How to Get Rid of Pest Mice FOR BEGINNERS: Traps with Wings and Other Natural Methods to Control House Mice

Barn Owls and Kestrels

While it is quite impossible to set-up snap mouse traps throughout an entire farm just to control the house mice that feeds on the farm goods that are kept in storage barns, there is another very effective mouse control method which is currently being developed in many farming countries around the world. This method makes use of two common house mouse predators, the Barn Owl and the Kestrels Falco Tinunculus.

Barn owls are wild owls which feed on mice. Lately, it has been discovered that barn owls can be domesticated and reproduced to help control mice infestation. They are very effective predators and they can spot mice even from a very far distance. They are also very quick that no matter how fast mice scurry away from them, once spotted, a mice is surely as good as dead. They are nocturnal birds so they are perfect predators for nocturnal pests like mice too. It is known that a single pair of barn owls can consume about two thousand mice in a year.

In a nightly statistics, a family of six Barn Owls can consume 16 mice a night!

Kestrels Falco Tinnunculus belongs to the falcon family and is mostly active during daytime. Barn owls take care of the mice during night time while the falcons guard during daybreak. The two birds actually provide the farm a round-the-clock protection from house mice. Together, they make any farm, a gruesome habitat to any mouse.

Those that have oppose of the use of chemicals in house mouse control have continued to forcefully encourage farmers to use natural pest control methods such as the use of predator-birds. Luckily, for barn owls and Kestrels, they are already comfortable with using barn attics and other deserted buildings as nesting sites. Thus, it becomes easier for a farmer to entice these birds to nest in their farms by setting-up suitable nesting areas around the farm.

The use of predator birds in controlling mice is very helpful in securing the people, the wildlife and the soil from the dangers brought by pesticides make from chemicals. In fact, the use of barn owls and Kestrels in Israel has been so popular amongst the people and the government that they have banned the hunting of barn owls and Kestrels. Barn Owl boxes are also distributed throughout the farmlands of Israel and today, about 70% of all these boxes are already occupied by barn owls. About 1480 nesting boxes are not occupied throughout Israel and about 600 pairs of Barn Owls are known to inhabit these boxes.

Many agricultural authorities throughout the world have funded researches that aim to improve the reproduction of barn owls and Kestrels even in places where they do not naturally inhabit. The goal of the researches is to eventually make use of natural pest control methods throughout the world so as to stop the production of chemical pesticides.

Other Natural Pest Control Methods

Growing Mints

Mice often like thick vegetations that surround the house. In fact, trimming of vegetation around the house is one of the most advised mouse infestation prevention measure. However, it is a different story when one talks about mints. House mice are allergic to mints and they would avoid mints as much as possible. Thus, planting mints along with your garden veggies that are commonly nibbled by mice is actually a very wise thing to do. You can also plant mints close to your house in order to scare mice from ever entering your house.

Using Catnip Oil

Catnip oil works very effectively against mice because they dislike its smell so much. You can put a few drops of catnip oil on a couple of cotton balls and place these balls around your house. Mice run away from places where catnip smell is present. Fortunately, catnip does not smell bad to humans, in fact, some using use catnip in aromatherapy.

Instant Mashed Potato Flakes

Who has ever thought that mashed potato flakes can kill mice? All that you have to do is to leave instant mashed potato flakes and a bowl of water in places where mice activity is most apparent. Mice will nibble the flakes as much as they want and then drink the water that you have cunningly placed closed to the potato flakes. The water will cause the flakes to expand and mice will get a very bloated feeling making it difficult for them to breath. Either the expansion of the flakes in their stomach causes them to suffocate or to have bursting stomachs; in both ways, they will surely die.

Dry Ice

You can buy dry ice from some local supplier or you can search for sellers online. You can use dry ice in killing rodents and their offspring even while they are hiding inside their nests. Simply drop small dry ice cubes into small openings through your wall like crack and crevices. The carbon dioxide that evaporates while the dry ice "melts" will kill the rodents in the burrow.

Slippery Bowl

This method is very easy and very humane. In fact, the use of the slippery bowl method is usually employed by people who do not really want to harm mice. What they do is to simply rub butter throughout the inside surface of the bowl and then place a food bait inside it. A house mouse will not miss jumping into the bait and end up finding himself or herself unable to climb out the bowl because of the slippery surface. The bowl can be taken out of the house where the mouse is released.

The Most Natural of Them All

This should not come as a surprise to you, but the fact alone that you have experienced mouse infestation only shows how much you have neglected the most obvious and the most natural way to keep them away from your household. Mice are attracted to places where they have easy access to food. Houses of homeowners who do not keep their food and dispose their garbage properly are the most popular places to infest. Moreover, the owner of the house should see to it too that all possible entry points where mice may use to get into the house are covered and sealed. Any hole or crack as big as a pencil's diameter should be immediately sealed away. Tree branches and bushy shrubs should also be regularly trimmed.

Conclusion

There are so many ways to control mice without resorting to artificial chemicals. While using rodenticides may provide effective results in a matter of minutes after using it, because of its toxicity, it can pose danger to so many stakeholders. Children, for example, may ingest baits that are intended for mice, baits that are mixed with toxic rodenticides. Pets and other non-target animals may also come in contact with such poisons and kill themselves. Moreover, the production of these chemicals is known to cause severe pollution to air, water and soil. If all of us will stop using chemicals in controlling mice, then the industries that sprang from our need for rodenticides will have to shut down, thus putting an end to the pollution can they give-off.