No one likes having intruders in their house, especially if they are small, hard to notice and cause a lot of damage over time. Sounds familiar? It might be because all of those features are describing mice. These rodents are a common parasite found in many houses, and they can really degenerate the experience of living in your beloved home.
Most people believe that intrusion of mice happens only the coldest months of the year, namely winter, but unfortunately, mice can invade any house during any month of the year, even throughout summer.
This article will present effective and tested ways of how to seal your house from mice. Utilizing the advice found here, you will be able to forget the mice problem forever!
Signs of Mice in House
First of all, it should be explained how can you notice the mice problem in your house, prior to these parasites doing actual damage to your property. The first signs that can be noticed are droppings of the mice and gnawed holes or scratch marks on boxes and food containers.
If you have noticed such signs appearing in your house, it is guaranteed that you have a mice problem. After those, other signs follow, such as foul odors, squeaks, and you might even find a mice nest.
It is important to note that even if you have not noticed such signs around your house, which might indicate that your house was invaded by these rodents, it is still important to follow the advice given. It is always better to deal with the problem prior to it happening. Therefore, here are the ways to protect your house from these gnarly rodents.
Get a Cat
If you do not own a pet, and always dreamed of having one, cats are the best option if we are talking about dealing with mice. If these rodents have already infested your house, one kitty cat can easily deal with hundreds of mice. Give a cat a few weeks and your house will become free of these parasites.
Getting a cat is also great if you do not have a mice problem yet because your new pet will ensure that the instance of such a thing happening is not a possibility.
Getting a regular pet is not the only solution of this type. If you do not want to own a pet, or you have allergies, there is another way to deal with mice using cats. Simply seduce a stray cat with a bowl of milk in your yard and let it relax here for a day or two.
Then you can scare the cat away and get the benefits of a pet, because their odors will stay here for weeks, repelling all mouse which would come into your area. Do not worry about the bad smell left by a cat though, as the sense of smell in mice is way better than in us, humans. As a result, only parasites will be able to smell the odor of a stray cat.
Use Mice Repellants
There is no need to buy specialized mice repellents, which usually cost a bit when you can use natural mice repellents with similar results. Here is a list of some natural mice repellents that you can find in your home:
• Garlic
• Pepper
• Peppermint Oil• Eucalyptus Oil
In the case of the first two, chop them up, pour them in a pouch made out of cheesecloth and place them where you think mice are causing problems. In the case of the oils (or any other essential oils with a sharp, strong smell) dip cotton balls in it and also put them in places where your intuition calls the need for protection from mice.
This type of smells repels mice because as it was mentioned before, these rodents have a strong sense of smell, which helps them to search for food, but it turns against them when a strong smell is present.
Set Traps Outside
You have probably used a mousetrap at least once in your life, but these days the greatest human minds have put in the effort to create the most technologically advanced mouse traps. As funny as it sounds, it is true. You can get modern mouse traps which lures the mice and instantly kills them.
Apart from being extremely effective, new mouse traps are also humane, as they instantly kill the unfortunate mouse. If you are on a budget or like the old school way, you can use the usual mouse traps and set them outside. Mice which are planning to enter your house will most likely encounter the trap prior to intruding your home, thus die before they can even cause problems.
Whichever traps you choose do not matter, because placing them outside is one of the most tested and effective ways to protect your property from these rodents.
Keep your Food in the Kitchen
It might look like rodents like mice enjoy living in dark places like a basement, but in reality, it is the opposite. Mice enjoy warmth and dryness, and basements are rarely like that.
For this reason, it is wise to keep your food pantry in the basement, where mice will have problems reaching it. In addition, make sure that your food is tightly closed and stored in glass or thick plastic containers, as bags and thin plastics are easily gnawed through by mice.
Use Caulk to Block Gaps
The final solution to the mice problem is filling the gaps in your walls using caulk. It is a sealing material used in construction. What makes it a perfect choice to fill gaps through which mice can enter and navigate all around your home is that it is easy to use even if you have no experience doing such things. In addition, it is a strong material which mice will have no chance gawing through.
Imagine that filling holes in your walls and foundation is like having a road to your work completely blocked. It results in no possible way of getting to your work, and in mice scenario, to your house.
