Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Mice in the Walls
Mice and other rodents are pesky pests that can invade your home, eat your food and disrupt your peace of mind. One of the most effective ways to get rid of them and prevent future infestation is to have a professional pest control expert evaluate your home and create a customized solution. However, sometimes homeowners prefer to try natural methods for rodent control before calling in an exterminator. If that sounds like you, here are some DIY tips from the MosquitoNix® experts for how to get rid of mice in walls and elsewhere on your property.
Store Food Carefully
Mice are opportunistic and often come inside to find an easy food source. It only takes a few crumbs or scraps of food to attract mice to your kitchen. To keep these pesky pests at bay, store dry goods such as pet food, cereal and grains in tightly sealed metal, glass or plexiglass containers. Mice are also attracted to the cardboard boxes that store cereal or crackers, so transfer these foods to tamper-proof bins.
Seal All Entryways
Don't make it so easy for mice to come inside and stay a while! Make sure there are no open entryways around your house that mice could use to access your home's interior. Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter, so it's essential to caulk cracks, improve weatherstripping around windows and doors and fill vented holes with steel wool. It's also important to carefully check for openings around plumbing areas, as pipes can provide mice with a direct entry to the inside of your house.
Remove Nesting Materials
Mice aren't just searching for food; they also want a safe shelter to raise their families. Store fabrics, rugs and blankets in sealed storage bins to prevent mice from finding suitable places to hide and nest in your home. Keep your garage, yard and other areas of your house clutter-free to minimize hiding spots for rodents. Also, remember that mice are attracted to paper, cardboard and lightweight plastic, so always dispose of your household's recycling as promptly as possible.
Take Care of Your Landscape
You should also pay attention to how you care for the outside of your home. Mice can hide in overgrown shrubbery and climb through windows and other openings using long branches. Keep your trees and hedges trimmed and maintain at least a three-foot perimeter around your home's foundation.
Try Natural Repellents
Mice hate the smell of peppermint oil, cayenne pepper and cloves. You can try diluting these natural repellants in water and placing soaked cotton balls around the areas of your home where you frequently see mice, including under sinks and in drawers or pantries. Another DIY technique is making cheesecloth sachets with dry cayenne, mint and whole cloves; just stash them where mice tend to hide. Some homeowners have success with fabric softener sheets or cotton balls soaked in apple cider vinegar, two things you probably already have in your house.
If you have cats, you can try placing tubs of used kitty litter around the entrances to your house, such as the garage. While this might not be the most pleasant option, the smell of cat urine will likely keep mice from entering any area where you place the tubs. In the same vein, ammonia can mimic the scent of the urine of predators to pesky pests, so you can fill plastic bottles with the liquid and leave them in places mice tend to invade, such as under the sink or in the pantry. Just keep them in spots out of reach of children and pets.
Finally, you can use specific essential oils to ward off rodents. Peppermint oil is one of the most effective natural mice repellants and can be purchased online or at your local health food store. Soak some cotton balls in the oil and place them in areas where you tend to see mice. Remember that essential oils can also be dangerous to some pets, so do your research if you have any furry companions at home.
These home remedies take time and effort, and you may want a faster solution. MosquitoNix® offers quality pest control solutions to keep mice out of the walls and anywhere else on your property. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you protect your home from uninvited critters.
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