Effective mouse removal is a three-step process: getting rid of the food source; closing entry points; and capturing the mice. If you follow...
Most species of mice will not enter a house unless a red carpet is rolled out for them – if, for example, the garage door is left ajar with an open bag of grass seed, their favourite food, waiting inside. Then there's the house mouse: a truly remarkable species because it has specialised in living in human environments, with an extraordinary degree of adaptability.
British homes offer lavish accommodations for house mice, with cavity walls that provide the closed-in spaces, nesting materials and temperature they crave. It's no surprise they don't respond well to eviction.
And people often have their own reservations about the process. We get clients calling, screaming that they want them out of the house, they want them dead right now, but when we arrive at the premises, it's a whole different story. Now they don't want the little mousey to get hurt.
It is vital to resist that sentiment if we stand any hopes of controlling this pest. Mice are not cute, cuddly pets: they spread disease. If you have raw food, they'll run through it and spread salmonella across your counter. The allergens in their hair and urine have also been found to cause asthma.
Effective mouse removal is a three-step process:
First, we must determine what they're eating. Look for gnawing marks and droppings around the kitchen and signs of chewed bags of food or rubbish. Repackage food in thick plastic containers.
Next, figure out how they got in, looking for holes and more droppings. Apartment dwellers should examine the ceilings, floors and walls to see if mice could have come from neighbouring apartments. If a pencil fits through the hole, so can a juvenile mouse.
Patch or fill holes, particularly around pipes, with copper mesh covered with IPF foam, a bitter-tasting sealant. And get a door sweep since door cracks are especially vulnerable to mice.
Then comes the fun part: the capture. Regular snap traps are cheap and effective, and should be placed where you see droppings. Bait them with the food the mice have been scavenging or with nesting material like cotton balls or dental floss. If you're trapping in the right places with the right bait you should hear the traps go off before you go to bed. Sweet dreams!
Glue traps, although effective, are crueler, as most mice survive longer than 24 hours in them with broken limbs and other painful injuries from struggling. We would strongly discourage their use.
You should also skip ultrasonic wall plug-ins as the mice become used to them and realise that it is fine. In addition, you should be wary of over-the-counter rodenticides, which can be dangerous for pets and children. If there's a large infestation, hire an exterminator.
SDA Pest Control, "Long Acre",
Bluntisham Road,
Needingworth,
St. Ives,
Cambridgeshire
01480 465684