How to Get Rid of Mice: Best Remedies in 2020

Most of us have faced the problem with rodents at least once and there’s no need to explain how troublesome is to get rid of mice. Especially when they breed so quickly threatening your house with a real infestation. Besides the fact that they can chew wires and cause other damage to your property, mice are carriers of numerous parasites, bacteria and even viruses which сan be very dangerous, including lymphocytic choriomeningitis, listeria, salmonella, and hantavirus. They affect human brain and you сan become infected by simply inhaling the dust which contains mice urine or droppings. Fortunately, there is a couple of reliable methods to get rid of mice.

1. Ways to Get Rid of Mice
   • Mouse Traps
   • Mouse Poison
   • Mouse Repellents
   • Cat or Dog
   • Professional Mouse Exterminators
2. Home Remedies to Get Rid of Mice Naturally
3. Getting Rid of Mice in Walls
4. How to Get Rid of Mice in Attic
5. How Long Does It Take to Get Rid of Mice

Ways to Get Rid of Mice

As soon as you notice the first signs of mice in your house, such as claw and gnaw marks, trails of small poop pellets, food debris and shredded paper, you should start acting. 

1. Find and eliminate all their entry points. Check basement, vents, utility pipes and chimney openings. Patch all holes that are larger than 1/4 inch with caulk and steel wool. 
2. Store all foods in the glass or plastic airtight containers in places mice can't reach. 

The steps above will keep other mice off your house. The next step is to eliminate those who entered before. You can use the following:

Mouse Traps

The most popular traditional way to get rid of mice at home is to use mouse traps. There are few types of mouse traps, such as snap traps, electronic traps, glue traps and live-catch traps. Seems quite easy but there are some tips you should know. Everybody knows the image of a mouse eating cheese from a famous cartoon, but in fact, the best baits for mouse traps are peanut butter, vanilla extract, chocolate, sunflower seeds, nuts, maple syrup, jam, and even bacon. Even inedibles, such as cotton balls, yarn, twine, and dental floss may attract mice, because they are used for building nests. Make sure to place traps near the possible nesting areas, around mouse holes, or along the walls 2-3 feet apart and remember that pests like dark places, so kitchen, attic and garage are the most expected to be infected.

Pros:

• cheap (starting from $5)
• reusable (you can save it and use during years, in case problem occurs again)
• kills fast (mice do not suffer)

Cons:

• need constant monitoring and removing dead mice (this can be nasty)
• effective only against a small amount of rodents and cannot help in case of infestation
• not safe, your child or pet can get injured

Mouse Poison

It is considered to be the most effective way to get rid of mice, but you should be careful when using it and remember the following: poison doesn’t drive mice away, it kills them, so you will need to get rid of the remnants, otherwise it will give a horrible smell. Mouse poison can also be dangerous for humans and pets, so don’t forget about precautions, especially if there are pets or children in the house. Use gloves when cleaning your house and disinfect your home properly after everything is finished.

Pros:

• easy-to-use and does not require special skills
• very effective, allows to get rid of large number of mice
• affordable

Cons:

• not safe for children and pets
• if mouse dies inside of the house, it will stink

Mouse Repellents

There are different kinds of mouse repellents – natural and professional. Natural repellents (like moth balls, peppermint and different oils) are quite widely used but they do not prove to be very effective, so you should better use professional ones. Best of them are sprays and electronic repellents. While sprays are also chemical and require precautions, electronic repellents produce sounds of high frequency that cannot be heard by humans but scare the mice away and are perfectly safe for home use.

Pros:

• safe for kids and pets
• can be used not only to get rid of mice, but to repel other pests also
• it’s humane and sanitary (you don’t kills mice and do not deal with their dead bodies)

Cons:

• you have to select thoroughly (some of the repellents can be ineffective)
• they do not kill mice, just drive away, so they can come back once you stop using repellents
• effective working area is limited (it may not work for the whole house)

Cat or Dog

In case, you don’t want to deal with poisons and mice remnants yourself it is good to have a pet that will protect your home from unbidden guests. In this case cats are more effective due to their inborn predatory drive, however, there are some breeds of hunting dogs that will be helpful. Choose whatever you like the most and make your home safe from mice.

Pros:

• it costs nothing (in case you have cat or dog already)
• this way is natural and ecological

Cons:

• not always effective, especially in case of a big infestation

Professional Mouse Exterminators

If you don’t want to try any of the above or if anything you try doesn’t work you can always address professional mouse exterminators to do the job for you. Pest control services strongly advice to contact them in the case of the slightest signs of infestation in your house. Exterminators will not only get rid of mice without any risk for you and your family, but they will do everything necessary to protect your house from pest invasion in the future.

Pros:

• guaranteed method

Cons:

• expensive

Home Remedies to Get Rid of Mice Naturally

Besides the aforementioned methods, there are easy and affordable home remedies that help get rid of mice naturally.

• Mothballs – known to be a good mouse repellent
• Peppermint oil – also proven natural rodent repellent
• Bay leaves – another option to repel mice
• Onion – its smell is nasty not only for humans, but for animals also
• Instant mashed potatoes - dehydrated flakes expand in mice’s stomachs thus killing them
• Kitty litter or urine – great way to deter mice
• Owl feathers – since owls are predators and natural enemies of rodents, bunch of their feathers can also scare mice away
• Plaster of Paris – when mixed with cornmeal or cocoa powder, it becomes natural homemade poison

These home remedies can help you get rid of few mice, but in case of infestation, it is recommended to use mouse traps or call professional mouse exterminators.

Getting Rid of Mice in Walls

Having mice in walls can be a difficult problem, because getting rid of them there is not an easy task, which requires additional efforts.

First of all, you should try to lure mice out of wall with some bait, so you could eliminate them in open space. It is recommended to place mouse traps with peanut butter along the edge of the wall, where these rodents live, since they usually run there, when getting out of their shelter. If this does not help, go to next step.

There is a simple trick, which will help you get rid of mice in the wall. You should drill a small hole in the wall. The hole must be about one inch size and located about couple of inches above the floor. Take a cardboard box, make the same hole in it and cover the top with some transparent material, for example cellophane. After that, put the mouse trap with strong smelling bait inside and place the box near the wall, making both holes located opposite each other. Transparent top of the box will help you frequently check the trap, in order to quickly get rid of dead mouse and place new bait in case other mice still left there. This self-made device is proven to lure mice out very efficiently, so you will catch them all in just couple of days.

After getting rid of mice in walls, you should thoroughly check for any holes they can use to get inside and seal them, in order to prevent rodents from getting back inside the wall again. Remember, that you can do it only when you sure that there are no mice left inside at all, because if some of them will be trapped in the walls, they will die of hunger and dehydration and smell nasty. Finding and getting rid of dead mice in the walls is much more difficult problem as compared to live ones. In some cases, you may even need to ruin the whole wall for this.

How to Get Rid of Mice in Attic

Attic is a perfect place for mice, especially in winter, because it is warm, dry, quiet and usually has a lot of materials that can be used to build nests, like newspapers, old boxes etc. Having even couple of mice in attic is a big problem, because they breed very quickly in such safe and comfortable places, so you may get real mice infestation in a very short time span. If you hear suspicious sounds above like scratching, chewing or running, don’t hesitate - it’s time to get rid of mice in attic.

Unlike getting rid of mice in walls, the first thing you should do is seal all holes. It is very important to close all entry points, that rodents use to get inside the attic as well as to leave it in order to find food. This will not only prevent the new mice coming to attic, but will also make more difficult to leave it for existing ones. This will cause lack of foods and make them more hungry, thus more eager to baits in mouse traps. So, the next step is to place traps. The quantity depends on number of mice in your attic – the more rodents you have, the more traps you need.

After you get rid of all mice in your attic, don’t forget to clean it in order to remove all droppings and odor. This will help to protect the attic from other mice that can be attracted by the odors.

How Long Does It Take to Get Rid of Mice

This depends on how many of them you have in your house. In case of one mouse, it may take just few hours to catch it or couple of days in worst case. If there are several of them, you will need up to a week or so. And in case of large infestation with dozens of mice, it may take months until you get rid of last rodent. So, it is very important to start fighting with them immediately after you noticed the first signs of mice in your house, when it is still possible to do this fast and easy.