10 Tips that will help you catch a mouse

Ritika Tiwari Ritika Tiwari
homify Modern kitchen
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We are usually surprised and shocked when we find a mouse in the house. Moreover, there are a bunch of questions that start bothering us almost immediately like Where did it come from? Where are they hiding? How many there are? Will they bite my kids? Will they infect us with an illness? 

However, the biggest of them all is “How to hunt a mouse?”. To answer this question, we have put together a few tips in this ideabook. Make sure that you get rid of the rodents as soon as possible using these easy suggestions.

1. Buy mouse traps

As soon as you feel, that there is a mouse in your apartment, go and buy some traps. This answers your question “How to catch a mouse?”. There are certain places prone to the appearance of these rodents, like rustic houses which are surrounded by countryside or underground warehouses. Even if you are not sure about rodents being in your house, it is better to be prepared and prevent the situation from happening. The simplest way to do so is by arranging mouse traps wherever possible. Another interesting method is to adopt a cat. In fact, cats were domesticated exclusively due to their hunting abilities.

2. A good bait

There are two types of mouse traps available. First, that works with a bait which the animal tries to eat and gets imprisoned. Whereas, second ones are the sticky traps. These are placed on the ground so that the rodent is immobilized alive and adhered to the trap. The first ones are used more frequently. Foods that can be used as bait for the traps include peanut butter, chocolate, and cheese. However, if you are going to put any of these products as bait, it is better to buy them exclusively for that purpose. You should even mark the container so that the butter, chocolate or cheese never come in contact with your food. The second option is more advisable while you are trying to figure out how to hunt small mice.

3. Follow their tracks

Mice are remarkably agile mammals which is why we are unable to follow and capture them ourselves. This means it is all the more important for you to know about tips on how to hunt mice before starting. It is much more practical to follow their tracks and see where they drop their excrement. Most common places are located on height as they have no problems in jumping and climbing. However, they usually follow the same routes, with few improvisations. So if you trace their tracks, you will know where to place the traps.

4. Under the cupboards

If rodents love to take refuge in the high parts of the furniture, the same can be said about the lower areas. In fact, they are passionate about being at the bottom, where one does not have easy access. Also, if you have floor rugs, then that gives them a feeling of greater comfort. That is why you should always put traps below the rugs and check them regularly if they are effective.

5. Find holes in the wall

Rodents enter a home for two reasons one is food and the second is for heat. One of the places where they can find heat are the holes in the walls. These holes can occur in certain plaster walls, especially in the bathrooms due to the cooling ducts. To get answers for how to catch a mouse at home, you need to think like one as well. Where does it fit and where will it take refuge? Looking for some hole in your walls will help you answer these questions.

6. Your feed areas

In the holes, there is shelter and heat, but food you can only find it in the kitchen. There are several sources of food for a rodent. For example, the trash can, the bowl of the pet's food, the crumbs that fall to the floor or shelves. Before hunting the mouse, we must ensure that it does not have access to our food. So everything must be stored in watertight closets and containers. One can also change the location of garbage or the dog's food to generate uncertainty. It will modify the rodents usual route and make it easy for you to catch.

7. Prevent entry into the house

Preventing the mice from entering your house is even more difficult if you live in a countryside or have an outdoor garden. These rodents look for a safe place to raise their family and protect themselves from winters. The best way to get rid of these rodents is by closing all the entry points and singling out the ones inside. It will allow you from getting more rats in the house.

8. Always near the walls

Rodents are prey in the wild, and that is why they are fearful and looking for protection at all times. You can always find them moving around in the places they think are less risky. These areas can include everything from under the furniture to behind the boxes or chairs. One can also see them go close to the wall or the vertical surfaces to have a flank covered. Therefore, the traps should always be placed close to the walls, cabinets or bookstores.

9. No need for poison

So far we have been talking about traps and preventive measures, such as the presence of a cat. However, some people choose to use rat poison to eliminate these rodents. Although it can not be denied as ineffective, it has certain contraindications. For example, if we have small children or pets at home it is completely forbidden to use poison because it can be dangerous. The other reason for not using poisons is the kind of death they give to the animal. It is a cruel death from severe dehydration or coagulation of blood flow.

10. It is impossible to live with mice

This call to non-cruelty to rodents does not mean that we think it is possible to coexist. Rats are one of the main reasons for certain infections, and you do not have to be bitten by them to get infected. Their excrement on the tables, the kitchen or other places in the house is itself harmful. As long as there is only one, it is always possible to throw it out of the house or kill. But in case after practicing these tips you have failed, you have to take the next step and call an exterminator.

For more tips check out our ideabooks

Which one of these tips was your favourite?

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