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Child and Pet Safe Mouse Control in Your Home

Mice are a threat to your family’s safety, and one that should be taken seriously. From property damage to food contamination to spreading disease wild mice in your home can cause a great many problems. But in getting rid of mice in your home, it’s very important to make sure that the cure is not worse than the disease, this goes doubly for families with children and pets. What can hurt a mouse can hurt your loved ones. Below are some tips for trapping mice without the use of materials that can harm your family. 

Are Mouse Traps A Good Option?

Traditional snap traps are one possible solution for safe trapping… if you can keep them where your kids and pets can’t get to them. Try placing traps in out-of-reach spots, like behind the fridge, under sinks, or behind the stove. Mice also love using spaces like basement sill plates and suspended ceilings, which are usually out of reach. You can also put traps inside boxes with small holes to keep them away from little hands or paws. If you want something ready-made for this, check out the Trap Rite Tunnel.

A lot of pest control companies are now using smart traps. For instance, Anticimex’s SMART Box can catch up to 40 mice or 7 rats without the need for toxic baits. It kills mice quickly and humanely, and even alerts the pest control company when there’s activity, so they can schedule a follow-up visit. For the first time, we can call customers to say, “Hey, there’s mouse activity, and we need to come by”—instead of waiting for them to call us. This Anticimex SMART technology is exclusively available through companies like Clark’s Pest Control and Killingsworth Environmental.

While glue traps might seem like a solution, they don’t work as well as snap traps and can stick to things you don’t want them to. If you ever need to free something from a glue trap, a little vegetable oil will do the trick.

Keeping Mice Out of Your Home

Of course, traps are only part of the solution. If you’re not sealing up the entry points mice use to get into your home, you’ll be fighting a losing battle. Make sure to inspect your home and seal any gaps larger than ¼ inch. Common entry points include cracks, holes, and spaces around pipes and utility lines. Don’t forget to check around doors and at the roofline, too, as mice are great climbers. If your home has brick walls with weep holes, don’t seal them—use specially designed covers that block mice but still allow airflow. A thorough inspection is key to getting long-term control over a mouse problem.

When you find gaps, use the right materials to close them. Expanding foam won’t cut it; mice can easily chew through it. Instead, use materials like Stuffit Copper Mesh or Xcluder Fill fabric, which won’t rust and are perfect for outdoor or damp areas. You can also seal them with appropriate sealants to keep everything in place. Steel wool can work in a pinch, but it tends to rust over time. Also, consider rodent-proof door sweeps and seals, which are made to resist chewing. Avoid using brush-style sweeps, though, as they aren’t as effective.

If you’re looking for more humane options, traditional snap traps are still a great choice. They usually result in a quick, clean kill, and they tend to be more effective than glue traps.

Live traps, while they sound humane, can often cause more harm than good. Mice released into the wild often have low survival rates due to a lack of food, shelter, or established territories. So, if you’re using live traps, it’s crucial to seal up entry points to prevent their return. For some species, like white-footed mice, they’ll just come back if your home isn’t properly sealed. While it might feel kinder to release a mouse, in reality, they might suffer more from exposure and starvation in unfamiliar environments. Sometimes, it’s more humane to dispatch them quickly than let them face those conditions.

If you are uncertain about your approach or you simply want to get the best results, call Clark’s today!

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