Of Mice and Men – A Guide to Getting Rid of Mice in Your House

Imagine, if you will, our beloved Peppy reclining next to his wife, Debi, on their living room couch, their dog Rascal laying quietly at their feet while they watch some television. Suddenly, everyone’s attention (including Rascal’s) is immediately diverted to the small scurrying animal that just darted behind the entertainment center. For a moment everyone sits there wondering what to do. Then Peppy tells Debi to go keep an eye on the mouse while he gets a broom.

Yes, I said a broom. Oh, and did I mention Peppy is in his whitie-tighties and a pair of socks – nothing else?

Now, Debi is on one side of the entertainment center, watching a still mouse very intently. Peppy is on the other side with a broom in hand and Rascal waits excitedly at his heels. Peppy gives the signal and Debi scares the mouse his direction… and chaos ensues.

The mouse darts out from behind the entertainment center, hits the hardwood floor and quickly cuts around corners heading for the bedroom. Peppy and Rascal aren’t far behind, or so one would think. But, as Peppy hits the hardwood, broom smacking the floor in an attempt to stop the mouse, he loses traction and starts slip-sliding all over the place! Rascal follows suit, four paws flailing in all directions as he attempts to chase down the mouse with no success. The two are doing everything they can to gain a foothold, but the hardwood floor is winning out against Peppy’s cotton socks and Rascal’s furry paws, and both man and cainine are left to run in place.

And Debi? Well, she’s now collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter.

True story – and I’m sure Peppy is ever so excited that I shared this moment with, well, everyone. And while his choice of a broom in dealing with a mouse in the house might work under some circumstances, there are more effective ways of getting rid of this common pest.

Why Mice Infest
First of all, many people have the misconception that mice only infest run down or ill-kept homes. This is not the case. Mice will infest any home they can gain access to, and mice are capable of squeezing through incredibly small spaces, which means that virtually everyone will have a mouse problem at some point.

This time of year, as summer’s blistering temperatures fade into enjoyable fall weather, is when mice make their way indoors. They know the cold is coming and they have to keep warm – and what is more cozy then your home?

House Mouse

House Mouse vs. Wild Mouse
Of course, both are wild in nature, but house mice tend to remain in your home all year long (because of unlimited food resources), while wild mice only make themselves cozy in your walls during the cold months. Before you proceed with eradication measures, it’s helpful to know whether you’re dealing with a house mouse or wild mouse.

A house mouse has the following characteristics:
•    Its head and feet are proportional in size to its body
•    Its tail equals the length of its head and body combined
•    Its stomach and back feet are the same color (in most cases)
•    Its upper incisors (the two teeth that protrude from its mouth) are flat
•    It will eat virtually anything it can get its hands on, including pet food, but prefer nuts and grains

Meadow Mouse

There are several types of wild mice that could infest your home, so you’ll need to note a variety of characteristics. Meadow mice have short, hairy tails. Deer mice have a white stomach and multi-colored tails. Harvest mice have grooved upper incisors. Field mice have big ears, eyes that protrude from their head and are dark brown with silver stomachs.

Wild mice tend to stick to consuming seeds, oats and unprocessed food. For example, we kept bird seed on the top step of our cellar stairs and soon found a hole in the bottom and seed shells all over the step – which leads me to conclude that we have wild mice in our cellar (and I put the bird seed in a plastic container).

Field Mouse

Signs of Mice Infestation
The most obvious sign that you have mice in your home is unexplained holes in walls or food containers (or bags of bird seed). These holes are usually quite precise circles – an amazing ability that most mice have – and can be as small as a dime. You might also find spherical feces about ¼ of an inch long in cabinets, corners and other out-of-the-way locations. Mice can’t see very well, so they tend to run along walls and that’s where you’ll find urine, feces and dirt smudges.

Another sure sign of mice are noises in your walls or ceiling. These noises tend to be either a light patter or scampering or a gnawing sound (as the mouse makes holes in the wood). If these noises persist in relatively the same location, then it is likely the spot of a nest or travel trail.

If you’re not entirely certain you have mice, one way to check is to put talcum powder or flour along the walls you believe mice travel along in your home. If you see tracks in the dust within a few days, then you have confirmation of your infestation.

Harvest Mouse

Preventing Mouse Infestation
Keep your kitchen trash in a container that has a lid and use odor preventing bags. Put your food products in upper cabinets and use glass or metal containers where possible. Keep your kitchen and pantry clean and free of crumbs, spills and unprotected food. Thoroughly rinse recyclable containers that once carried food. Be sure to throw away anything you think may have been touched by a mouse in order to prevent the transmission of parasites or disease to your family.

Check the exterior of your house as well. Be sure that compost piles are not against your home. Check outdoor storage facilities, such as your shed or detached garage, for seeds and trash that might attract mice. Store pet food and seeds in metal trash cans or elevated bags. For outdoor pets, only feed them what they need in a day so that there isn’t extra food lying around for mice to get to.

Clean out the clutter, especially in locations that are close to food since mice only stray about 25 feet from their nest in order to find food. This will help to eliminate shelter for the mice. This clutter cleaning includes the outdoors. Mice will use wood piles, high grass, weeds and other great outdoor hiding places for nests and shelter. Keep these sorts of piles at least 50 feet from your home if you can’t get rid of them entirely.

Then do a thorough examination of the outside of your home, checking every nook and cranny for small holes (remember – the size of a dime or larger) and eliminating access for mice to your home through these spots. Make sure the material you use to close up these holes is gnaw proof, such as cement, mortar, steel wool or metal plating.

Mice don’t like mint, so you can repel them by planting it around the exterior of your home as well as keeping potted plants inside, especially in the kitchen.

Getting Rid of Mice
If your prevention efforts were too late or in vain, then there are several ways to deal with a mouse infestation.  It’s important to eliminate the population before they breed, since one pair of mice can produce over 100 offspring in one year.

Traps are the most popular eradication method. However, most people don’t realize that they should first set out traps with food but not set them so that the mice get used to feeding from them and don’t approach them with fear. Once you’ve had the mice take food from unset traps a couple of times, set them the third time for almost guaranteed success. Additionally, put a little bacon grease on the traps to cover your scent (which repels mice). The best baits include peanut butter mixed with oatmeal, bread, peanuts in the shell, raw bacon and, believe it or not, cotton balls.

Types of traps include:
•    Snap traps – they work well, but can be messy and you may have to finish the job
•    Glue boards – effective, but some might consider cruel since the mouse dies of stress and/or starvation
•    Zapper traps – traps the mouse and delivers a lethal electric shock, but they are expensive

Poisons are another method for killing mice, though you absolutely should not use them in places that children or pets can get into them. This means the best places to use poisons are in the rarely accessed attic and unfinished basements. Although, another large drawback to poisons is that they don’t kill the mouse immediately upon consumption, which means the mouse will likely go back to its nest to die, providing your home with a less than lovely air freshener for a few days.

Non-lethal traps that allow you to catch and release the mice are also available, which include:
•    Bowl trap – Line a metal bowl with butter, grease or oil, bait it with food and place it out with a cardboard ramp. The mouse will get in and will not be able to escape.
•    Catch trap – lure the mouse in with bait and snap closed behind the mouse. These are effective initially, but mice soon learn how to outsmart them.
•    Ultrasonic devices – release a sound wave that repels mice. However, studies by the Federal Trade Commission show them as ineffective, likely because the mice develop immunity to the sound.

Whatever method of eradication you choose, and you may have to try several, keep at it until there are no more indicators that you have mice as roommates. It may take awhile, but it’s worth the effort, if only to keep you from sliding around on your floors in your underwear in hot pursuit of a pesky rodent.