Getting rid of mice or rats in a house is a methodical process that can be approached in several ways.
Help – a family of mice are nesting in my kitchen cupboard!
Using mouse traps
For many people, the first pest control device they try is a mouse trap. Either one of those traditional spring-loaded traps, “Little Nipper” style, which have been used for at least 150 years, or a more modern plastic variety. This may work to catch mice one by one at odd times of the day or night, leaving you either to dispose of the bodies once you’ve spotted them or, if using a humane trap, to remove the living rodents from the house as far away and as soon as possible. Note that if you’re using humane traps as your only method of removal, you wouldn’t want to set the mouse free into the garden because it will likely find its way back into your house the same day.
Trapping on its own is all very well, but of course you will likely have to continue with traps around the house as there is nothing to dissuade other rodents in the neighbourhood from taking up residence in your home as they look for food and the scent of their kin.
Finding a good mouser cat
Some cats are good mousers. If you happen to have a cat that’s keener and more intelligent about mousing than Tom in Tom and Jerry, then you will likely not need any other device to get rid of mice and other rodent pests in your house. Thus you find yourself caring for a medium size mammal that preys on smaller mammals that you don’t care about.
You might experience a mixture of rodent body parts being left around the house, or even brought into your bed as a special gift to you from your loving, happy cat.
But by no means are all cats efficient killers of house mice. Some just want to play with a mouse for a bit then let it go. Other cats simply sit and watch the antics of mice scurrying around the house.
Some cats are actually scared of mice.
And if you don’t like cats in the first place, this approach is going to be a non-starter.
Blocking rodent entrances and keeping all food out of reach
As soon as you’re aware of any pest problem in your house, it makes sense to remove their access to the most obvious attraction in your house: food. Don’t leave out either raw or cooked food on worktops or open shelves; empty your rubbish promptly; wipe surfaces and hoover up every crumb after every meal. If rodents have got into your food cupboards, you’ll obviously want to identify their route into the cupboards and close up the entry points right away. A mouse can squeeze through a hole that is the size of its skull, and for many mice that is half a centimetre. Rodents have strong jaws and are capable of gnawing through wood to the size of hole they need within minutes. Holes in skirting boards or between floorboards are also hard to manage. To be fair, you’ve got your work cut out in identifying and blocking rodent entrances and access to your food stores, but it is part of the overall strategy to stop rodents.
Using a Green Shield rodent repeller
This is where Green Shield comes in. Unlike the other methods mentioned above which strive to catch resident pests and keep the problems of them living in your house under control, Green Shield electromagnetic pest repellers work actively to make the pests want to move out of your house and not come back.
Once plugged in, a Green Shield pest repeller generates an electromagnetic field that interferes with the brain chemistry of mice and rats in the near vicinity. The creatures start to feel ill and vacate the premises to get away from the source of illness. Any passing rodents are also deterred from setting up their home in your home.
You can use a Green Shield plug-in rodent repeller as the only method for getting rid of mice, rats and other rodents from your home, but we always recommend using the devices in conjunction with the other methods above. After all, once they have gone, it’s worth making it difficult for new ones to get in. Learn more about Green Shield electromagnetic rodent repellers.
