Fastest way to get rid of mice
Effective control of mice infestation involves prevention and mice population reduction. Preventive measures include sanitation and exclusion.
A naughty mouse may look adorable in cartoons, but mice are troublesome pests that bite off everything, such as shoes, clothes, and electrical wires. A mouse bite may need treatment and injections. Mice destroy the stored grains and are also the carriers for various diseases from the bubonic plague to leptospirosis.
Effective control of mice infestation involves prevention and mice population reduction. Preventive measures include sanitation and exclusion.
1. Traps:
Trapping is an effective method for places where there are smaller numbers of mice. However, the traps need to be placed in strategic locations, such as on-ground close to the walls, behind objects, in dark corners, and in places where there is evidence of mouse activity.
Trapping has several advantages, such as
- It eliminates or restricts the use of hazardous rodenticides
- It allows for disposing of off trapped mice, thereby eliminating dead mouse odors that may result from rodenticides
There are two types of traps, snap traps and electrocution traps.
- Snap traps: You can make use of any of the available snap traps, such as:
- Wooden mouse-size snap trap or plastic snap trap
- Multiple-capture live traps (Victor Tin Cat and the Ketch-All)
Set the triggers lightly so the traps can bounce easily.
- Electrocution traps: Electrocution traps are battery-operated traps that kill rats by electrocution (Rat Zapper, Victor). They are expensive but are effective measures of mice control by owners of commercial spaces and professional pest control services.
2. Glue boards:
Glue boards are sticking pads that work in much the same way as flypaper catches flies. Mice stick to them when they attempt to cross them. They are easily available at grocery stores and retail outlets.
3. Baits:
Baits to control mice are foods, such as peanut butter or cheese, mixed with rat poison (rodenticides). Mice get attracted to poisonous foods, eat them, and die.
Anticoagulant rodenticides:
These are the ones that cause the death of the mice by thinning their blood. They usually take several days to kill the mice as mice keep feeding on them.
- Warfarin
- Chlorophacinone
- Diphacinone
Read the label carefully. The bait application directions typically recommend providing an uninterrupted supply of bait for at least 10 or 15 days or until you observe that there is no mice activity. A rodent feeding on anticoagulant bait usually takes 2-6 days to die following ingestion of a lethal dose.
Other rodenticides:
- Bromethalin
- Cholecalciferol
- Zinc phosphide
Like anti-coagulants, Bromethalin and Cholecalciferol, also take several days to cause the death of the mouse that ingests it. Zinc phosphide is an acute toxicant that causes the death of a house mouse within several hours after a lethal dose is ingested. It appears to be the fastest way of getting rid of mice by reducing their population.
4. Sanitation:
Keeping the home and kitchen clean and clutter-free plays a key role in achieving successful control of the mice population. If they can’t find places where they can get food easily to build their nests and rear their young, they cannot stay in such homes for long. Keep the snacks and pet food well sealed and packed.
5. Exclusion:
Exclusion is the most successful and permanent form of house mouse control. It involves blocking all possible points from where the mice can enter your homes. Here is what you need to do
- Eliminate all the entry gaps and openings larger than 1/4 inch. Stainless steel scouring pads make a good temporary seal. Permanent or long-lasting measures include sealing the cracks in building foundations and around openings for water pipes, vents, and utility cables with metal or concrete.
- Ensure that doors, windows, and screens fit tightly. If you find any gap through which the mice can enter, use metal pads to close it. Avoid using things, such as plastic screening, rubber, vinyl, insulating foam, wood, and other gnawable materials, for plugging the holes.
If you are unable to get rid of mice with all these measures, it is better to call a professional pest control service.