The house mouse is a mammal with ever-growing incisors. They are one of the few animals that fully rely on humans for warmth and food. While house mice can survive in the wild they are not built for it anymore. House mice cannot climb very high and cannot jump great distances like Native North American wild mice who are far more athletic and fully capable of surviving winter without human assistance. The reason house mice are so different is they are not native to this country. It is very rare to find them in the wild and have been domesticated over thousands of years of human reliance. The house mice are also represented as an adorable pet that many children prefer over something larger. The house mouse is also the medial standard for chemicals intended for human use. Without them, we would not have such a perfect test subject, such an adorable pet or the knowledge that we, as humans, can influence the entire evolution of a species.
Keeping mice out of your home is much more about prevention than it is a treatment. If you have a mouse issue already then it is clear that very few preventative measures have been taken. The most important thing to do to prevent mice, rats and cockroaches especially is to control the exterior access to food. Bird feeders are by far the most dangerous, any type of animal feeder will attract the wrong animal to your property and most often it will be mice, rats and cockroaches. If you are careful with your garbage and keep food to the inside of the home while storing it in sturdy containers that rodents cannot get into. Seal your garbage carefully and store it in the garage. Weigh the lid down to ensure the animals cannot get into it. If you feed your pets outside you should stop. If you have dinner parties or bbq’s you must take special care that all the food is disposed of and that none of it is dropped on the ground.
If you are worried about mice and have made all the preparations you can then there is one other thing you can do to deal with the possible infestation of mice. You can perform an inspection of the outside of the house. This can be difficult and complicated but with a sharp eye and a notepad, you can find every opening around your home. The most common openings are vents and drainage. Wall vents, the dry vent opening and opening in the walls or foundation for wires, cables or pipes. Even a small opening in a window frame to pass a phone wire through can let in pests. Once you have found every opening you can find you can go to a home depot or other home repair store and ask about how to seal each opening. They will be able to tell you everything you need, even for things you are not sure about. The work is hard but also necessary. When you are finished you will have blocked off access to just about everything, especially mice.
If you have a mouse infestation already doing everything above will help a lot. However, if the infestation has gotten serious then you will need to use extermination methods. Mousetraps, either the old-fashioned wooden variety or the modern plastic ones you need to make sure that you dispose of the dead mouse with the trap. This is why the cheaper wooden ones come in such large packages of 10 or 20 per package. If you cannot afford to throw them away with the mouse then you can clean them, use dish soap and water to clean the plastic ones which are preferable if you want to clean them. The wooden ones are made to be thrown away. Other options are domestic rodenticide poisons that can be placed in areas of high activity. The mice will eat it and then desiccate, cause less danger and reducing bad smells.
