How to Get Rid of Mice

The Best Mouse Trap

2012-01-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

A lot of people have been writing in lately about their particular situation and the best way to get rid of mice. It's all too common to hear that they've followed this site's advice about setting traps and mouse proofing their home, but to be faced with a continuing mouse problem. It's not that they're doing something wrong, it's just that they're doing it in a sub-optimal fashion. Often times the problem stems from the way they bait the trap, or simply from the trap that they're using.

If I had a dollar for every time I hear that the mouse keeps stealing the bait, I'd be a rich. If anyone wants to take me up on that offer, drop me a line in the comment section below. I'd gladly take a dollar from you. :) The most popular type of mouse trap is the snap trap and with good reason. It is relatively inexpensive and it's very effective. The problem is that people will buy the cheapest one, and suffer from the triggering mechanism. Sometimes it's too stiff, and other times it's too sensitive. To combat that, simply stated, you need to buy a better mouse trap. That's what this article is about.

The Snap-E Mouse Trap

I'm telling you about this trap not based on my personal experience, but based on the experiences of hundreds of other people who had mice problems. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if something works once ... even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. What matters to me is that the effectiveness of the trap is the rule, and not the exception. If people are consistently reporting good results with the trap, then in my opinion, that makes it the best mouse trap out there. The trap I'm talking about is one that I've mentioned multiple times on this site already, the Snap-E Mouse Trap.

Frequently when people think of a snap trap, they think of the wooden paddles, and why not? That's what people have been using for the last 50 years (probably longer). While this shouldn't come as a surprise to you, especially in the day and age of computers, but technology advances. Mouse trapping technology is no exception. If I was to compare the snap-e trap to the wooden paddle trap, I'd liken it to that of the typewriter versus the computer. The typewriter was a tried and true method for typing a letter, but the computer is so much more.

What makes it better?

First off it's constructed of polystyrene and steel, no more flimsy wood paddles. The problem with wood is that it absorbs the smell and fluids from the dead mice, and clean up is virtually impossible. They are practically disposable. This trap is extremely durable and easy to clean. That means it's going to last for more than one kill. It's slightly more expensive than that wood paddle traps, but it's not going to be tossed in the trash after one use. It can easily be redeployed time and time again. It is simple, safe, and most importantly sanitary due to the material's natural resistance to stain and odors.

The other problem this trap addresses is the baiting conundrum. For some reason people have trouble baiting the trap ... either too little or too much. Or sometimes it's just not positioned in the optimal place on the paddle. The Snap-E trap addresses that by building a bait cup in the optimal position. This helps in multiple ways. There's no worries about bait placement. You put it in the cup and you can guarantee that it is optimally positioned to maximize the kill rate. The bait cup will drastically reduce the chance of stolen bait. It definitely has a leg up on the smart mouse. The other thing this accomplishes is that the cup is indented. You scrape a little peanut butter inside the cup, and it's not sitting on top of the paddle. The mouse has to physically reach INTO the cup to pull it out. The key is to not fill the cup completely, but line the inside of the cup so that no peanut butter is sticking out. The mice don't have to see it (they have terrible eye sight anyways), they just need to smell it. That's the key. Now I'm not going to say that this is one hundred percent effective, but I'm certain that it will be better than the results most people are getting.

Snap-E Mouse Trap ready
to kill with its vertical strike bar.

One of the better design decisions with this trap is what is called a vertical strike bar. The strike bar is what you pull back on the trap, and when triggered strikes the mouse dead. I call it vertical because in the set position, the strike bar is vertical. On a typical mouse trap it is pulled all the way back. What this means is that the distance the strike bar has to travel to kill the mouse is halved. It's no longer winging all the way from back to front. It's just above the mouse waiting to come down on top of it with a deadly blow. With a reduced reaction time the success rate of this trap is improved.

The trigger paddle is sized larger than the typical mouse trap. What this does is increase the effectiveness of the trap from different approach angles. Did you know that the angle at which the mouse approaches the trap makes a difference? With some traps, approaching from the side or the rear reduces their effectiveness. The oversized trip paddle on this trap is designed to minimize the possibility of a missed opportunity due to a suboptimal approach angle. I know it sounds like this sounds awfully complicated for doing something as simple as catching a mouse, but it makes you appreciate the engineering thought put into this design.

There was a lot of thought put into the design of this trap. Combine that with the reported success by hundreds of satisfied customers, and that makes this the best mouse trap on the market. If you're interested in where you can find this trap, Amazon has it available through prime as a 1-pack or a 6-pack. If you do go out and buy this trap, I'd be interested in hearing your results. If a better mouse trap hits the market, I want to be sure to update this page to reflect that.

I'll leave you with one last thought ... if you just realized that you have a mouse problem, you should know that statistics have demonstrated that more mice are trapped on the first night than any other night. That being said, it is critically important to deploy a large number of traps on the first night to try to catch as many as possible. After the first few nights, it's not uncommon for the number of catches to drop to zero. As a devastating as that sounds, the importance of deploying multiple traps on day zero is critically important.

Happy Hunting!

A No-Kill Mouse Trap That Actually Works

2012-01-21T16:49:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I do to make this a better resource for folks looking to solve their mouse problems is to scour the web looking for people that are currently experiencing a mouse invasion. These are real people with real mouse problems, just like you. The other day I came across a blog post at DiatribesAndOvations. The writer is in a situation where animals exist in close proximity to where the mouse traps would be set. Rather than risking injury to the animals (in his case it's chickens, but this is true for any homeowner who has pets), he wanted to use a no kill trap to deal with the problem. He didn't want a curious chicken (or in your case, maybe a small child or pet) to get snapped by the trap or consume poison intended to kill mice. Since there were multiple mice involved, he also wanted a trap that could catch more than one mouse, so he didn't have to free one mouse at a time.

He writes:

Eventually, my online research led us to a “Multiple Catch No-Kill Humane Mousetrap” (pictured). You’re supposed to place it near a wall, in corners or anywhere that mice have been seen. The advertisement said that a mouse’s own curiosity works as bait and a spring-loaded wheel moves the mouse into a separate compartment. Then the smell of one trapped mouse is supposed to lure others. The trap was designed to hold up to 15 live mice!

He approached it with skepticism, but "took the bait" and bought one anyway. To his surprise, he caught FOUR mice in the first night! He used peanut butter as a bait, which is what I always recommend. When I read about his success, I felt compelled to share it with readers that come across this page. If you're looking for a humane live catch mouse trap, then this is it.

There's one thing I always tell people that use these live catch traps though... you have to be sure to take the mice far from your home - on the order of miles. Mice have a very keen sense of smell and can find their way back "home" from significant distances. In this instance the writer says he dropped the mice off at point halfway between his home and office.

He did exactly the right thing by releasing them away from home ... that is, unless he works at home ... hmmm ...

Hope you found this useful. If you have experience with this trap, let me know... I'd love to hear your story as would other folks who may be considering this as their next purchase.

How to Get Rid of Mice Naturally

2012-01-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

Mice are living creatures that are trying to survive just like you and me. They are not in your home in some sort of coordinated effort to make your life miserable. They are not naturally malicious dead set on causing damage to your home. They don't want the diseases that they carry any more than you do. The problem is that people tend to leave food lying around that easily accessible to mice. Not only that, but our homes are the perfect shelter to keep them warm. Who wants to search for a hole in the ground when there's a mansion with temperature controlled conditions? With all that being said, mice are a part of nature, so you might be inclined to get rid of mice naturally. They don't mean you any harm, and you don't want to harm them either. If this doesn't describe you and you want them gone any way possible, there are other articles on this site to help you get rid of mice.

So how does one go about getting rid of mice naturally?

Try using peppermint oil. The smell of peppermint is too intense for rodents, so it acts as a natural deterrent. The scent is also so strong that it tends to mask the smell of other food that may be in your kitchen. Now I don't suggest you to start cleaning your kitchen with peppermint oil on a towel. The best method of application is to place a few drops on cotton balls and place them strategically in your home.

The other way to get rid of mice naturally is to stop them from coming into your home in the first place. You need to seal off any possible entry ways in to your home. Mice can squeeze through holes the size of your pinkie finger, so check everywhere there is a breach into your home. Pipes, door thresholds, and windows are all perfect avenues for mice to get into your home, so make sure they are effectively sealed. For a temporary seal, you can use steel wool. Mice are unable to chew threw the steel with their teeth, so it effectively seals off the hole.

Here's another cool method. You can use the smell of a mouse's natural predators to deter them. If you know someone with a cat, ask to use their used kitty litter and place it around access points in your home (or buy a cat of your own. That will surely work!). The mice will smell the scent of the urine and flee the scene. The problem with this method is that you too will smell the cat urine or have a new pet that you don't really want. There is a better way though, and I've written about it before. It's an article about mouse repellents that discusses using the smell of fox urine. It is a product that you can buy online and spread around the outside of your home. If using the scent of mice's natural predators is appealing to you, I highly recommend reading that article.

If you have more tips for getting rid of mice naturally, please leave them in a comment below for other readers. What works best for you?

Catching Mice

2012-01-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

There are two very important aspects to catching mice. The first is that you have to have the right mouse trap. The second is that you have to have the right bait. If the device you purchased doesn't catch mice, you're not going to get rid of them. If the bait you use doesn't entice mice to come to the trap, you're not going to catch them either. What I'm going to do is to point you toward the best mouse traps and the best bait. Armed with this knowledge there's only one thing left for you to do: catch the mouse.

There are so many different types of mouse traps on the market, you may be overwhelmed by the decision making process. What trap works? Does more money mean more success? Are the 99 cent traps as effective as the 99 dollar traps? Snap traps, electronic traps, glue traps? Which do I use? Which are most effective? I'm going to tell you what works. I've written many articles that explain the very nuances about getting rid of mice, but I don't know that you really care about every last detail. If you do, there are plenty more get rid of mice articles on this site. If you want the answers without all the fuss, read on.

The mouse trap I most frequently recommend is the Snap-E Mouse Trap. I recommend these because they are simple to use and easy to deploy. Clean up of a captured mouse is as easy as it gets. They are very effective and relatively inexpensive, so you can deploy multiple units without breaking the bank. They also get good reviews from other users. If a mouse trap gets good reviews, that's something to take note of. Most people that leave reviews of mouse traps tend to be negative because it didn't miraculously solve their problem over night. People like to complain, but when it works they forget about the problem completely. It did its job, so it's forgotten. That's my theory at least. If you go the snap trap route, don't buy one and think it'll solve all your problems. Experts recommend deploying six mouse traps per room. Don't be skimpy to save a couple bucks. Quickly and efficiently dealing with a mouse problem up front will save you money in the long run (think of the cost of food you'll have to throw away if the problem worsens, or the cost of having an electrician re-wire your house because the mouse chewed through your wires). The Snap-E traps will be good to use year after year, so make the investment up front and have years of mouse free living.

You may be wondering whether or not electronic mouse traps have their place in your effort to get rid of mice. I'm a fan of the electronic mouse traps that administer an electronic shock to kill the mice, but the problem with them is that they don't scale cost wise. For one or two mice, it might not be the best investment. If your home is frequently the subject of a mouse invasion, the electronic traps may be a worthy investment because they tend to last longer than snap traps. If you're dealing with more than a few mice, the electronic traps start to make more sense as well. The electronic trap that I recommend is the Agri Zap Rat Zapper Ultra. Don't buy the one electronic trap and think you're done though. You're going to want to round up your mouse defense with the snap traps because you'll get more coverage. Like I said earlier, experts recommend deploying six mouse traps per infected room. If you can afford six electronic traps, by all means, go for it; I can think of better places to spend that money though. Your best plan of attack is one electronic trap and several of the lower tech snap traps. If you only have one or two mice, just get a handful of the Snap-E Traps, and you'll be well on your way.

Now that the first element of catching mice is covered, we need to talk about bait. The best bait to use is peanut butter. There are a few reasons, namely it's good at attracting mice and second is that it's not something a mouse can pick up and run away with. If a mouse wants the peanut butter (which it does), it's going to have to eat it on the spot. Of course that spot is the paddle trigger that snaps the trap shut, or it's the electrocution chamber the zaps the life out of the mouse. Don't use a lot of bait on the trap. If you put a huge clump of peanut butter on the paddle, the mouse may not be optimally positioned when the trap fires off. You want to make sure that the mouse's head is right in the middle of the strike zone. If the mouse can eat the bait from the side because the bait is lumped on there so much, when the trap fires off, the mouse will have a head start and may actually beat it. Use enough bait so the mouse can catch the scent, but not so much bait so the trap can catch the mouse.

I said there were two important aspects to catching mice, but I'd remiss if I left out important aspect number three: trap placement. Since you have multiple traps, you have some room for error. You have more coverage. You don't have to guess the single best location to catch the mouse because you have traps in multiple places. You may even catch multiple mice in one night. This reminds me of one other thing. The first night is the most important night in your campaign against mice. Since mice will be curious to see what these new food sources are in their environment, they will inspect them. It's important that you do it right the first time. If you have signs of mice in the pantry, place a trap or two in the pantry. Then place a trap along the side of the wall leading up to the pantry. Mice walk along walls, so don't put it in the middle of the room. Put it in the corners and along the wall right in the path of the suspected mouse trails.

That's really all there is to catching mice. Buy the right traps and use the right bait. Then deploy the traps where the mice are going to be. If you do that, you'll have your home mouse free in no time.

Good luck!

How to Keep Mice Away

2012-01-03T19:22:00.000-05:00

The best way to deal with a mouse problem is not to get one in the first place. That's what this article is dedicated to: mouse prevention. This site has plenty of articles written to deal with a mouse problem after you get it, but now I want to write about how to keep mice away before you get them!

What you need to know about mice is that they are looking for two things really, food and shelter. Since you can't bulldoze your house, you'll always have a good shelter for mice. What you can do is make that shelter inhospitable. Take away access to your home by clogging holes. Check around doors and windows for tiny cracks that may let mice in. Check near pipes or cables that enter your home to make sure they are adequately sealed. If the seal is broken, clog the hole with steel wool (or do it right and use some caulk). One you're trying to do is make it more difficult for mice to find a way into your home.

The other aspect of keeping mice away is keeping food out of their mouths. First of all, you need to maintain a clean home. Food should be stored in re-sealable plastic containers. Mice can easily chew through cardboard and paper to get to your food. Sturdy plastic containers are your best bet, even for your 40 pound bag of dog food. They do make storage containers that large for a reason, after all. Also, do your best to store things off the ground in your garage. Mice are attracted to small tight areas. If you have a ton of stuff piled up against the walls, this is a mouse haven. Store things on shelves as much as possible.

If you eliminate food and shelter, you've taken two steps in the right direction. The third layer of defense is an active measure to counter mice. Use scents to deter mice from your home. One product bottles up the scent of natural predators in a granule form. If a mouse smells the scent of a fox or bobcat, it will steer clear of the area. This is a great natural method for keeping mice away from your home.

If you're storing away a camper, as I'm sure you're well aware, mice like to make that their home for the winter as well. Many people swear by using dryer sheets as an effective way to deter mice. When you winterize your camper, throw a bunch of dryer sheets inside near the door, in the cabinets, on the floor, under the bed, everywhere. For some reason mice despise the smell of the dryer sheets and will stay away. Plus when you come back next spring, your camper will smell pretty fresh... an added bonus! You can try the dryer sheet method in your home, but I'm not sure if it will be as effective as you'll be coming in and out of the home. Since the camper will be closed off for an extended period of time, the scent will linger in the air and not get filtered as in the home. Your best bet is the natural defense I outlined above to keep mice away from your home.

Hopefully this helps keep mice away, but should your defenses fail and you need a way to get rid of mice, this site has plenty of resources at your disposal. Good luck!

How to Catch a Mouse

2011-11-07T07:02:00.000-05:00

This site has been online for over three years, and it has been dedicated to helping homeowners like you get rid of mice for good. Thousands of visitors, like you, come to this site every month with the hopes of finding out what it takes to get rid of mice. People, like you, come here with a problem, and they leave this site with a solution. They come with a question, and they leave with an answer. The question I'm answering in today's article is how to catch a mouse.

I recently wrote a lengthy article about catching mice, but this article is designed with a step by step approach in mind. I recommend reading it if you're interested in a detailed discussion about the important aspects of catching mice, but if you're just looking for a step by step guide to taking care of your mouse problem, read on.

First, you're going to need a mouse trap. Actually, you should buy six. The more traps you deploy, the more likely you are to quickly catch the mouse in your house. It only takes one trap to catch a mouse, but if you don't place it in exactly the right place, you're not going to catch any. Six traps means six opportunities to be right. It is what is needed to effectively cover a decent sized room and the various nooks and crannies mice like to hide in.

The most common type of trap homeowners use is the snap trap. There are a variety of designs on the market to choose from, from the simple wood board snap traps to more complex designs. They all have their pros and cons, but the trap I most frequently recommend is the Snap-E Mouse Trap. The short story is that they are effective and clean up of the dead mouse is a cinch. I'll let you check out various reviews of the trap on Amazon and won't get into the details here. I'm going to assume you buy this trap or an equivalent for the rest of the article.

The next thing you need to do is bait the trap. Peanut butter is the most effective bait for attracting mice into your trap. Place a small amount onto the trigger paddle. Too much will give the mouse an opportunity to eat the bait without triggering the trap (or worse trigger the trap without catching the mouse). Too little and you won't attract the mouse. The perfect amount is a thin layer in the center of the paddle. Think about where you want the mouse's head to be when the trap is engaged. Too far to the side and you may miss. Center it perfectly and you'll greatly improve the success rate of your trap.

Finally, you'll want to set the traps where the mice are. If you have mice in your kitchen, set traps alongside the walls and even in the cabinets (if that's where you've detected the signs of mice). Place the traps alongside the refrigerator and toward the rear. Mice are excellent climbers, so don't limit the traps only to the ground level, especially if there are signs of mice higher up in cabinets or along your countertops. Basically wherever you've detected signs of mice, deploy a trap in and around that area. If there are small holes around your appliances that lead behind the cabinet area, you definitely want to place a trap or two there. Remember you have at least six traps, so make sure to cover all your bases.

Once all the traps are set, you'll want to make sure to check them at least daily. If you catch a mouse you want to properly dispose of it immediately. If you let the dead mouse sit in the trap for long, it will begin decompose and start emanating a foul musty odor. There are solutions for the dead mouse smell, but your best bet is to take care of the problem before it happens. Also make sure to use gloves and adequately wash your hands with an antibacterial soap after handling the dead mouse. Mice carry diseases that are harmful to humans, so you want to make sure to practice good sanitary procedures.

That's really all there is to catching mice. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a message in the comment section, but I hope that this step-by-step article is all that you need to make your home mouse free.

Best of luck!

Mice Exterminators

2011-11-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you run into a situation that you just can't handle on your own. Don't be ashamed, as you're not alone. Thousands of households across the country require the services of an exterminator. As a matter of fact, it's actually fairly common and the reasons for hiring one are many. Sometimes people hire a mouse exterminator because the problem they're dealing with is just too much to handle. Professional experience is required to properly deal with the problem. Other people hire exterminators simply because the thought of dealing with rodents or pests is disgusting to them. There's nothing wrong with that either. Rodents carry diseases and are not exactly the cleanest creatures in the animal kingdom. Who wants to empty those traps when you can have someone do it for you? Still others hire exterminators simply because they don't have time to deal with it themselves. Whatever the reason may be, hiring a professional to handle your rodents should not be a painful process.

So how do you pick the right exterminator for the job?

Go with a trusted name. Don't call up some fly-by-night company. You need to be able to trust that the exterminator will get the job done. Perform research online to see how different exterminators are rated. Ask your friends. Trust me, I'm sure they've had pest problems as well and may have called an exterminator of their own. Don't be embarrassed. It's not a reflection of you or how you maintain your home (although it could be). Many people live right in the middle of a mouse's natural habitat. It's expected that mice and people will run into each other at some point in time.

The other thing you need to do when hiring an exterminator is to manage your expectations. Don't expect the problem to disappear over night. While they may be professional and experienced, they are not miracle workers. They are still subject to the same unpredictable behavior of animals that you are. What you're paying for is their expertise and experience. They are trained to spot the signs of mice and know from their past what the optimal trap placement and baiting techniques are. While I try to share with you these tricks of the trade, there's something to be said about letting someone who's done it before do it again.

I have one final word about hiring mice exterminators. If you are renting an apartment or a home, don't feel that you have to resolve the problem on your own. Contact your landlord as they have a mutual interest in resolving the problem. They don't want the problem to spread to other units. It's also very likely that they have an established relationship with some type of pest control service in the area. Let them leverage that relationship as they may even foot the bill.

Hope this helps, and if you don't think hiring an exterminator is right for you, then check out more articles on this site for do-it-yourself tips to get rid of mice.

Dealing with a Dead Mouse in Your Car

2011-10-14T19:57:00.001-04:00

If you were faced with the pungent smell of a dead rodent in your car this morning, this article is for you. If you’re facing a live mouse, then check out getting rid of mice in your car. Handling a dead mouse as compared to a live mouse takes two very different approaches. If the mouse is still alive, there are things you can do. If it’s dead, you have no hope of the mouse working its way out of your car on its own.

Unfortunately there are not a lot of options to deal with this problem. The most likely scenario is that a mouse wedged itself into a place that it could not free itself from. If this happens, the mouse will eventually starve to death. After a while the body will start to decompose and foul smell will consume your vehicle. You could take it to a mechanic to have the mouse removed. This is likely to be very expensive because there is no telling where the mouse may be, which may result in significant disassembly of your vehicle to locate and remove it. Some people have reported estimates in the range of $2000! The benefit of having a mechanic remove the mice is that he can inspect the vehicle for possible damage. This could save you in the future from an unexpected failure or potentially worse.

If it’s the case where you are not concerned enough to take the car to a mechanic and want to simply deal with the dead mouse smell, there are a couple options. The first is the easiest. You can just live with the smell and wait for it to eventually fade away. The smell will only last as long as the mouse body is still decomposing. Once it is fully decomposed, the smell will eventually fade away and things will return back to normal. You may face the unfortunate consequence that the upholstery may absorb some of the smell, but that can be remedied with a thorough cleaning.

Your other option is to eliminate the smell with some sort of product. A lot of people will try to buy the Christmas tree type air fresheners that you hang from your rear view mirror. Some people buy five of them and hang them in their car. That’s probably not your best bet for dealing with the problem though. All that will do is try to mask the smell, and it probably won’t even do that good of a job. What you’ll end up with is a mix of air freshener (that probably doesn’t smell that good to begin with) along with the musty odor of a dead mouse. If you ask me, that probably won’t leave you with the best of driving conditions. I would probably end up with a headache. Either that or I’ll have dry eyes because I’ll be driving with my head hanging out the window.

The best option is to use an odor eliminator. The difference between an odor eliminator and an air freshener is that one masks the odor, and the other eliminates it. Odor eliminators work by chemically bonding with the molecules in the air and neutralizing the smell. If you buy the right one, you won’t have some flowery scent in the air, but instead will end up with fresh smelling clean air. The one that I recommend to everyone I know is Fresh Wave Odor Eliminator. I tend to lean towards the gel version as it seems to be very effective eliminating various odors, but one of the cool things they’ve managed to do is develop a crystallized form in little sachets that is perfect for use in cars. Simply throw a couple of these in your car, and it should take care of the smell.

The one case I see where the odor eliminator might not be as effective is when the mouse has died in your ventilation system. If that’s the case, your air conditioner or heater will constantly provide a moving air source over the mouse and carry the smell into your car. While the odor eliminator will help, it might not be able to keep up with the high air flow. If possible try to heat / cool your car prior to getting in. Then turn off the air circulation or put it on its lowest setting. This should help reduce the high volume air flow and allow the odor eliminator to work its best on the air that remains in the vehicle cabin. Don’t expect it to be perfect, but you should notice a measurable improvement.

While your options may not be the greatest, there are steps you can take to mitigate the smell of a dead mouse in your car. Spending a few bucks on an odor eliminator could save you a thousand bucks for professional removal. I would give it a try for a week and see if conditions improve enough to save you the expense of having a mechanic remove it.

Best of luck!

Getting Rid of Mice

2011-10-10T22:44:00.000-04:00

Getting rid of mice is not a task left for the faint of heart. It takes both patience and perseverance. A lot of people ask how to get rid of a smart mouse. It really isn't that you're dealing with a particularly smart mouse. You just have to know what you're doing, otherwise getting rid of mice is going to be your worst nightmare (as if it doesn't rank up there already). Mice aren't freakishly intelligent, they are just instinctively cautious. You can outsmart that mouse, and I'm going to tell you how.

First thing you need to know about getting rid of mice is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!! This saying applies to more than just real estate. It applies to placement of mouse traps too. If you had mice in your kitchen, you wouldn't only set mouse traps in your garage, would you? NO! You have to set the traps where the mice are and where they're likely to be. If you've detected a trace of mice in your cabinets, then you should set traps inside of your cabinets. You can't just set one mouse trap and think you're going to take care of your mouse problem. Experts recommend that you set SIX traps per infested room. If it's the kitchen, set traps in the cabinets, but also set traps along the sides of walls, in the pantry, beside the refrigerator. The more traps you set, the more area you cover, and the higher the likelihood of actually catching your mice.

The next thing you need to know about is bait. If you don't use a bait that effectively lures mice to your traps, you're not going to catch them. You could have placed them in all the right places, but without the right bait, you won't get their attention. My favorite bait for catching mice is peanut butter. It not only attracts mice, but since it is stick, mice can't just knock it off the paddle or pick it up. You need to try other baits though as well. It's important to diversify because if you have a nest of mice, each mouse may be "wired" to look for something else for the family. In addition to baiting some of your traps with peanut butter, bait the traps with what they were eating when you noticed it. For example, if you found them shredding up a box of cheerios, put a couple cheerios on one of the traps. Remember I said that mice are cautious creatures? Well, if they've had cheerios for the last week, and they've survived up until this point, they will associate that as a safe food source in their mind.... that is until they try to grab the cheerio off your trap - but by then it's too late.

The last thing you need to know about getting rid of mice is that you have to use a mouse trap that works! It's great if you've done everything right up to this point. You've put the traps where they should be, and you've used a variety of baits (including a couple with peanut butter)... Good job! Do you have a mouse trap that has a high success rate of catching mice? I bet you didn't think of that... well, if you've gone down the road of trying to catch mice before, and you're reading this site now, something tells me that somewhere along the line, it didn't go too well for you. You still have mice. Some of the cheap wooden traps boast a success rate of 60-70%. That means a mouse can come to your trap, but you're only going to catch it two out of three times. How many misses do you think it's going to take for a mouse to realize maybe they shouldn't be sticking their nose in that trap? You know they're cautious, so probably not too long...

You always hear people talking about building a better mouse trap, well the folks at Snap-E have done just that. It's called the Snap-E Mouse Trap. I'm not going to drone on and on about how great this trap is because the folks who have used it have already done just that on Amazon - read the reviews! The trap has over 125 reviews and a 4 1/2 stars rating - that means there are a lot of happy customers. For doing something like getting rid of mice, in which success is highly dependent on environmental conditions, that overall rating from that many people is unprecedent. You can buy one Snap-E mouse trap from Amazon for around $5 (more than the wooden traps, yes, but also more effective - remember the saying, "You get what you pay for!"). Don't get sucked into that trap though because you can get a six pack for less than 25 bucks shipped. That's exactly what experts recommend for getting rid of mice in one room of your house. Like I said before, if you are interested in getting rid of mice for good - don't get caught in this feeling that you can set one trap, and that will take care of your mouse problem. Do it right the first time, and you can stop surfing the web for ways to get rid of mice.

Good luck!

Getting Rid of Mice in Your Car

2011-10-10T18:00:00.000-04:00

One of the most frequently asked questions that I see asked about mice is probably one of the most difficult to answer: How do I get a mouse out of my car? The easiest solution is to make sure it doesn't get there in the first place, but something tells me that if you're reading this article it may be too late for that. One of the primary reasons someone would seek out a do-it-yourself method for getting rid of mice in your car is because hiring a professional can be expensive. Some folks have received estimates upward of $2000 to find and remove a mouse. That's a huge bill nobody needs during these difficult economic times.

The reason it costs so much to remove a mouse from your vehicle though is because there are so many places a mouse can hide. Not only that, but the potential damage to your car is even greater. In the best case scenario, a mechanic has to disassemble your vehicle to an unknown extent, and then he has to put it back together again. In the worst case scenario, you're looking at the disassembly / reassembly, but also potential damage to wires, seals, belts, and other important components of your vehicle due to gnawing and nesting. This is an experience no car owner should have to deal with, but where there is food and shelter, there will be mice.

As I've said numerous times before, mice are looking for two primary things: food and shelter. If mice don't have a source of food, they will not stay for long. If they can't find an adequately safe place to nest, they will continue on their merry way. As fall approaches and it starts to get cooler, your car is a very attractive shelter. After being driven around for a period of time, your engine bay is an excellent source of warmth that lures mice toward it. Coupled with the fact that there are small, tight nooks and crannies for a mouse to hide in, it makes a perfect shelter. The other convenient thing about garages is that they tend to be attached to homes. As we all know, homes have food in them which satisfies the other requirement for mice to want to stick around. Your garage is like beach front property to a mouse. It's a perfect place to hide itself away and right next to the ultimate source of food. So what's it going to take to get rid of mice in your car?

If you're the kind of person who leaves old fast food packages on the floor of your car, you're just asking for trouble...

If you want to get rid of mice for good, you need to take away their food and shelter, or else they're going to just keep coming back. Start off by cleaning out your car. Do a thorough job to include vacuuming. It's great if you pick up the McDonald's wrappers, but if there are crumbs on the floor, that will be sufficient to keep the mice close at hand. Also, you need to lock up the food in your home and garage. A great supply of food for mice is pet food that is left in the typical paper bag packaging. Mice will chew right through it and have a lifetime supply of food at their disposal. Use sealable plastic containers. They even have big ones for big bags. This step alone will greatly reduce the risk of you getting mice. You also need to secure food in your home as well. If there is no food in your house and garage, the mice will just move on to your neighbors. When that happens, you can direct them to this site. :)

The other little trick you can do is to move your car. Mice tend to stick a localized area. They do not stray far from their nest. If you time it right, the mouse may be out foraging and when it comes back to where your car should be, it won't find it there. The key to this is that you have to move the car a sufficient distance from your original parking spot so the mouse can't smell it. Mice have an extremely acute sense of smell, and are known to make their way back home from miles away. Now I don't suggest you park five miles away and walk uphill both ways, but move your vehicle to the street instead of the garage. Where your car used to be parked, set a couple mouse traps and bait them with peanut butter. When the mouse is trying to go "home" in your car, it will find some food instead and hopefully meet its untimely demise. Also set a couple traps in and around your car. If the mouse is inside, and the car moves, it will have to come out eventually for food (assuming you successfully cleaned out your car). A hungry mouse is an easy mouse to catch, especially since you're going to provide easy access to a couple different food sources in the form of bait on a trap.

One possible side effect of moving your car out of the picture is that the mouse may migrate into your home. While undesirable, it is probably better than having the mouse as a resident of your car. It's a lot cheaper to call a mouse exterminator than it is to hire a mechanic to find a mouse that has wedged itself and gotten stuck.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to successfully get rid of mice in your car. If you're still having trouble with mice, then re-evaluate the surroundings. Remember that the best way to get rid of mice is to not get mice in the first place. Once you take care of your problem this year, remember to adequately prepare next year and maintain a clean garage and home so as not to attract mice in the future.

One final note... a mouse in your car could pose as a potentially hazardous situation that could be dangerous. Granted I haven't seen any recent news stories where mice have killed their hosts, but it is not something to be taken lightly. The integrity of your vehicle's operation could be compromised which may be a safety hazard. For example, a mouse could have chewed through the coating of wires and exposed a potential electrical hazard. This may result in a fire or other unexpected consequences. For this reason, it is recommended that you take your vehicle to a certified mechanic to be inspected for any possible damage.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experience with mice, please leave a note in the comments.

Best of luck in your mouse hunting adventures!

Mouse Deterrent

2010-04-02T22:15:00.003-04:00

It's getting to be about that time of year again when the ground begins to thaw, the trees turn green, and the mice come out to play. If you're a homeowner you've probably run into a mouse problem once or twice. Even if you're not a homeowner and you're just renting, you still may have run into a mouse problem. Ideally we would never run into mice problems, but it still happens. If there is only a mouse deterrent that would keep them away for good...

Unfortunately as you have probably already discovered, mouse control is just not that easy. It's not like you can just ask them to politely leave or put up a sign that says "No Mice Allowed." I'd say the mouse would just look you in the face and start laughing, but it'll probably just keep going about its business, that is, making your life miserable. So what can be done to deter mice from your home?

If you don't want to read another word of this article, at least read this paragraph... I think you'll want to hear about this secret weapon to keep mice away from your home (or just about any other area). It's a product that not too many people know about, but it works. Most people think about getting rid of mice, they think about mouse traps. They think about mouse poison. What they don't think is bottling up the scent of a mouse's natural enemies and spreading it around the exterior of their home. That's where the Shake Away Rodent Repellent Granules come in to play. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to incite a natural feeling of fear in mice, as if there was a dangerous predator nearby? That's exactly the type of scent that the shake away granules emanate. Like I said, if you don't read anything else on this page, at least do yourself the favor by checking it out.

One very effective deterrent is to get a cat. I once read somewhere that cats were first domesticated in order to get rid of mice in people's homes. Cats are natural predators of mice, so having one in the house is a natural deterrent to mice. The downside is that cats have no problems killing mice. Sometimes the manner in which they kill mice is very inhumane as they will tend to haunt and play with the mouse until its spirit has been completely broken. The other bad thing about having a cat in the house to kill mice is that often times they will bring the dead mouse to you as a trophy. If you have a serious mouse problem and you don't feel like setting up traps and getting a cat is an option, this is an effective way to get rid of mice now and keep them away in the future. Unfortunately buying a cat isn't always an option (try borrowing one). If that's not an option, you can always try some other technique.

You can also try a method of using certain smells to deter mice. Like most animals, there are certain scents that naturally repel mice. A couple effective mouse repellents that people report to be good are using ammonia or mothballs. Both produce a scent that help to keep mice away, but they also produce scents that are repulsive to people. This is fine if you are placing the smells in areas of your home that people do not regularly walk through, but if it's in area frequently visited by you, you might want to reconsider. One smell that isn't so unpleasant for humans, but works wonders against mice is quite interesting. It has been said that you can use peppermint oil to get rid of mice. Yes, that's right… peppermint oil. Simply dip cotton swabs in 100% peppermint oil and strategically place them throughout your home. It's two benefits for the price of one - fresh smell and no more mice!

Like I said, your best bet for a mouse deterrent are the Shake Away Granules. Some of these home remedies to deter mice may work, but they don't play on instinctual fear. They simply rely on making mice uncomfortable in your home and hoping that they leave. Unfortunately sometimes the smell of your mouse deterrent is so bad, that it makes you want to leave! That's the beauty of the granules. You simply spread them out around your house and the mice won't even approach it. The other nice thing is that the application lasts for weeks. If you've had mice problems in the past, but you're mouse free now... head off the next infestation before it even gets to your house.

Good luck!

Humane Mouse Traps

2010-02-21T17:24:00.006-05:00

As much of a nuisance as having mice in your house is, a lot of people have a hard time killing them. Many people are looking for a humane mouse trap that is not overly cruel. Some of the traditional devices for getting rid of mice such as glue traps have been on the receiving end of much derision from animal rights activists and well known groups such as PETA. Some people are simply looking for an alternative to killing mice because they don’t like the thought of handling and disposing of a dead mouse. Most of you I know for sure just want to get rid of mice. Whatever camp you fall in, this article is for you. Make sure you read it through because by the end of it, you're going to know exactly what you need to get rid of mice once and for all.

There are a couple different interpretations of the meaning of humane mouse traps. One way to look at humane is that it’s the opposite of cruel. So what you’re looking for is a trap that gets rid of mice in a manner that is not cruel. There are many traps out there that subscribe to this philosophy by ensuring that they mean the international humane killing standards as prescribed for kill traps. Many of the electronic mouse traps, such as the Victor M260 Multi-Kill Mouse Trap, that effectively shock a mouse to death advertise the fact that they meet humane kill standards. The humane kill standards require that a mouse die quickly and without much pain and suffering. Many of the electronic traps boast kill rates of under 10 seconds, which is much quicker than old fashioned glue traps which kill a mouse by dehydration and exposure which can take hours to complete.

Another way people look to humanely get rid of mice is via the use of live catch mouse traps, which are sometimes called no kill mouse traps. The no kill mouse trap enables people to catch mice without killing them. The mouse is then taken away from the home and released back into the wild. One word of caution is to ensure that you drive at least several miles away before releasing the mouse. Mice have a very keen sense of smell and if released to closely to your home will make their way back to their nest which you are trying to dismantle. Also dumping them into your neighbor’s backyard is not a socially acceptable method of getting rid of your mouse problem. I hardly think they will like you if they see you doing a dump and run of rodents in front of their house. Plus it won’t do you much good because the mice will likely make their way back to their nests which are in your home.

There are a lot of live catch mouse traps on the market, but they all work on the same premise. Usually they operate by having a storage compartment where the mouse is housed and the bait is placed. To get into the compartment the mouse usually has to enter via a one way door or set off some trigger mechanism that prevents their escape. Once the mouse is housed inside of one of these traps, you can simply take the entire trap with you to a release location. Like I said before, make sure it is far from your home, and if you like your neighbors, far from theirs as well. Most no kill traps have a release trigger that gives you access to the storage compartment. They are designed so that you never have to handle the mice with your hands. I’d still recommend wearing gloves as mice can be carrying diseases. Better safe than sorry and don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done.

One of the benefits of using a live catch trap for mice is that fact that they are reusable. The may initially cost more than some of the more traditional types of traps, like the snap trap or poison, but since they are reusable you can catch more than one mouse with them. Depending on the type of trap you purchase, you may actually be able to catch more than one mouse in a single deployment. The old saying goes that you’re killing two birds with one stone. Well, now you’re able to catch two mice with one trap, and you’re not killing them! How’s that for a humane mouse trap!!

So what are your options as far as purchasing a humane mouse trap?

Hands down the most popular and most effective one is the Smart Mouse Trap, and it’s quite inexpensive on Amazon (around $15 when I last checked, so if you see it cheaper, jump on it because you're getting a good deal). Now I don’t normally like when sites just pick a random product and say "Click here and buy it now" or "Trust me it works." The reason I’m recommending this trap is because so many other people are recommending it. Usually when you try to solve a problem like getting rid of mice, the tool you use (i.e. the trap) is only as good as the operator using it (i.e. you). A lot of people expect that there is a magic bullet to solving their problems and if they pay for it, it should just work. Well I agree to a certain extent, but you have to set it well and use the right bait - you have to do it right and give it time. Mice may not be the most intelligent creatures, but they do tend to be on the prudent side. They also have to find the trap in the first place. Just because you set it doesn’t mean they know it’s there. You have to effectively lure them in with the bait and ensure you place the trap in areas that they frequent (i.e. where you’ve seen them already, or have identified the signs of mice).

When I saw this trap on Amazon, there were over one hundred 5 star reviews, and an overall rating of 4 stars. For a mouse trap, that is unprecedented.

How to Get Rid of Mice in Your House

2009-12-15T03:05:00.002-05:00

One of the most frequently asked questions people ask about rodents is how to get rid of mice in your house. This whole site is dedicated to the various methods for eliminating a rodent problem, but sometimes it's important to go back to the basics. Understanding why mice are in your house is the key to understanding how to get rid of them. Mice don't come to our home just for the fun of it. Their sole purpose in life is not to make you miserable even though it may seem that way.

The only thing a mouse has on its mind is survival. Just as we humans have our own basic needs such as food, water, and shelter, mice have these same needs... more food and shelter than water - mice can get their fill of water based almost entirely from the food they eat in their regular diets. So understanding that a mice is simply out there to survive, you can recognize that the reason they are in your house because they need (and have found) food and shelter.

This begs the question - how to get rid of mice. The answer is pretty straightforward - remove the food source and eliminate their shelter. Then prevent mice from coming back in the future by sealing up any access points. So let's break it down because this is the whole point.

Remove the food source. Mice do not stray far from their nests. If you have mice in your house, then there is likely a nest nearby... it's probably in your house, garage, attic, basement, or maybe just outside near your foundation. Wherever it may be - it's close. Remove the food source by storing food in sealable plastic containers. This removes any scents in the air and makes it pretty much impossible for a mouse to get in. Mice can easily chew threw cardboard and other paper based storage containers. They will not only chew this to get into food, but they will proceed to shred the paper to build their nests... and this leads us to the next important thing to consider.

Eliminate their shelter. This one is a bit more nebulous as there are a lot of mouse friendly places in a home, but you don't have to make it easy for them! If you took away their food, you're in great shape. They can't stay around forever if they don't have anything to eat. While you may be doing your part, if you're living in a multi-dwelling building (i.e. apartment complex, or other) then our neighbor's might not be doing theirs. What to do? Eliminate the access points to your home. Mice can get through openings the size of a 1/4" in diameter - that's the size of your pinkie finger! Clog up all holes that may provide entry into your home. If you're looking for a quick and temporary fix, try steel wool. It works great because mice cannot gnaw through the metal... they can try, but they will fail. For a more permanent fix, use caulk or some other type of sealant depending on the situation. Now that you've got the food and shelter out of the picture, what's next?

Lay out traps to catch them. There are a variety of traps from the simple snap trap to a mouse trap on steroids, the Victor M260 Multi-Kill Mouse Trap. You may even wish to use one of the ultrasonic mouse deterrents. The information on these different extermination techniques are all available, it's just a matter of formulating a strategy that you are comfortable with and then executing it. If you don't like the idea of seeing or handling dead mice, you're not going to want to use a snap trap that will snap its neck. You should consider a live catch trap or one of the electronic shock traps that have an easy disposal container in which you don't even have to view the mice when tossing it out with the trash.

If you're looking for more info on getting rid of mice in your house, I'd strongly recommend browsing some of the resources available on this site.

Best of Luck!

Dead Mice Smell / Dead Rat Smell

2009-12-14T16:04:00.000-05:00

I've discussed the topic of getting rid of dead mouse smell in a previous post, but I thought I'd hit on it again today because a lot of people seem to have a problem with the dead mice smell lately. A lot of people are asking the question "How long does the dead mouse smell last?" That is not an easy question to answer because as with just about everything in life, it all depends. What sort of things does it depend on? For one, what sort of environment did the mouse die in? Is it dry or humid? Is it warm or cold? The dead mice odor comes from the fact that the mouse is decaying after its death. Once the mouse is completely decomposed, it will no longer emanate an odor as all that will be left are dried up bones. If it's a hot humid environment, you can expect that the mouse odor will be very strong and pervasive. If it's a cooler dry environment, it will take some time for the mouse to decompose... it may not decompose at all.

Your best bet for getting rid of the dead rodent smell is to, simply enough, get rid of the dead mouse. You need to physically locate the animal and remove it, or wait it out. A lot of times, your only option is to wait it out because the mouse died in the walls of your house. If that's the case, you can start by pounding down the walls to get it out, but that is not your most economical option. You could just move out of the house for a few weeks (or months?) while you wait for the smell to subside, but that's not the most practical option. Your best bet is to purchase an odor eliminator that neutralizes the smell in the air. Make sure it's an odor eliminator and not just some perfume that covers it up. The last thing you want is some cheap perfume mixed with the stench of a decaying carcass. One of the most positively reviewed odor eliminators is available on Amazon: Fresh Wave Continuous Release Odor Neutralizing Gel. This is a gel where you basically leave the lid open and it evaporates into the air neutralizing the foul odor. This is actually some pretty powerful stuff that can be used on other things besides dead rodent smells, so it's a good all around product to have in your arsenal. It's good for the wet musty smells in the basement, or things like that too. You can check out the Amazon Reviews.

Some people may be wondering if they should handle a dead rat smell any differently... the answer is no. The same principles apply for any dead rodent, whether it's a dead rat or mouse. The only difference for a dead rat is that the smell may last longer as the body is generally much larger. Unfortunately if you are unable to locate the dead rat (or mouse), you're not going to know the difference anyways... All you're going to know is that dead rats, dead mice, and dead rodents in general all smell really bad!

So a quick recap of what you should do to get rid of mice smell. First, locate the source and remove it if possible. This will stop the smell from continuing to emanate from the source once it's gone. Second purchase an odor eliminator to remove all traces of the stench. It's not enough to just get rid of the dead mouse because the stench may have been absorbed into the different materials in your home. The odor eliminator will ensure that the stench fully dissipates from the air. If you follow these simple steps, you can knock out that odor in no time.

Using the Victor M260 Multi-Kill Mouse Trap to Get Rid of Mice

2009-12-03T14:51:00.005-05:00

Today I want to tell you about a new mousetrap that a couple users have purchased and used to effectively get rid of their mice problem. It is the Victor M260 Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap. This electronic mouse trap has a 100% kill rate for a quick and humane mice extermination. The trap is capable of killing up to 10 mice per deployment and will effectively kill 150 mice per set of batteries. One of the nice features of this trap is that it's reusable. You buy it this year, but you'll be using it for years to come. You can consider it an investment in ensuring a mouse free home.

The trap is designed with two points of entry, which is designed to provide diversity in attracting mice into the trap. It is built with a tunneled staircase design that is lab tested to effectively draw a mouse into the trap once they catch the scent of the bait. Bait is placed at the end of a pathway that has three electrically charged plates, which will deliver a fatal shock to the mouse. Generally the mouse will never make it to the bait, which means you will not have to re-bait the trap every time a mouse enters it. When a mouse gets zapped, it will be dropped into a holding chamber for disposal at a later time. The Victor M260 Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap has an indicator light that will notify you when a mouse is in the chamber for disposal and also whether or not the chamber is full.

You can purchase the Victor multi-kill electronic mousetrap on Amazon, but it is not the cheapest option for killing mice. The nice thing is that it is a one time investment. If you only have a couple nice running around, you may be better off trying some of the other mouse deterrents that I have described on this website in previous articles, such as peppermint oil and mice. This is a heavy-duty trap for medium to large sized mouse infestations. This is an especially good mouse trap to use if you live in the country and have frequent mouse problems. For the occasional one or two, there are cheaper more cost-effective ways of capturing and killing mice.

If you check out the reviews on Amazon, you’ll notice that people are polarized... People either love it or hate it. This can be the case with a lot of electronic pest control devices. I would venture to say that most of the people that have not had success with electronic traps have used it ineffectively. If I had to venture a guess, I can tell you what these people did wrong.

1. Be sure to bait the trap with bait that works effectively. Use peanut butter as that seems to work best. Since the design of the trap prevents the mouse from ever getting to the bait because it is shocked in the hallway before it gets to the reward, feel free to use a liberal amount of peanut butter in order to ensure that the scent emanates freely and attracts the mice.

2. Trap placement plays a key role in the effective extermination of mice. Don't place the trap in the middle of the room. You want to place it along the commonly traveled routes that mice use to get around your house. If you don't know how mice are getting around your home or garage, try sprinkling baby powder along suspected pathways overnight. The next morning when you wake up, check the baby powder for mouse tracks. If you don't see any, then mice are probably not coming into that area of your home. If you do see mouse tracks, then you know that mice are using this as their own personal highway, which makes an excellent place for the Victor multi-kill trap to be set. Your best bet is to try placing the trap along the side of the wall where mice are traveling. If the mice are in your kitchen, you’re not going to catch the mice by setting the trap in the garage. You may have to move it around to catch all of your mice.

3. Something I like to call bait competition… If you’re setting the trap up in the kitchen with peanut butter, you have to make sure you’ve eliminated all other food sources in the kitchen. Why would a mouse go into the trap when you left a bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups sitting on the kitchen counter? All of your food must be sealed tightly in air tight plastic container so as not to emanate a scent that will attract mice away from your traps. It’s common sense, but a lot of people think that they can throw a few traps out there and the mice are going to magically migrate towards them. Put yourself in the mouse’s shoes (or paws)... if you were a mouse and saw some dark black scary hallway, would you go crawling there or would you go eat the seemingly unlimited supply of Reese’s peanut butter cups sitting on the counter. That’s what I thought.

4. Have I mentioned trap placement? I thought I should reiterate this point because it is so important. The reason why people feel that standard snap traps are more effective at getting rid of mice, is because usually when people deploy the snap traps they deploy a bunch of them because they are relatively cheap. They don't set one trap and expect to catch 10 mice overnight. They'll set 10 traps and hope to catch two or three mice. The reason they catch these two or three mice is usually because of dumb luck... It just so happens that they sent so many traps that a few of them are in the right place. If you can determine where the mice are at before you set the trap, the odds of actually catching a mouse increases dramatically. This is why the multi-kill trap is extremely effective in those instances where you're dealing with a medium to large sized mouse infestation. There are so many mice to kill, when you set this trap in the middle of a lot, you're bound to catch a lot.

People may be wondering what I mean by medium to large sized mouse infestations... I would say if you have 5 mice, you are on the verge of crossing into that threshold. The danger is that mice reproduce so quickly that a few mice if not handled quickly can turn into a whole lot of mice in very short order. The last thing you want to happen is for babies because then you’re going to need not one multi kill trap, but two or three because they will just be all over the place.

So if you feel like the Victor Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap is for you, the cheapest I found it is on Amazon; you can have it shipped and delivered in a couple days. The trap works if you use it right. Follow my recommendations, and you’ll be sure to be living mouse free in no time. If you do go out and buy this trap, I'd be interested in hearing your feedback in the comments section below. What worked for you?

Thanks and good luck!

Rat vs. Mouse: The Difference Between Mice and Rats

2009-10-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

One of the questions that people often seem to be faced with is, am I my dealing with a rat or is it a mouse? The two animals are very different species, but they are related in the fact that they are both rodents. Usually when people think of mice they think of the common house mice that they see on TV, and when they think of rats they generally think of the Norway rat, which is the kind you see running in the subways of New York City. Ironically the Norway rat does not even come from Norway; it is believed to have originated in China, but that's neither here nor there. The primary difference that you'll recognize is that rats are much larger than their mice cousins.

This isn't the only difference you can find between the two species of rodents. Rats tend to have smaller ears in relation to the rest of their larger bodies. They also tend to have a more rounded facial structure as compared to mice which tend to have more pointy features. Also if you have the opportunity to examine the mouse or rat in close proximity, you can count the number of nipples it has. Both male and female mice have five pairs of nipples, and both female and male rats have six pairs of nipples. Something tells me that you're not going to be counting the number of nipples on the rodent. What you really want to know is if you can determine whether you have a rat or mice problem when you haven't even seen the rodent.

One of the common questions is whether you can identify whether you have a mouse vs. rat based on their feces, or poop. The answer is yes, there are ways to tell the difference between mouse and rat feces. The Norway rat, the most common rat you're likely to deal with, has lumpy feces that measures 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in length, and generally 1/4 inch thick. The ends tend to be rounded or more blunt. The common house mouse on the other hand has smaller excrement that measures 3/16 to 1/2 inch in length and are generally pointed at each end. You can determine whether the feces are fresh or old by the consistency. Fresh trappings tend to be moist or soft, sometimes shiny and dark, but after a while they tend to become dry and hard. Old rodent droppings will crumble, where as newer droppings will not.

If you do find that you have a rat invading your home or your garage, the best defense is a good offense, so I would recommend purchasing routing traps that are specifically designed for rats. Most experienced professional rat exterminators preferred the use of a wooden snap trap to catch rats. Techniques for deploying these traps are similar to catching mice. You'll want to place them along the runways that the rats are using between their nest, or burrows, and their food source. If you'd rather not kill the rats as you capture them, there are some live catch rat traps.

If it's a house mouse that you're up against, I recommend checking out some of the tips and tricks to get rid of mice that are available on this website. Whether you're looking to exterminate mice, humanely catch and release them, or prevent mice from coming into your home in the first place, there are techniques presented on this website that will make your life easier. One more interesting tidbit that may help you in your mice hiding adventures... It is a little publicized fact that rats are known to eat mice, so if you have a mouse problem you may want to deal with it by finding some rats and inviting them over for dinner. How's that as food for thought?

Best of luck in your rat and mouse hunting adventures!

Peppermint Oil and Mice

2009-10-08T23:55:00.004-04:00

Well, it's that time of year again when mice are looking for a reliable food source and warm shelter in order to get out of the cold. It's only natural for mice to make their way into your home - it provides both for them. I've talked about a couple times on this website before, but for people that are just now stumbling upon this site, I thought I'd highlight one of the most effective and natural methods for getting rid of mice: peppermint oil.

Peppermint oil and mice is like oil and water, they don't mix. One of the natural abilities is their very good sense of smell. They have very poor vision, which is why they often run tracks along the sides of your walls and the baseboards, but they have a very keen sense of smell that enables them to both find food and avoid danger. As you're probably aware peppermint oil has a very strong scent that can be overpowering for humans if not diluted or handled properly, and our noses are not nearly as sensitive as that of a rodent mouse.

When a mouse comes across the scent of peppermint oil, it overpowers its sensitive nose and repels the mouse. It is important that the peppermint oil is strategically placed around your home in areas that are likely to attract mice. I would suggest such places as your pantry, your cabinets, or any other place a mouse would find convenient to build a nest or as a food source.

To use the peppermint oil to get rid of mice, your best bet is to put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton swab and distribute the cotton balls where necessary. If you have pets or small children, you'll want to hide the cotton balls so that they cannot gain access to them. It kind of defeats the purpose if you're dog goes and eats all your cotton balls, or your cat uses them as a toy... I guess if you have a Though, is not doing a very good job of keeping out the mice if you're deploying peppermint oil throughout your home. It's really as simple as that.

Many people have written in asking where they can find peppermint oil, so I have provided a link for you to Amazon where you can purchase it and have it sent to your home: 100% Peppermint Oil.

Good luck with your mouse prevention efforts!

Identifying Mice Problems

2009-09-15T14:05:00.001-04:00

So you think you might have the cousin of Ratatouille living in your basement... Unfortunately this furry critter doesn't do any of the cooking, and he surely doesn't help clean the dishes. So... I'm guessing you need to find out how to get rid of mice soon because that houseguest of yours is overstaying his welcome. If it smells like a rat, and looks like a rat, it's usually a rat, but let's make sure you're dealing with the mouse you think it is. Sometimes you need to stack the deck in your favor...

So, what are the signs of mice infestation?

Well, for starters if you see the little critters scurry across the kitchen floor every now and then when you open up the pantry door, that's usually a pretty good indicator that you have a mice infestation.

Another indicator that would suggest you have to get rid of mice problems is if you see little mouse droppings, or feces. These droppings are generally rod-shaped with an approximate length of 1/8" - 1/4".

You may also experience other small tell tale signs of a mouse being present in your home. If you notice any signs of gnawing on the corners of boxes or paper, you may have a mouse problem. Mice tend to use these resources to build a nest out of the shreds of paper that they are able to obtain. A mouse nest is not something you will trip over unless you're crawling around in your attic or some crawlspace in the basement. Look in dark sheltered areas to see if you have a nest of the furry critters living in your house.

In a nutshell, if you see any or all of these 7 signs, you probably have yourself a mice infestation and should take remedial action immediately:

1. Droppings or feces
2. Mouse tracks
3. Damage from gnawing
4. Burrows
5. Rodents running around or lying dead
6. Sounds "in the walls"
7. Odors from rodents

This is only the first step in how to get rid of mice, so please check out the other posts to learn more.

Exterminate Mice

2009-08-23T11:43:00.003-04:00

There are some mice problems that may just be too much to handle for a non-professional such as yourself. Sometimes you need to call in the big guns and hire someone to professionaly exterminate mice. I wanted to briefly describe some signs that may suggest you need to hire a mouse exterminator in dealing with a mouse or rodent problem. Some of these signs of mice will be fairly evident, while others you may not have considered. They all have one common theme, however, mice are in your house and you need to know what the best way to get rid of mice is.

Let's start with the obvious... if you have so many mice in your home that you've seen them crawling on top of each other in bunches, you may need to seek the help of an exterminator. See when mice breed, they don't have one or two babies... they have a lot. If your mice problem has grown beyond the occasional mice here and there, your home may be acting as a breeding ground for the little rodents. It is imperative that you find the nest and dismantle it. If you're not sure if there's a nest, or you can't find it, I'd recommend bringing in a mice exterminator to address the problem. Exterminators in this field are generally very professional, and have a lot of experience under their belts. While you may deal with a mouse problem once or twice a year, they deal with hundreds of rodent problems, year round.

Another advantage the mice exterminator has over the do-it-yourself method is some of the tools at their disposal. One of the common methods the exterminator employs to get rid of mice is poison. Yes, I know that I did a lot of hand waving and made a not of noise that you should not use poison to get rid of mice in a previous article, but this stuff is different. The professionals have access to certain chemicals that are not generally available over-the-counter, so-to-speak. The poison that the mice exterminators use has special chemicals in it to not only kill the mice, but to also quickly and efficiently dry the mouse remains out. The mice essentially die by dehydration, and the remains they leave will not smell for weeks like they do for standard poison if they die outside of your reach. Now there are ways to deal with the dead mouse smell, but why mess with it if a mouse exterminator can professionally handle the problem and prevent these things from happening in the first place.

Back to why you may want to consider hiring a rodent exterminator to handle your mouse problem for a moment. Obviously if you're unable to stomach a dead mouse you catch in your traps, you may want to have someone else do it for you, but if you have pets or small children around, you may wish to consider using a professional. They are trained in the art of trap placement and baiting for rodents and will take the appropriate steps necessary to avoid putting your pets or small children in jeopardy. Let your exterminator know that you have concerns about this, and they will be sure to take the appropriate measures to both effectively get rid of the mice, as well as protect your pets or small children.

Some exterminators guarantee their work for a specified period of time... I'd like to stress some, not all, and it may depend on the overall situation. If an exterminator rids your home of mice, and the mice suddenly reappear shortly thereafter, the exterminator may come back and treat your home again free of charge, or at a reduced rate. At the same time, if an exterminator gets rid of all the mice in your home and they keep coming back, you may wish to read an article on how to prevent mice from coming in your house or garage in the first place! Lucky for you, I have one of those you can dust off and read. :)

Hopefully this article helped open your eyes to some of the methods and reasons why you may want to hire a mouse exterminator. If hiring professional help is not for you, there are plenty of do-it-yourself tips and tricks to get rid of mice, so check out the links and read up.

Electronic Pest Control for Mice

2009-08-22T21:58:00.010-04:00

A lot of people seem to be fascinated by the use of electronic pest control in order to eliminate a rodent problem. This is for good reason as it can be an effective mouse deterrent when coupled with other rodent control techniques. The premise is simple: an electronic device emits a noise inaudible to the human ear but extremely irritating to mice, rats, and other rodent species. The pitch is such that common household pets like dogs and cats aren't affected by it.

So how do these electronic devices work exactly? That's an interesting subject, and a hotly debated topic of discussion at that. Some people will swear by the effectiveness of electronic pest control techniques, while others detest them and say the mice walked right up to the unit and laugh. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

How do these electronic mice deterrents work? Well, if you buy the right one they take a multipronged approach. First, they emit high frequency sound waves that are non-repetitive in nature. This is to ensure that the rodent doesn't become accustomed to a static tone. This creates intense auditory stress for rodents. The second technique is to emit a distinct frequency tone at 46.5 kHz to simulate the sound of a dominant male rodent. Due to the territorial nature of mice, if they hear another alpha male nearby, they will likely move onward. One such device that repels mice this way is the Victor Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent.

Now you'll see that these devices generally tend to have pretty mixed reviews. The fact is that in controlled testing, these devices do actually work. The Victor Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent has an 81.3% success rate in lab testing. After 3 to 9 days, there should be a marked decrease in rodent activity. These statistics come from a field test of these devices as deployed by professional rodent exterminators. The keyword there is "professional rodent exterminators." Unless you're in the business, you may not achieve these rates unless you keep these concepts in mind.

In order to maximize the devices effectiveness, you have to properly deploy the device. You have to take into consideration such things as room size, placement, and quantity. Larger rooms require more devices or more powerful devices. Placement is key. While it might be nice to hide the devices behind couches or other objects to keep them out of sight, this restricts the range of the devices. Soft materials will absorb the sound waves and render the device useless. You need to place the device such that sound waves can emanate freely and without restriction. Intelligently position the devices to maximize the coverage. There is directionality to soundwaves, and every time the waves encounter a surface some of that energy is lost and some is reflected. Don't expect the device you put in the kitchen to deter mice that are upstairs in your bedroom. Place the devices in your garage. Place them near doors or other access points. By properly placing these ultrasonic mouse repllents, you can prevent mice from getting in your home.

One word of caution... if you have a "rodent pet" like hamsters or gerbils, or anything similar, do not use these devices. The sound will drive your little pets crazy.

There are other electronic pest control devices to consider. The Victor Electronic Mouse Trap gives you an electronic version of the snap trap. Instead of a mouse tripping a spring loaded bar, when the mouse goes for the bait it completes an electronic circuit that generates a lethal pulse. Now the death of the mouse is not like the electrocutions you see on TV where smoke is pouring out if its ears and its glowing in the dark. The kill is quick and humane. Other nice features of electronic traps is that they are reusable and have a 100% kill rate. Sometimes the standard snap traps or other devices simply incapacitate the mouse causing great suffering and pain. The electric shock is quick and effective.

If you're concerned about the risk of deploying snap traps around small children and pets, I don't blame you. There is a risk of accidentally setting these traps off. You don't have that kind of problem with the electronic mouse traps as they tend to be much safer to use. If someone tries to tamper with the trap, the circuit gets deactivated which would prevent small children from getting shocked.

Mouse Pest Control

2009-06-04T10:36:00.005-04:00

House mice are considered to be one of the most troublesome household pests encountered daily by people around the world. Mouse pest control is the activity that describes the prevention and control of mice, rodents, or pests that may plague a homeowner. If a rodent infestation is left uninhibited, it is possible that mice or rats can contaminate food with their feces, which could result in food poisoning of anyone that consumes infected food. Additionally their natural tendency to chew and gnaw at various things can result in significant damage to property. Mice have been known to chew threw wires and cables... some even electrocute themselves in the process. All of this is dangerous as it is possible that a spark from a shorted wire could result in fire or other damage. A mouse infestation is not something to be taken lightly.

How to recognize a mouse infestation is not too difficult. If you notice mouse droppings or gnawing that wasn't there last time you checked, you probably have some sort of rodent mouse problem. If you noticed paper that is shredded into strips or smaller bunched up in a corner or hidden area, this is likely a mouse nest. You will find feces or other mouse remains nearby or in the nest. Mice generally prefer grain foods like cereal or oats, but they will eat just about anything they can get their tiny paws on. They are a very nimble creature capable of fitting through very tiny holes (about the size of your pinkie) and they can run up a vertical surface if it is rough without much trouble. When mice reproduce they have around five babies per female mouse - this means that an unchecked mouse population can multiply rapidly. In their life time of approximately nine months to a year, an average female mouse can have five up to ten litters! That's a potential of 50 new mice in a year from a single female!! The importance of proper mouse control has never been more evident.

To practice effective mouse control techniques, there are three generally accepted practices to implement - sanitization, mouse proofing, and eliminating mice. The first two are measures how to prevent mice while the last one is addressing the problem after the fact. Sanitization is an important step in mice control. While cleaning alone will not be sufficient to keep mice away, it will only help. It helps because you are reducing the potential number of food sources. You are eliminating places for mice to hide, build nests, and reproduce. Good sanitization will not eliminate all mice, but it will prevent mice from multiplying and growing their nests.

The most important and most effective form of mouse control is mouse proofing. You need to eliminate all access points. Remember that I said mice can fit through holes as small as a 1/4" in diameter - the size of your pinkie finger. Food needs to be sealed in airtight containers. Mice can easily chew through the corner of a cereal box, so if you're serious about mice prevention get yourself some airtight containers. To prevent access to the home, use caulk to effectively seal - focus around utility access points: water pipes, vents, electrical conduits, etc... Use metal such as steel wool to minimize access. Mice can easily chew through soft materials like plastic, wood, or rubber - they can't chew through metal. Keep this in mind.

The final mouse control technique is exterminating mice that already exist. There are many techniques described on this website. From mouse traps to poison, home remedies to get rid of mice and mouse repellents. Explore some of these options and you will be well on your way to practicing adequate pest control against mice.

Best of luck!

Mouse Repellent

2009-05-25T11:53:00.011-04:00

How to keep mice away and prevent mice from coming into your house, home, car, or garage is the next topic up for discussion. Is there any effective mouse repellent available on the market today that will save you from the headaches and trouble of dealing with a mice problem tomorrow? Lucky for you the answer is yes.

An effective mouse deterrent is one that repels mice without significantly impacting to your day to day life. It should not require you to alter your way of life so much so that you forget the way it used to be in the good old days - before fighting mice became a way of life. Idealling a good mice repellent will work naturally and will not have overly harsh chemicals that burn through the affected area.

Keeping those ideals in mind, that is why I most recommend Shake Away Rodent Repellent. I don't generally attach a highly recommend to any product, but this one satisfies all of our requirements and more. It is a granule based product that works by exploiting a rodent's instinctive fear of its natural predators. The product is granulized fox and bobcat urine - the scent acts as a mouse deterrent as they believe their predators are nearby. Additionally it's 100% organic and will not burn plants, trees, or bushes. Simply spread the product all around your house, or in your garden, or your barn, or around your shed, and consider your mice problem eliminated. It's an effective way to get rid of mice naturally.

Another effective mouse repellent is to use one of the ultrasonic repellent devices available on the market. This is more for indoor use whereas the Shake Away described above is more effective for outdoor use. An ultrasonic repellent works by emitting a high frequency sound that proves to be extremely irritating to rodents, but cannot be heard by humans or common household pets like cats and dogs. Note that if you have a rodent pet (hamster, gerbil, etc...) do NOT use an electronic repellent device as this will cause extreme discomfort for your pet. When looking for an ultrasonic repellent, you want to find one that employs non-repetitive sound waves. That is, the sound emitted varies with time randomly so that the rodents are unable to become accustomed to the pitch. We don't want them getting used to the sound and hanging around, so the variability is important. Also it would be nice to have a sound that mimics other mice, in particular the alpha male rodent. The alpha males are extremely territorial, so by emitting a high pitch simulated alpha male sound in addition to the non-repetitive sound, it's a sort of one two punch to deter mice. One product to try is the Victor® Mini PestChaser® Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent. It exhibits the qualities I described.

Something to be cognizant of is that ultrasonic repellents have to be properly placed. If you put it behind furniture, it won't work because the furniture will simply absorb the sound. Similarly, if you put it in a huge room, the sound diminishes in which case you should try and find a more powerful unit. Don't expect to put an ultrasonic repellent in one room and expect your entire house to be rodent free. You need to place one or more ultrasonic repeller in EVERY room of your house to keep the rodents away. Also as with any anti-mice campaign, you should still deploy traps for a multi-pronged approach to get rid of mice. As a matter of fact, these ultrasonic repellents can be used to herd mice away from certain rooms and towards the rooms that have a bunch of mouse traps deployed. Keep these helpful tips in mind.

Top 5 Tips to Get Rid of Mice for Good!

2009-02-21T01:58:00.008-05:00

I know you've been scouring the web looking for information on either how to kill mice or at least how to get rid of the rodents. You've probably run across various home remedies or natural solutions to deal with the infestation, but you're not really sure which avenue to go down. Let me break it down for you with 5 easy to follow tips to get rid of mice for good!

1. If you have more than one mouse, and you probably do, it's often times more effective to take a multi-faceted approach. Don't just lay snap traps one at a time and expect the mice to just go up to them and get trapped. It doesn't really work that way. Set up multiple mouse traps and use a variety of them. Some smart mice have learned from experience what certain traps look like, so if one type is it working, deploy a variety of mouse traps. Bait the traps with peanut butter or chocolate, NOT cheese. The effectiveness of the traps will increase ten-fold.

2. Consider using some home remedies to get rid of mice. This could provide the additional variety necessary to rid yourself of the smart mice. Try using peppermint oil, mothballs, or ammonia along with mouse traps. Just make sure you don't put these deterrents right next to the traps, as that will be counterproductive. Try putting peppermint oil in more open areas that are highly trafficed by people, and place the traps hidden in pantries or cabinets out of sight. Following these two tips will help you get rid of the mice once they're there, but why not stop them before they show up in the first place?

3. It is imperative that you eliminate the source of food to prevent mice from returning. You're going through all the effort to rid your house of mice, why not go the extra step and get rid of them for good! Seal all your food containers tightly... a cardboard box is not considered sealed tightly. If necessary by plastic snap tight containers to store your cereal (it's actually probably better anyways, as it will stay fresher over a longer period of time - added bonus for you efforts).

4. One more tip on mouse prevention. Plug up all access points no matter how small or inconsequential thay may seem. As I've said in previous posts, a mouse can squeeze through a hole the size of your pinkie. To plug up the hole temporarily, use steel wool. Anything other than steel, the mouse will be able to chew through without even breaking a sweat. If it tries to gnaw through the steel wool, you're going to have a toothless mouse wandering around your home.

5. Last but not least, you may find yourself in the unfortunate spot to have a mouse die within your confines and emit a lovely musty odor. Getting rid of it is pretty easy as long as you buy the right stuff. As my previous post on getting rid of the dead mouse smell I mentioned a product called Fresh Wave Continuous Release Odor Neutralizing Gel. It works, and I explain why in that post, so if you're looking for more info, check it out.

That about wraps up this post on getting rid of mice for good. If you follow these tips from beginning to end, you should find yourself leading a life without the stress of mice in your life. Do yourself a favor by taking the time to implement the preventative measures described to keep mice away from your home, car, or garage.

Getting Rid of Dead Mouse Smell

2008-12-28T13:27:00.013-05:00

You're one of the unlucky whose house or car has been infected with the dead mouse smell. It's a hideous stench that's pervasive nature you can never seem to escape no matter where you run. If the stench is in your home, I bet you're thinking of moving into a hotel and pray that the dead mouse smell leaves. If the mouse smell is in your car, you're probably thinking of driving your car into a river or off a cliff just to get rid of it. I can't say that I blame you, but there is hope.

It's bad enough you have to try to get rid of mice, now you have to deal with this?! Don't worry because the dead mice smell is not an impossible thing to get rid of, nor is a dead rat smell.

No doubt you have tried just about everything you can think of to get rid of the smell. How many scented candles have you burned? Probably have bags of potpourri sprinkled throughout your home too... I hate to say it, but this just isn't going to work. This will merely mask the smell of the dead mouse, and probably do a pretty poor job of it. This is a pungent smell that will pierce through any half hearted attempts to veil it. If you're looking to eliminate the odor permanently, there is a solution, so please continue reading on.

So how do you get rid of the dead mouse smell? First you have to get rid of the mouse that is causing the smell. Yes, I know - I'm master of the obvious. It's common sense, but it has to be said. For as long as the mouse is rotting or decaying, it will emit the foul odor that is invading your nostrils. Simple as that. That's only the first step though. Due to the pungent smell, it's likely that even after removing the decaying rodent, there will be remnants of the overpowering, musty smell in the air. For that you need to purchase an odor eliminator (not just a scent or perfume to mask the smell). If you eliminate the source, one application of the right product should do the trick permanently (or at least until you kill another mouse and it ends up rotting close to home).

If you can't find the dead mouse, you're going to have to wait it out. Once the mouse has dried out and fully decayed, the smell will diminish. Unfortunately this can take weeks or months. Luckily there is a product that can dissolve the odor, not just mask it. That's important, so I'm going to say it again. You do not want a cover up or perfume - you need an odor eliminator. The difference is that an odor eliminator will chemically bond with the smell and neutralize it in air, whereas a perfume only mixes with the rodent odor and attempts to mask it by overpowering it. That doesn't last. You need to neutralize it.

There are many odor eliminators out there, but the one that I recommend is Fresh Wave Continuous Release Odor Neutralizing Gel. This stuff gets out the worst of smells, no matter what the source. It is specifically designed to attack odors naturally and prevent the source's ability to produce the offensive smell in the first place. If you read the Amazon Reviews, the results of the product speak for itself. This stuff is also effective at getting rid of the smell of mouse urine.

It all boils down to this... find and remove the source of the dead mouse smell. Apply odor eliminator. If you can't find the source of the rodent odor, apply odor eliminator regularly until the mouse completely decomposes and no longer emits the smell.

Get Rid of Mice with Fox Urine

2008-11-26T09:42:00.011-05:00

Folks, listen here... this one is hot off the press. I have previously reported that ammonia simulates the smell of fox urine which help deter mice - makes sense because foxes are a natural predator of mice. You can get rid of mice naturally with ammonia, but the application can be a bit troublesome. The only way to treat an area with ammonia is to pour the substance in little cups and place them all around the protected area. That is hardly ideal, but it does get the job done.

Well in my never ending effort to bring you safe and easy ways to rid your house of mice, I stumbled across this little jewel: fox urine granules. That's right - they've bottled up fox urine in a solid granule form for easy application outdoors around your house. This is all natural, organic, non-toxic... it will not harm your vegetation. This is creme-de-la-creme. This is good stuff here - think about it for a second. This is preventing the mice from ever even approaching your house. Stop the mice before they even get to your front door with this easy to use product. Why deal with the nasty traps and disposal of dead mice when you can stop the mice from coming into your house, kitchen, garage, wherever BEFORE they come close?

The premise is the same and the effectiveness is unrivaled... use your knowledge about mice and their natural predators and simulate that said predator is nearby or has been recently. That application of this product is pretty simple too - nothing fancy, no need to use bait or strategically place traps. No need to defend yourself from the smart mouse that steals the bait. All you have to do is lightly spread it around the area you would like to protect.

For the first two weeks, apply the product twice a week. For the remainder of the season, spread the product around once weekly. This stuff can be used to deter rodents from your garden, or hey... why not spread it around your entire house? Prevent mice from coming in your house completely. Spread it around your garage. Spread it around your neighbors' homes... with this secret method of getting rid of mice, you're going to have yourself a profitable little side business to "treat" your neighbor's home.

Know someone who has a mouse problem? Do them a favor and send them to this website first. This stuff works, but don't expect it to do the trick over night. Give it a couple weeks for the signature scent to percolate throughout the environment around your home. If you apply it as suggested above and don't just pile it on from day one, you'll be very pleased with the results. Remember a light application twice a week the first two weeks, and a refresher application once a week thereafter.

Get your fox urine granules today, and consider your mice problems solved tomorrow!