How to Get Rid of Mice



If you want to try to remove the Mice yourself, read my Trap it Yourself guide and the below.
If you want to hire a professional to help you, go to my Hire a Pro page.
If you do hire a company, you can read my How Much Does Mouse Removal Cost? page.

Many homes have mice. In fact, most homeowners live in blissful denial about the fact that there is likely a small rodent in the wall. These small creatures may seem harmless aside from the occasional telltale mouse poop on the floor or the cabinet. The issue goes much deeper than that. Mice are continual chewers and lack discretion when it comes to what surfaces they gnaw on. Electric wires and cables are not off limits. If enough mice find their way into your home, you will know it by the scratching noises in your walls and above your head.

You MUST seal the entry holes shut
You cannot get rid of mice without first sealing up your home. Any small hole is a potential entry point for these little rodents. A mouse needs less than an inch of clearance to enter a structure, and they are excellent climbers. No surface is off limits to a mouse. You must inspect your home from the footing all the way to the roof peak. Foundations, doorways, windows, eves, vents and shingles are all likely places where gaps can exist. Even something as undetectable as a gap in your siding can be a way for mice to enter the home. Unlike rats, mice are not able to chew through thick barriers in a short amount of time. Plugging gaps with metal, wire mesh, thick wood or putty is often good enough to keep out a mouse. Once applied, these patches should be checked regularly for chew marks. By keeping up your inspection, you can prevent potential infestation issues.

After that, snap trapping and removal is the only way
Once the holes and gaps in your home are plugged, you should start to trap your mice. Lethal snap traps are the ideal tool to use for this task. Mice are small enough that trap placement can be tricky. Unlike rats, mice can travel in very tight quarters, though both species use established pathways within the home. Finding a location to place your traps should be based on the sounds you hear and any evidence you have seen. A little common sense goes a long way, too. Mice will frequent any area that is deemed quiet and safe. For this reason, attics and cellars are often the most common places the rodents are seen. Attics and basements are usually dark and quiet, ideal locations for mice to venture out in the open. Even in these places, a mouse is most likely to travel along the edge of a wall or support beam. Mice are prey animals and will not put themselves in a situation that might get them killed. Placing traps along all the walls in a basement or attic is a good start. If you can pinpoint the areas being utilized by the mouse, place some traps in those locations. It is not necessary to leave the traps out for the mice to get used to them. Baiting them appropriately is more than enough to draw the animals in close enough to get caught. Once snared, mouse bodies should be removed and the traps reset. You should never assume there is only one mouse in your home. Leave the traps out until no more signs of habitation are seen. Be especially careful to clean your home completely after a mouse infestation. Any dropping or urine marks left behind will draw other mice to the area.



You may think that poisoning the mice is a much more effective and hands-free way of dealing with the rodents. In reality, poisoning the mice will only solve your problem briefly. Worse yet, sick mice will crawl into the crevasses of your walls and eventually die. A single mouse may not smell too potent as it decomposes, but a handful of poisoned mice will.

Trapping may not be appealing to some folks, but it is the simplest and most effective way of getting rid of mice. Mothballs and ammonia have little to no effect as pest repellents. Noise makers and pulsing lights are good in theory, but they are not enough to force a mouse out of a safe haven and into the wild where death awaits around every corner. Using these products will only result in a waste of time and money, and will still end with you having to set up traps within your home. Seal up your house. Trap the mice. Routinely inspect your exterior structure. With a little know-how and some good maintenance skills, you should be mouse-free in no time.



How to Get Rid of Mice in the Attic
Mice find their way into most homes and they are usually easy to trap and remove. If you’re dealing with a large mouse population, you will need to take extra care to button down your home prior to initiating trapping methods. Mice are small and quiet enough to be unobtrusive, but they are often the cause of many problems with electrical wires and cables within the structure of a home. Attics are a favorite place for mice. Attics offer safety and quiet with little worry of being bothered by humans. To get rid of mice in the attic, you need to seal you home completely. Mice can fit through very tiny holes, and even one gap in the siding is enough to allow a mouse access to your entire building. If you have sealed up all entry points, you can now place out snap traps in the attic. Peanut butter is great bait for mice. Place the traps along walls and on beams, making sure they are on a secure, flat surface. Check the traps daily and remove any dead mice. Clean up all mouse waste found inside the attic. Feces and urine will often attract more rodents if not cleaned up.

How to Get Rid of Mice in the House
Old homes are particularly susceptible to the ravages of mice because of poor upkeep. Cracks and openings along a home will allow the tiny mouse to work its way into the deeper parts of the building. Until these holes are repaired, mice will continue to be a nuisance. After all the entry points are sealed up, mice can be trapped using snap traps. When dealing with a home infestation do not use poison. Poison will only result in dead mice within the walls, smelling up the space after they begin to decompose. Snap traps are the best method of removal. The best places to set snap traps will be along routes that mice have been using. If you’ve noticed feces or urine in certain areas of the home, use these locations as trap points. Bait the traps with peanut butter and place them in the desired areas. Check the traps daily, and check the home for signs of new mouse activity. Once you have trapped all the mice, do a final inspection of the home to make sure they can’t get back in. Clean up all physical signs left behind from the rodents to prevent more from wandering in.

How to get Rid of Mice in the Walls
Mice in the walls can cause all types of problems if they decide to chew on electrical cords and wires. Aside from the potential fire hazard, mice can do serious damage to insulation and to the support boards, panels and drywall that make up the walls of a home. To get rid of mice in the walls, examine your home to find out where the mice are gaining entry. You cannot solve your mouse problem until all of the holes and gaps along your home are sealed. Mice are drawn to other mice and this is why you need to close off the holes while you begin to trap. The rodents in the wall will need to venture out eventually for food. Use the pathways to and from the wall sot set your traps. Mice will leave droppings and urine along their routes of travel. Baited snap traps along these routes will be the most successful. Once you’ve caught the mice, remove them from the home and clean up the remaining mess.

How to Get Rid of Mice in the Garage
Garages are a fantastic place for mice to live. Not only are garages rarely frequented by people for extended periods of time, this space is quiet and safe and any damage goes undiscovered for a long time. Mice love garages because of the easy access through cinderblocks and foundations. Most homeowners are not as concerned about sealing up a garage like they are their home. To get rid of mice in the garage, take the time to walk around the building and seal up any holes you find. This sealing includes any cracks in the foundations, no matter how difficult to repair. Until your garage is sealed you will continue to have a mouse issue. Once the mice are no longer entering or exiting the space, set up a series of snap traps around the walls of the garage and in any recognized rodent pathways. Rats in a garage will travel almost anywhere and having multiple snap traps around the room will increase your chances of capture. Because garages tend to fall into a state of disrepair quickly, once your mouse issue is resolved, keeping a few snap traps out and set will help inform you if more mice have found a way in.

Do You Need Help?
I wrote this website to provide information on How to Get Rid of Mice in the case that you have a mouse problem and need to make an informed decision about what to do. If you have any questions you may email me, but I do know from experience that mouse removal is not simple. If you need professional help solving your wildlife conflict, I recommend that you talk to a professional mouse control expert in your town by clicking on my National Wildlife Control directory, which lists experts who I recommend in every USA city and town who can help you with your mouse issue.

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