When it comes to pest control, the mouse is one of the most common pests and is found worldwide. I am not talking about the plastic mouse next to your computer. I am talking about Mus Musculus, the common house mouse and a few other small furry critters.
We all know the three traditional but evasive methods used for mouse pest control and elimination which are traps, poison, and Cats. But in many situations traps and poison are just not a feasible or even wanted solution, mainly due to the presence of small children or pets in the home and respect for living creatures.
Cats are not a reliable solution, although they do deter mice from entering a home to a large degree. I had a mouse run right in the door as I opened it while our cat was resting only 10 feet away. Or, a cat may bring a live mouse into the house, play with it for awhile and then just let it go, or the mouse escapes behind some piece of furniture.
The Hunter in You – Sometimes you just have to become the pest control hunter yourself. Mice will normally run along walls and behind things. Rarely do you see a mouse run strait across an open floor. You can use this to your advantage and catch a mouse. Using two people you can block the mouse escape and dispatch the critter using various methods: brooms, sticks, or if you are more humane you can capture the mouse alive and release it outdoors.
An empty margarine container or fish net works great, but you have to be quick. Cover the mouse with the container or net and slide a piece of stiff cardboard under it to prevent the Mouse from escaping. This works especially well in cupboards if you can block the mouse in, remove most of the items and pop a margarine container over the pest.
Live Traps – Another capture method is the live trap, either store bought or home made. I once had a mouse come in the room near the bed at night after someone spilled some crumbs on the floor. After it came back a second time I devised a trap. I set a heavy cardboard box on the floor and propped it up with a pencil and then attached a nylon string to the pencil and baited under the box with cookie crumbs. Right on time the mouse appeared and was more than happy to nibble away at the crumbs. I pulled the string and quickly slid a piece of cardboard under the box, then removed the mouse. This is a more humane pest control method.
Mouse Herding – You can simply open the door when you see the mouse along the wall, have someone stand on the other side of the door with a broom while you “herd” the creature towards them. It will more than likely scoot out the door to get away from the two “giants.” Once outdoors it may think twice before re entering your home, and in the outdoors you have many allies against mice. Hawks, owls, cats, foxes snakes, weasels, the mouse must find shelter quickly or it will fall prey to one of these.
Mouse Deterrents – There are several pest control mouse deterrents you can use but none are 100% successful. crushed red pepper, red pepper oil, castor oil, peppermint, and a host of other pungent herbs and oils can repel mice. Some of these can get expensive if you are to treat a large area. These can be applied in a solution around kitchen cabinets, openings in walls, or any other place mice frequent or use for access. Remember, most of these products have a strong odor, so if you use these you also have to put up with the smell.
Keeping your house clean (especially in the kitchen and dining areas) and sealing up any potential access points can help, but remember, the critter can squeeze through very small openings, and it can chew wood to make an opening large enough to enter. Even in a spotless home a mouse can seek shelter even if there is no food readily available. In any home there will always be available nesting materials.
In the end, no matter what you do, mice may still get in. They seem to be able to get around the lazy cat, run past a person who opens the front door, foil traps by nibbling from the side, or even avoiding traps altogether while ransacking the kitchen cabinets and counters. We can only control these pests so that they don’t infest us entirely. We can keep the damage to a minimum, but I doubt we could ever completely eliminate them from our homes all together.