Rodent control – How to get rid of mice humanely and effectively
Mickey Mouse may be very entertaining on screen, but when you find mice and rats in your own home, it is often not quite so funny. Mice and rats can also create health and safety hazards, so they need to be dealt with quickly and effectively.
You may not wish to kill them with poison for obvious reasons. First and namely, is out of humanity, but another less important reason (although for health and safety reason, can end up causing an issue) is that they can create problems such as odour and mould if they get caught in unreachable places in your home and start to decompose.
However, nowadays you can find many simple methods for preventing them entering your property and animal-friendly ways to get rid of them if they do. None of these methods use any toxic elements which could be contaminating or poisonous in nature. Below we’ve put together some helpful tips for dealing with a rodent or two that find their way inside your home, however, for larger infestations, it is best to call in a professional.
Using a Humane Mouse Trap
A Trip Trap type of trap is one simple way. You need to place it where rat movement is most frequent. This is because rats do not carry the food to their hiding places. The rat walks inside it triggers the door to close behind it. Once the rat is caught, you can humanely remove it from your home and can return to the wild. However, you may need large numbers to catch multiple rats.
Mouse Trap Cage
It is an old style of trap but it still works when you want to capture more mice in one go. You need to understand the basic food eating habits of the mice rats so that they take the bait. Rats eat their food in one go while mice nibble a little at a time. Moreover once they detect traps they certainly start avoiding them since they get conditioned to know what will happen. Since mice are more alert, you need to have patience and keep the trap cage until you eliminate all of them completely.
Mouse Repellent
Electronic mouse repellents are the most effective means of controlling mouse menace in large houses and commercial buildings. These use ultrasonic waves to deter rodents. They also help in saving time of setting traps every other day. You need to identify the entry points of mice and place the repellent so it works effectively.
Preventive Care
Identify the harbouring places of the mice and remove them. You can also seal the entry points with a wired mesh. Normally mice prefer to roam within 30 feet from your home. So you can identify their hiding places around your home surrounding easily.
- Avoid storing grains and food in open containers. It prevents the pest to feed on them.
- Keep your house clean and hygienic. Use disinfectants in rooms, especially if you have kids or elderly people staying.
- The mouse can slip through even 1/4th inches gaps. So you need to carefully locate their hideouts within and outside your home.
- If you are using an electronic mouse repellent, you need to install them in all the rooms since the electronic waves cannot pass through opaque object like the house walls.
- Mice can multiply in numbers very fast. Their reproductive cycle starts as early as two months. In one year, a mouse can give birth to 56 pups which grow and multiply in an exponential rate. They also have a capacity to eat almost 15% of their own body weight.
- Mice enter your home mostly during times when the outside temperature is relatively lower. So you need to install the traps during the winter and night times to increase the probability of trapping them.
We hope this article was helpful, and that it helps you keep your home happy, healthy and pest free!
