Eek! A Mouse! How To Keep The Furry Little Pests Away

There's nothing worse than finding a mouse in the house. That is, unless you've found an entire nest of mice. Getting rid of one mouse is hard enough. Trying to rid your home of an infestation can be downright impossible. Now that fall is officially here, you need to take rodent infestations seriously. Mice don't like to stay outside during the cold fall and winter months, which means they're going to be looking for a warm place to hang out until the temperatures start to climb again in the spring. Here are several proactive steps you can take to live rodent-free:

Add a Dash of Peppermint

Mice hate the smell of peppermint. Luckily, during the winter months, especially near the holidays, peppermint is a common scent for homes and food. To keep the mice out of your home, go heavy on the peppermint scent. First, fill a spray bottle with water and add about a tablespoon of peppermint extract, or essential oils. Spray the minty solution along your baseboards, and around your doors and windows. You can also make your own rodent-proof sachets for your cabinets and drawers. Pour about 2 cups of Epsom salts in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of peppermint extract or essential oils. Allow the salt to set overnight. Cut pieces of cloth into small squares, place a small amount of the Epsom salts in the middle of each square, pull the sides up, and secure the squares with rubber bands. Place one peppermint sachet in each drawer or cabinet. Your home will smell minty fresh, and be rodent-free.

Store Your Food Properly

If you're not storing your food properly, you may be inviting mice into your home. Mice can smell food right through the wrappers. Once they smell the food, they'll chew through those wrappers to get to it. You can keep the mice away by storing your food in airtight plastic containers. Instead of leaving your cereal, flour, and other food items, in their original containers, transfer them to airtight containers as soon as you get them home from the store. Do the same with all your dry pet food, and your bird food.

Avoid Mistakes with the Humane Release

If you've decided to do the humane thing, and release your mice instead of killing them, make sure you're not making mistakes during the release. If you're just running the mice across the street to release them, they're going to head right back to your house. To make sure the mice you release don't become repeat offenders, take them several miles away from your home before you release them. This will ensure that they can't find their way back to your house.

Don't let mice eat you out of house and home. Use the handy suggestions provided here to keep the furry little pests away. If the pest problem gets out of hand, call a pest control company near you. Contact a company like PermaTreat Pest & Termite Control for more information and assistance.