
If you’re looking to get rid of mice in your house without killing them, and you don’t want to have to do a release like a live trap, you can opt for a sound emitter.
How a sound emitter works
Sound emitters are exactly what you think; they send out a high pitch frequency that is supposed to drive mice away.
Without testing this, I can’t give you any feedback. Personally, I wonder if keeping them away is a good long-term solution. Since the sound emitter could always stop working and you may not know. Which would mean returning to the original mouse problem.