Mouse Pest Control Mistakes To Avoid

If you hear the telltale sound of mice running through your walls, then you likely want to get rid of the pests. Unfortunately, it is not very easy to get at rodents that you cannot see. If you are having this issue, then you may try to enact some pest control yourself. However, there are certainly some mistakes you can make when trying to clear your home of pests. Here are some of these mistakes and how they can be avoided.

Setting Bait In Crawlspaces And Near Walls

Many people will place baited traps in areas where they know mice are lurking. This is not really possible though, if the mice are moving through the walls. This typically means that walls contain both the nests and the runs of the mice. Rodents can be drawn out by the scent of food, but this may not be a good thing. Mice can and will chew through any material that is softer than their teeth. This means that the drywall, wooden studs, wiring, and insulation that stands between the mouse and the bait will be destroyed in an attempt to get the food.

If you want to get rid of mice without destroying your house, consider placing baited traps right inside your heating and cooling vents. Mice often make homes and runs in ductwork as well as the walls, and this can create a horrible smell if dead mice, urine, and fecal matter remain in the ducts when you turn your HVAC system on.

Using Poison To Kill Mice

If you believe that there are more than one or two mice in your home, then you may decide to use poison to kill them. Poison may be highly effective when it comes to killing mice, but you are likely to end up in with a number of dead mice in the walls. Mice do not hibernate and will need to store a good deal of food for the winter. The poison may become stored where several rodents have access to it, and the mice will die in the walls once they eat the stored food. 

Dead mice can cause horrible odors to form in your home if they remain in the walls. If they do not die in the walls and an animal like a cat or dog eats the mouse, then they may become poisoned as well. This can have devastating effects, especially since rodent poison that can poison all types of mammals. This is a common concern if an anticoagulant is used as the poison. However, other serious issues will arise if arsenic or metal based substances are used. 

You should never use poison to kill mice. You should instead use a trap that will either catch mice alive or kill them quickly and humanely. If you are concerned about the effectiveness of traps and how quickly they can control infestations, speak with your local pest control expert

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