How to Get Rid of Mice Forever

The key to getting rid of mice and keeping them gone is to properly seal your home. To keep mice out, you must secure the openings through which they enter your home and do whatever you can to make the habitat around your home inhospitable to them. You must also keep your house very clean, as food debris trapped underneath the stove or laying in kitchen cupboards acts as an attractant. Once you have sealed your home and made it a place mice don't want to visit, you can trap the mice currently living with you in live traps and release them outside.

The only way to keep mice out is to find out how they are getting in and seal the opening. Perform a very thorough inspection of your home, as a mouse needs a hole only 1/2 centimeter wide to gain access to the house. Look very carefully for possible entry points and seal them with wire mesh or steel wool and caulk. Remember to seal vents, the area under roof eaves and holes around pipes.

Remember to attach brush strips to the bottom of your doors and garage door so that mice don't squeeze underneath them.

Mice can climb vertical surfaces, so look both high and low for possible points of entry.

If you are sealing your home but think there may still be rodents living in your attic or crawl space, install a one-way door trap that lets animals leave your house, but doesn't let them back in. This will allow the mouse to leave but won't allow them to come back in. This is an excellent way to get rid of mice without killing them or worrying about dealing with the smell of a poisoned animal who has died inside your walls.

Keeping your grass mowed and trees and shrubs trimmed away from the house will help deter mice. Long grass and bushy plant growth provide shelter for the mice and serve as a bridge between the lawn and your house. Ivy and other climbing plants should be grown on trellises, rather than allowed to climb outside house walls. Ideally, you should keep a 2-foot area of rocks or cement around your home's foundation if you have had rodent problems. Remove debris like woodpiles where rodents may hide and be sheltered from predators.

To avoid attracting mice, you must make sure you eliminate food and water sources. Fix leaky pipes and clean under your stove and refrigerator, in case any food remnants are lurking there. Wash your dishes daily and wipe down your counters each night before bed. Store food in plastic containers or totes to keep mice from feeding on your groceries; they can easily chew through the cardboard or paper that foods like cereal and flour are packaged in by the manufacturer.

Once the house is sealed and mice cannot get in, trap any mice that remain to eliminate your rodent problem. The most humane traps are live traps that allow you to release the mouse outside once you have caught it. You won't have to worry about mice getting back in if you have sealed the house properly. Bait the traps with peanut butter and place them where you have seen evidence of mouse activity. Place them next to beams, walls and other structures as mice use these as highways to travel from one place to another, rather than running out in the open.

Avoid using snap traps if you can. They can be inhumane if the mouse gets caught by the head instead of snapped in the neck.

Glue traps are even more cruel and frequently result in a slow and agonizing death for the mouse.

Check your live traps often, as mice trapped without food or water won't live long.

Once you've sealed the home and trapped the mice in it, it's time for a cleanup. Check attic spaces and other areas where mice were living and vacuum up any nesting materials or waste. Mice can carry diseases, such as hantavirus, so you may want to wear gloves and a dust mask during the cleaning process. For extra protection, clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to eliminate the smell of the mice, as this could attract other mice.