How to Rid Your Home of Mice Once and For All

Spotting a mouse in your home can be a distressing sight. Not only are these pests unwelcome visitors that can get into your food, but they also carry harmful diseases. That’s why it’s crucial to get rid of mice right away. Additionally, you might have a mouse infestation without even realizing it, although there are often signs to look for.

“The number one sign you have mice is if you find little brown or black droppings about the size of a small grain of rice,” says Blair Calder, founder and president of Automatic Trap Company. “These mouse feces mean you have an infestation.”

Also, if you see one mouse, there are likely more. Don’t assume that the single mouse your cat killed was the only one.

“If you see a mouse run across your floor, do not assume it is a one-off and he didn’t bring all his family,” Calder says. “It means you most likely have many mice—they are aggressive breeders.”

Think you might have a mouse infestation? Here are six tips for getting rid of mice in your home.

1. Seal Every Gap

You know what they say: the best cure is prevention. The same general sentiment goes for mouse infestations. If they can’t get in, you won’t have a problem to begin with.

“Mice can contort themselves into being the size of a dime in width or smaller, so if you have any holes in your foundation, doors, [or] exterior of the house, they will 100% find it,” says Calder. “Your home is warm and snuggly—and the smell of food from your kitchen and cooking makes it irresistible to them [as] rodents.”

Calder recommends utilizing the barrier method to prevent mice from getting into your home. This means inspecting the exterior of your house for any small entrances. For example, you’ll want to replace rotten shingles or patch up any holes.

Additionally, “many people overlook the garage, where most people keep their trash bins,” Calder says. “Mice love to hide out in the garage and wait for an opportunity to come into your home. While they wait, they can also do thousands of dollars of damage to your car engine, where it is warm and they like to nest.”

2. Properly Store Food

In addition to water and shelter, food is one of the most enticing things to a mouse. If you have garbage lying around or leave food out, you risk attracting these rodents into your space. Nicole Carpenter, a pest control professional and president at Black Pest Prevention, recommends properly storing food in containers with tight lids so mice don’t have easy access. That way, they won’t be able to smell the food either, and therefore won’t be as tempted to enter your home.

3. Keep a Clean Home

Not only must you store your food properly, but you must also ensure you’re cleaning your kitchen and dining areas after meals. Even the smallest amounts of food, like crumbs from last night’s dinner, can attract a mouse. Carpenter recommends cleaning and decluttering your home as often as possible, so it’s not an enticing environment for rodents. Of course, if a mouse does enter your house, this doesn’t mean your floors are dirty or your cabinets are a mess. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of them craving warmth and shelter. Still, keeping a clean home can lower your risk of an infestation.

4. Lure Them With Peanut Butter

As mentioned earlier, to a mouse, food is one of the most attractive incentives for entering a home. However, if you’re looking to set up a humane mouse trap (more on that later), try using peanut butter for the best luck. According to Carpenter, peanut butter is a great choice due to its stickiness and strong scent. Calder also recommends peanut butter over poison, as it’s a humane, long-lasting attractant. However, if you don’t have peanut butter, don’t fret. Carpenter says other sticky substances—like hazelnut spread or soft cheese—will likely work as well.

5. Use Humane Options

There are countless ways to get rid of mice without the use of inhumane solutions. First, let’s start with what not to use.

“Never poison,” Calder says. “Many pets and kids are sickened by this each year, some pets fatally.” Not to mention, of course, poison will ultimately kill mice. If you’re looking for a humane route, forgo the poison altogether. 

Some people recommend using peppermint as a humane deterrent, but Calder advises against it.

“If you want to handle a mouse infestation in your home yourself, do not use peppermint,” she says. [It] doesn’t work except in massively large quantities that aren’t realistic to implement.”

Additionally, she adds, “Never use the sticky glue mouse traps—they are inhumane and banned in [much of] Europe, actually, because they cause slow death, pain, and suffering.”

Now, let’s move on to what you can use. Live traps are a great humane option; they lure mice into a harmless, enclosed space (typically using peanut butter) so you can catch them without harm. Once the mouse is trapped, you can take the trap away from your home and release the mouse back into the wild.

However, the important part of this method is releasing the rodent far enough away that it won’t return.

As Carpenter says, “Live catch traps only work if you release the mouse miles away from your home, or it can return.” 

6. Hire an Expert

If a mouse infestation becomes unmanageable, it’s important to call an expert immediately. As mentioned earlier, mice carry harmful diseases and can cause you or your loved ones to get sick. The issue requires immediate attention.

“You may need a professional rodent service if your house is completely overrun and not safe to inhabit,” says Calder. “We see this often with houses that have been abandoned or are summer/seasonal houses. Mice carry many, many diseases transmitted through urine and feces—if it looks completely overwhelming when you walk through the door, call an expert company.”