Effective Mouse Removal

Follow this advice at your own risk! This is provided for information purposes only and is not guaranteed to work.


It's that time of the year when everyone likes to come in from the cold, including mice. Though they might be Disney cute when in captivity, they can quickly become a nuisance and even downright dangerous to your health. Mice enter homes for two reasons, food and shelter from the cold. In the process of ridding your house of mice, keep these themes in mind. Here is a (still under construction) method of ridding your house of mice.


Outside the home:
Try to keep "piles" of leaves, cuttings, etc. well away from your home. It is best to completely eliminate them. Also use hardware cloth under/around stand alone structures such as sheds to eliminate the mouse's ability to make a home. One word of warning here, be careful that there are no current residents under the structure. If you close off their home, they might then visit yours.

On a semi warm day take a walk around your house to try and determine mouse entry ways. Close off holes in foundations, under siding, etc preferably using a sturdy material such as cement or 1/2" or thicker wood. Always use dryer vents that have a flap on them. They close when the dryer is not in use.

Inside the home:
Most important: Follow all directions on bait stations and mouse traps carefully. If you have children or animals, be sure to keep bait stations and traps inaccessible and away from children and pets. Always take precautions to wear latex gloves while setting traps/bait stations. Always wash hands thoroughly after setting traps/stations. Always wash hands and surfaces thoroughly after capture has occurred. Throw away traps after they have captured. It is a little more expensive, but clean and safe. Always dispose of carcasses in two plastic bags outside in a closed garbage can, or another disposal container until rubbish pickup.


1) Clean every inch of your dwelling to remove secondary food source - if there is a crumb laying around, they'll eat the crumb before the bait.

2) Make sure your cabinets are closed boxes. Open your cabinet, remove everything and take a look around inside. Is there wood on all six sides (alll the way around)? For instance, some cabinets often have no back e.g. use the wall as the back and no top other than the countertop. This type of cabinet can not keep your food/utensils/tupperware safe from mouse invasion. Try to turn the cabinets into closed boxes, by fastening wood to the "unfinished" surfaces. Make sure to leave no gaps to the outside larger than 1/8". This also goes for your silverware drawer - make sure it is in a closed box.

Check the door hinge on the cabinet to make sure it closes the door tightly. If the cabinet is a closed box with 1/2" wood on all 6 sides and a tightly closed door (gap less than 1/16"), the mouse will not be able to enter.

If you can't augment your cabinets to this specification, try purchasing some plastic containers that seal well. The best type have a hinge on one end. Often the large plastic bins don't work well because it is difficult to keep them closed tightly.

3) Track your mouse

Materials needed:
UV light - to detect mouse urine
Flashlight

Use flashlight and UV light to try and locate mouse trail - observe locations of mouse feces/urine-these will be the most effective places to put traps/feed stations (of course keep away from children and pets)
Places to look:
Under/behind stove, storage drawer under stove
Under/behind refrigerator
Uncovered storage baskets, bins
Near/in pantry

4) Clean feces up with a household cleaner that kills bacteria/viruses-some say this might discourage the mouse to use the same route. But it may be dangerous to leave it. Be sure to use some type of disposable gloves.

5) Hunt your mouse

Materials needed:
D-CON Mouse Traps - very effective, covered
Peanut butter
Poison Bait stations

Use both bait stations and traps for the most effective and timely solution to the problem.

4) Mice are mainly out at night from about 12am - 5am, so be sure to set the traps for that time window (or just before you go to bed.

5) Put a small amount (size of a large pea) of peanut butter in the small bait cup of the trap - making sure there is no residual peanut butter on any other component or outside the cup. Again, they'll eat the residual before trying to get some out of the cup.

6) Place trap parallel to mouse trail e.g. parallel and up against the wall

7) If you are lucky, they'll be a mice in the trap in the morning

8) Place bait stations around mouse trails - they are good for about a year.