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Mice are a common pest animal that are found almost everywhere in the world where people are present, and their relationship with people is one that isn't always a comfortable one. Mice can transmit a range of diseases and parasites to people, and they can also contaminate food and drink sources, so it is certainly something that you shouldn't ignore. Mice can be quite elusive creatures, and they are also prolific breeders, so a well established infestation will often have many more mice to deal with than a relatively new infestation, which can affect the time it will take to remove the mice.
The Best Way To Deal With Mice
The simplest way to deal with these creatures is also one of the oldest, with the simple spring-loaded snap traps on a wooden base being cost effective, and when used correctly an efficient way to deal with mice. The most important thing to realize is that the location is key for the success of the trap, and it needs to be in the areas where the mice are most active, so look for areas that have signs such as the small pellets of feces. You should also put bait in the trap to attract the mice, and peanut butter and marshmallows are often good for this purpose, while beef jerky and gumdrops are also regularly used as bait.
How Long Can It Take To Get Rid Of The Mice?
This isn't a process that will happen immediately, and you will need to spend time regularly checking the traps, and disposing of any mouse carcasses so that you can re-set the trap again. For a smaller infestation, you will often be able to catch the problem mice within a few days or up to a fortnight, but where you have a larger infestation it can often take several weeks to catch all of the mice present. You will also need to carry out a thorough search through the property, to help ensure that any nests are also dealt with, as you will not want to leave any baby mice behind as these can then cause other problems that you will have to deal with.
What You Can Do To Help The Process
In order to be able to deal with the mouse problem as quickly as possible, you will need to be proactive and check your traps regularly so that they an be emptied and reactivated promptly to catch more mice. You can also experiment with different types of bait to see which ones are most attractive to the mice that are causing the problems in your property. One thing that you should certainly avoid is trying to use poison, as this causes problems such as mouse carcasses being found in different parts of the property, and can also affect pets or children if they discover the poison too.
Preventing Future Mouse Infestations
This is quite a difficult thing to do, but once you have removed the mice it is important that you try to repair as many of the access holes that the mice were using to get in and around the property. In most cases, mice will be attracted to a particular area because of the food sources that are present there, so trying to secure any food sources into hard plastic containers, and also doing the same with garbage or pet food stores. It can also be worth leaving a few traps in some of the more discreet areas of the building, and checking these regularly to ensure you can act promptly if there is any sign of the mice returning.
For more information, you may want to read:
How to get rid of mice - my main mouse removal info guide.
How Long Does It Take To Remove Mice In A Building?