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Simple Mouse Removal Methods Anyone Can Try

Posted on April 22, 2022

With all of life’s everyday stresses, it’s never ideal for a mouse infestation to be added to your worries, but it can happen, nonetheless. As furry rodents discover your house as a warm labyrinth with a sizable food supply, they might try to invade it. Because of their small size, mice can slip in your home through cracks and holes around your home. So, what are some mouse removal methods you can try at home?

Common House Mice Types

The house mouse, is usually five inches long with large ears and a long, hairless tail.

Deer mice, also have sizeable ears. However, they're longer (7 inches) and have shorter tails.

White-footed mice, have an impressive sense of sight and smell, so if you have something nutritious (or not so nutritious) on a flat surface, they will know.

Not a lot of people like mice, and for a good reason. They spread diseases like salmonella, LCMV and hantavirus. Whether it's just one mouse or a family of them in your house, you'll want them out. We have put together a list of more humane mouse removal methods to help get rid of mice.

Seal Entry Points

One of the best kinds of rodent control is to prevent mice from getting inside in the first place. To start, you can examine the different ways they may get in.

While rodent proofing your home, you will need to consider multiple possible entry points, such as the roof, garage, doors and more. Check for cracks or small holes that could make the perfect entrance for these tiny pests. Regardless of where it is, focus on closing it up.

You can seal smaller cracks with steel wool and put caulk around them to keep them in place. If your holes are huge, you can fill them up with cement, lath metal, lath screen, metal sheeting or hardwood cloth.

You can also trim the tree branches surrounding your house to stop mice from getting in through the roof. Over time, you can reduce the number of mice coming into your home by eliminating their opportunities to move in. Sealing entry points is a great mouse removal method, and can help with keeping other pests out as well.

Eliminate access to food sources

As mentioned before, one of the most popular attractions for mice is your food. They eat anything from chips to dried fruit, but prefer cereal grains and other types of grains. Before you go to bed, make sure all your food (including pet food) is put away and there are no crumbs on the ground.

Repel Mice With Essential Oils

Keeping your home sealed and free of things that attract mice are a great way to keep them out of your home. Did you know, you can also use different scents to repel mice? For example, you could use essential oils like citronella, eucalyptus, and lemon as a mouse removal method. Another great option is peppermint oil. You can soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and leave them in multiple parts of your house.

As soon as the powerful nose of the white-footed mouse gets a whiff, they'll know it's time to go. Another advantage to this kind of mouse removal is that it does not have the side effects that other methods such as mothballs do, which can cause nausea, agitation, headaches and many other unpleasant sensations.

One thing to note is if you have kids or pets, just make sure to do your research before turning to essential oils. In some cases, certain oils can have harmful effects.

Set Live Traps (You Don't Always Have To Kill Mice)

While it's true that you don't want mice in your house, that doesn't necessarily mean that you want them dead. There are mouse traps like classic wooden snap traps, poison baits and glue traps that may stop mice dead in their tracks. But, if you don't want dead rodents on your conscience, there are other mouse removal methods that are more humane.

There are alternative mouse removal methods, such as bait traps, which aim to catch them and keep them alive. There are many kinds of bait traps, but they all have bait and a container. The container holds the mouse, and it could be made of many materials, including glass and metal. In bait traps made of glass jars, the middle of the lid is removed and replaced by a flap that only opens one way, so a mouse can get in but not out.

If you don’t want to get a jar that works that way, you could also use a large container that the mouse can fall into, such as a wastebasket. For this to work, you will have to stack books or other objects next to one side of a wastebasket. A mouse will use them as leverage get into the wastebasket, but they won’t be able to get out. Regardless of what kind of container you use, you will need bait in it that will attract the mice. This could be peanut butter, cheese or marshmallows among a number of other options.

Summary of best mouse removal methods

The unfortunate truth is that mice infestations happen. Once a mouse gets into your house, it’s only a matter of time before there's an entire population of mice living in your home. Fortunately, you can reduce the chances of this happening by following some of the steps we listed above. For the times they still get in, consider a humane mouse trap or if the problem is not something you want to personally deal with, reach out to a professional pest control company.

Do you have a mouse infestation in Calgary or Airdrie? Contact Martin’s Pest Control today for information on common mice in Calgary and professional pest control services.