Mice infestation is obviously not a very pleasant experience for any homeowner. There are various indications from which a person can make out that his house has been infested with mice. Some of these are mice droppings, nibbled furniture or plastic, rodent sightings, etc. Musky and damp smells are emitted from a house which has a predominance of mice. From these odors a homeowner can locate the nesting areas of mice. It is observed that those nests are made from various shredded fibers and searched materials. Mice tend to reside in locations where there is not much human activity or movement. Storage crates, shoeboxes, kitchen sinks can act as ideal places for mice to stay.
Though mice mainly consume oats, corns, grains, etc. they are also able to feed on a wide variety of food items. Since these rodents are fantastic climbers they are able to sneak in through openings that are much smaller than the size of their bodies. A female mouse has the capacity to create approximately ten litters in a year. The issue with mice infestation is that it grows rapidly and extermination becomes very difficult. A person needs to follow a comprehensive approach for eradication of mice based upon cleanliness, mouse-proofing and specialized extermination techniques.
Mice infestation is also a problem in areas or countries where the amount of grain-production is high. These infestations become rampant just after the harvest seasons. Farms that had not been affected previously might get affected later due to augmented crop storage, changes in farming techniques, reduced grazing, unfinished harvest cycles, etc. At the onset, farms might not face too many troubles with infestation, but with the passage of time the situation gets worse. If the breeding period of mice becomes excessively long or the food supply becomes abundant, several months of damage can be caused at one go. Then mice extermination becomes the only available recourse.
People having beautifully decorated houses can discover that those have become dump-yards due to the presence of mice. Mice have the ability to hide nearly everywhere. These rodents can hide cupboards, inside cabinets, and even in the most cramped of all spaces. Food poisoning and contamination can occur due to consumption of mice droppings. Hence, it is important to get rid of these pests at the earliest. There are various techniques by which a person can try to get rid of mice infestation. Mouse traps have been devised for eradicating mice from houses. Several varieties of mouse traps are present with each having its own positive and negative aspects. It is better to use the ‘humane’ mouse traps rather the glue traps as death occurs very slowly and painfully in the latter. Electronic mouse traps are able to kill the mice within a few seconds.
Different natural products are also used to get rid of mice. One such product is peppermint oil, and it is shown to deliver amazing results in mice removal. Though human beings love the smell of peppermint oil, it is intolerable to the mice community. This oil needs to be sprayed in all zones of the house where there is a prevalence of mice. For that purpose a solution needs to be prepared by maintaining the correct proportion of water and peppermint oil. After this solution has been prepared it needs to be poured in the spray-bottle. Then, the oil needs to be sprayed in the different infested regions of the house. Cotton balls dipped in peppermint oil are also a wonderful way to fix the problem of mice infestation. After the cotton balls have been properly soaked in oil they need to be kept in regions where mice are widespread.
The use of mint leaves for mice removal is also common in many households. This natural product has shown to put a check on mice infestation effectively. The odor of mint leaves is also pleasant to human beings, but extremely tormenting for the mice. Mint leaves are readily available at grocery shops in any part of the world. Many homeowners also grow mint leaves in their own backyards. In order to prevent mice infestation a person must block all possible entry-points of the mice. It needs to be remembered that even a small space of quarter-inch can be sufficient for the mice to enter inside the house.
All the best,
Sergiu Zburatoru
