The cold winter months bring a lot of challenges for homeowners. It can make it tough to stay warm, can lead to buildups of snow and ice, along with many other issues. Another issue many homes struggle within the winter is mice. During summer months, many mice can remain outdoors, but as the weather gets colder, many seek refuge inside homes.
However, mice in the house can be a common problem in any climate across the country. The house mouse is the most common mammal on the planet, so there are a lot of them in nearly every city. They are also very adaptive and can survive in many different circumstances.
Having mice in your home can be a worrying thing, as you never know where they are, what they’re doing and what they’re chewing on. Thankfully, you don’t have to be content with sharing your home with mice, as there are some ways to get rid of mice in your home. This article is going to look a little closer at a few of them.
Get Rid of Any Entry Points
The mice aren’t born in your home most of the time, so they need to get in one way or another. There could potentially be many entry points to your home. While some can be large and quite obvious, this isn’t always the case. Mice can fit into even the smallest little cracks and crevices, so simply eliminating the large entry points isn’t enough.
There are a number of different ways to close up these entry points to ensure mice cannot enter. If you are having a hard time finding the entry points or filling them all, it’s a good idea to call a professional. They will have the tools and tactics to close up any entry points, and potentially even get rid of the mice themselves.
Set Up Some Traps
If you want to rid your home of mice, traps should be used. Catching mice in the act of using your bare hands is next to impossible, so a trap is one of the only ways to get them. Be sure to bait the traps correctly to ensure that the mice will actually enter the traps.
There are various different kinds of traps. Some will kill the mice, some will only incapacitate them, and some will simply trap them and allow them to be released later. Whatever traps you use, make sure they are included in high-traffic areas that you believe the mice will often go. Be sure to check these daily, and replace them as needed to make sure you catch every mouse living in your home.
Don’t Leave Loose Food Out and Keep Your Home Clean
Leaving food out and about throughout your home is basically an invitation for mice. As a result, be sure to keep all food in airtight containers, or closed up. Mice need very little food to survive, so even a few crumbs here and there will be enough to sustain them. Perform frequent cleaning to ensure nothing is missed.
If you keep leaving food out, there is a good chance that mice will continue to invade your home. Even things like pet food can attract mice, so be sure to keep that contained as well. While food in the garbage is disgusting for most of us, it is like a buffet for mice, so keep your garbage contained and hidden as well.
Don’t Forget About the Outside
All mice come into your home from the outside, so it makes sense to focus on the outside of your home in your fight against mice. There are many places around your home that mice can live and hide before ultimately getting inside your home. This includes shrubs, garbage and a variety of other kinds of debris that often leans against or resides close to your home.
By cleaning this clutter, you will make it tougher for them to enter and it will be much easier for you to spot any type of activity. Any burrows you see begin to materialize, you should remove them before they become a home for mice. If you neglect the outside portion of your home, you are only fighting half the battle.
Consider Using Strong Smells
Sometimes, strong smells can keep mice away from your home. When mice enter your home successfully and deem it a decent place to be, they can leave a pheromone trail behind alerting other mice. As you could imagine, this will only lead to more mice entering your home.
Preventing this pheromone is often as easy as using strong smells or odors to mask it. This can involve cleaning with bleach or another strong-smelling detergent or even using spices or air fresheners. Any of these options should help keep mice out of your home.
In conclusion, we hope that this article has been able to help you get rid of the mice in your house.
