It's not uncommon to see a mouse in a house, especially during the winter when the food supply is lower outside and the weather is cold. While your home may be a nice place for the mouse to ride out the winter, you don't want rodents in your house. Mice spread diseases and they gnaw on your things. It might be possible to get rid of a mild infestation using DIY methods, but mice are such a serious problem that you'll want to call a pest control company if you have a lot of mice or if you can't get rid of your mice quickly. Here are some things to try.
Use Odors To Repel Mice
Peppermint has a reputation for repelling mice. You can use peppermint essential oil and make a spray or buy mint plants for your home or to plant outside in mild weather. A bonus is that peppermint also makes your home smell nice. You might not have luck with peppermint in the winter when leaving the house is worse to the mice than staying inside with an odor they don't like, but spraying diluted peppermint oil around could be worth trying. Other odors that might work include scented dryer sheets, chili powder, or even predator urine repellents you buy from a home improvement or feed store.
Use Bait The Mice Love
Mice like sweet and fatty foods. They eat just about anything, and even though cheese is famously used to bait traps, you might have better luck with seeds held together with peanut butter, meat, or cat food. Sticky bait is harder to snatch and run with, so it could be more effective at trapping mice. Load up more traps than you think you need because you might have more mice than you think since the pests tend to stay hidden.
Figure Out How The Mice Got In
When you see a mouse in your house, the first thing you want to do is figure out how it got in so you can plug the hole. Otherwise, more mice may follow and you'll soon have an infestation. Sealing up your house is essential for mice control. Even if mice are in your shed or yard, as long as they can't get in your house, you may not be bothered by them. However, if you have a lot of the rodents, a pest control company may work on eliminating the outdoor mice too so there is less risk of them gnawing their way indoors.
For more information about mice control, contact a company like Anteater Pest Control.
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