I have had 3 friends in recent weeks spotting and hearing mice in their houses, one of which had their internet cable chewed through! It is no surprise unfortunately for them to become a big issue this time of year. At the first instance of frosty weather all the mice will be looking for warmer areas to overwinter and nest and our homes make a perfect spot.
The best practice with mice, I find, is stopping them from coming in in the first place. If the place is undesirable to them to begin with you won't have to deal with the nests and the whole thing is a lot more straightforward because once they have moved in properly and had a generation or two you have a much bigger job on your hands.
Mice like most living creatures are in search of 3 main things, warmth, food and water. So to prevent them we have to try and make those things unavailable to them.
1. Seal up any entry points.
If you have any windows left open (which given the weather I'm sure you don't) close them, especially at night.
If there are any cracks around window frames, door frames, or plumbing pipes seal them with silicon, caulk or cement. This will also help with your heating bill!
2. Remove Water sources.
If you have any standing water near your house try to remove it. So if you have a birdbath keep it at least 10m from your house, if you have any rain catchment areas make sure they're covered. If there are any leaks in the roof get them fixed as water coming in will no doubt pool somewhere.
3. Remove Food Sources.
All food in the kitchen should be stored in tightly sealed containers made from metal or thick plastic. Try not to have any food kept in other areas such as the bedroom or sitting room.
Tidy all crumbs and sweep the floor regularly.
If you have pets try and make sure their food bowls are either emptied or put away at night.
4. Remove Nesting Materials.
This is a tricky one because we can't exactly remove attic insulation! What we can do though is store any cardboard, papers, and tissue in plastic storage containers.
I find that soaking tea bags in essential oils such as eucalyptus, peppermint, and lemon balm and then putting them in socks and placing the socks in suspected mouse run places works. So put them down the back of wardrobes, corners of rooms wherever you think there might be mouse activity. This is also a great method to deter spiders.
You can also purchase ultrasonic plug in mouse repellents but these will only work if the mice aren't already settled.
If you do all these things above it should make your house an undesirable nesting spot.
If it's too late and they have already moved in I'm afraid your job will be a bit bigger. As well as doing all of the above you will also have to get rid of the mice already living with you.
At this stage it's traps, poison and a whole lot of dead mouse removal. We have an assortment of both in store such as the Deadfast All In One Mouse Control Kit which comes with traps, bait, gloves and a guide. Or if you are hesitant to kill them we also have Big Cheese Live Catch Mouse Traps. Be warned though, if you do catch them live you will have to drive at least two miles away from your house to release them otherwise they will just make their way straight back!
Of course the best method of mouse control in my opinion is the biological method and just to have a cat :)
