Why Most Traps Don't Get Rid Of Mice

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Three Reasons Mousetraps Alone Don't Work.

Do you have rodents raiding your food? Are you finding chew holes in your walls and droppings in the back of the silverware drawer? Before you take matters into your own hands--which most people do--consider these three points. 

1. A poorly laid trap. There are many ways to set a trap and get no mice at all. You can put a gob of Velveeta on a trap latch and come back the next morning to find it gone, and the trap is still set. You can leave a trap on the floor in the cellar, or the middle of a cabinet, and never get a bite. It's easy to use the wrong bait or put a mousetrap in the wrong place. But even if you mash cooked rice into the latch hole (which is the best bait) and put traps along the wall (because that is where mice prefer to travel) and you manage to catch a mouse, you're still only solving part of the problem--because they're still getting in.

2. Not all mice will venture down to where your trap is. Some mice are too young to forage or have a different location to forage in. If you catch a mouse and don't get anything for a few weeks, that doesn't mean your mouse problem is gone. It just means that the particular mouse or mice that were foraging in that area have been eliminated.

3. Traps don't seal up entry points. Even if you manage to place your traps in all the right places, using the proper bait and the right placement techniques, you still haven't done the most important part, sealing up the entry points. With entry points still open, mice can still get in. You need to fill in all the holes and use exclusion methods to deter mice from entering your home or business.

Traps alone will not protect you.

You may ask, "Protect me from what?" We're glad you asked. Mice cause stomach illnesses, spread disease, and introduce parasites to a home or business. Their foraging habits bring them into rotting bacteria-laden environments, and they bring that rot into your food cabinets. The CDC links rodents to many diseases, not the least of which are Leptospirosis, Hantavirus, and salmonellosis. And rodents carry parasites like lice, ticks, fleas, and worms. This is not a creature you want running around in your kitchen or pantry.

If you really want to get rid of mice and make sure they don't return, contact us today. We can create a plan that will eliminate rodents from your home or business and make sure they do not return. 

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