How to Get Rid of Mice
How to Get Rid of Mice in Your House Fast
How to Get Rid of Mice in Your House in 9 Steps
- Eliminate entry points: Any small gap or crack can be big enough for a mouse to sneak into. Places where pipes connect to walls & appliances, along foundations, chimneys & vents, and even open doors and windows can let mice into a home. Sealing gaps and cracks and finding ways to prevent access through openings by supporting them with steel grates help to reduce access points for mice.
- Clog pathways with steel wool: Any areas that are difficult to block can be filled with steel wool as mice are unable to chew through it. Avoid using caulking, wood, plastic, or other materials that mice can chew through.
- Use mouse traps: Mouse traps come in several varieties: the snap trap, the sticky trap, and the electric trap. While they all function differently, they all serve the same purpose. Using them together in large numbers increases the likelihood that mice will be caught in the event they learn to avoid one type. They are most effective when strategically placed in areas that have shown previous mice activity.
- Choose the best bait for mouse traps: Mice will have preferences when it comes to their food so paying attention to what they have been stealing should give you an idea of what to use for bait. If they are munching on things that make it difficult to latch onto the trigger, maybe use some peanut butter as an adhesive to get it to stick. Whatever you do, use gloves to prevent your scent from being passed onto the trap, as this could deter mice from approaching.
- Strategically place mouse traps: If the traps are not placed strategically, there is a chance that they will become less effective. It is recommended that traps are placed perpendicularly against the wall with the trigger facing the baseboard. This helps align the business end of the trap with the path mice already tend to follow, the corner of the wall. A mouse’s territory is generally no larger than 20 feet beyond its nest so anywhere there is sighted rodent activity is where traps should be placed. Changing trap locations every few days is also critical to success.
- Bait stations: Bait stations are usually sealed packets that mice can easily chew through and eat. They contain rodenticides that cause them to dehydrate and die. While effective, care should be taken when placing these as you will want to avoid them being able to hurt your children or pets. It is also important to note that these baits can cause mice to die in inconvenient places and decompose in places like wall cavities and subfloors.
- Cleaning & sanitizing: General cleanliness is important to ensure that food sources like crumbs are removed. Vacuuming floors, sweeping and mopping, and wiping down counters are all integral to preventing mice from finding food.
- Exterior upgrades: Maintaining cleanliness also applies to the exterior of your home. Keeping gravel around the perimeter of your home is a good way to minimize mice nests and burrowing. The less coverage outside your home the less likely mice will want to expose themselves to airborne predators to get to your house.
- Cat & mouse game: Unless allergies to cat needs to be accounted for, cats are an excellent way to fight mice populations. They are commonly used in rural areas as rodent control and are extremely effective.
- Use strong fragrances: Using strong smells that mice dislike is an effective natural treatment that helps deter mice. Peppermint and clove oil can be used in areas like drawers to keep mice out of clothing. Another option is to use a hot chili pepper solution to create a deterrent with a little heat.
- Use live traps: live traps can be problematic because the mice are still alive and need to be disposed of or freed. That said, there are several options that are easy enough to build on your own.
What Attracts Mice
Mice ultimately seek out the same thing most pests are looking for, a steady supply of food and water and a safe place to nest. This means that any quiet undisturbed place in your house or garage is a perfect place for a mouse to call home. They will prefer to nest somewhere warm or will search for nesting materials to create a cozy nest somewhere. Then they will search for the other resources like food and water. Mice prefer to snack on grains and nuts, but they are scavengers and will eat just about anything and chew threw building materials to get to food.
How to Choose & Set Traps
Most mouse traps are effective if utilized properly but some are preferred by professionals.
- Snap traps – This is the tried-and-true methods that worked since the start of mouse traps. It may have evolved a bit over time, but the base functionality is the same. These are effective and kill the mice quickly in a way that is designed to be as humane as possible
- Electric traps – These traps lure mice over electrified contact points and shock them with enough current to stop their heart. These traps are designed to be a humane method of extermination without posing a threat to pets or children due to the build of the trap.
- Sticky traps – This trap uses an adhesive glue board to trap mice. This unfortunately is not a very humane way to kill a mouse as it will get stuck and starve to death while screaming and defecating until it runs out of energy.
- Live catch traps – These traps are basically one way entrance cages that lure mice in and prevent mice from leaving unless a door release is triggered.
Setting traps should be done with care, especially when dealing with snap traps. They will want to be set on the most hair trigger latch, so any contact sets them off. They should be set every 3 feet along walls where previous mice activity had been seen. The best places to set traps are inside areas that are rarely disturbed. Closets, cabinets, and behind furniture and appliances are all good spots to leave traps. Even when a mouse has been caught, reset the trap for any remaining mice as they reproduce quickly and it’s unlikely there is just one mouse.
Examples of Live Traps
Below are a couple examples of homemade live mouse traps:
Downfalls of Each Mouse Extermination Method
Some of the different mice treatment methods has its downfall. Poison is largely effective but often times causes mice to die inside wall cavities where they start to smell. The poison also has the potential to pass if the mouse remains get eaten. This could be bad for wildlife but also bad for the family cat or dog. Glue traps are inhumane and result in a mouse starving to death over a long period. It’s also common for mice to free themselves from sticky traps by leaving legs behind that were gnawed off. Ultimately snap traps are still the most effective trap method.
How to Get Rid of Mice in the Walls?
There are a couple ways that you can target mice in walls. The first and probably least invasive options is to find where the mice are accessing wall cavities and lay traps around those access points with enough bait to ensure success. The other options would include cutting out a wall panel to build a trap door that can access a snap trap inside the wall. This easy access option would allow you to target where the mice are but would then leave an unnecessary trap door once the mice have been exterminated.
Mice Prevention
Mice prevention is an important element of successful mice control. There are several things that can be implemented to decrease the likelihood of mice being introduced into your home:

Outside
- Trim bushes and trees within 10 feet of the house
- Keep landscaping cut short
- Keep outdoor grills and cooking areas clean
- Ensure that compost and wood piles are far from the house
- Store pet food and livestock’s food somewhere secured and in metal containers with lids
- Don’t leave out food or water for pets and livestock
- Elevate trash cans
Inside
- Clean up food and spills immediately
- Wash dishes after cooking
- Store trash in secured bins
- Keep food in airtight containers
- Don’t leave food out overnight
- Vacuum regularly
- Trash potential nesting materials
- Clean up the garage
How Do You Know When the Mice are All Gone?
After a couple weeks of little to no mice activity, it should be safe to say they have all been caught and removed. No more droppings, no more scurrying, and no more sightings are all good signs. Leaving out bait for them so you can monitor if mice show up is a good way to determine if there are any remaining.
