Once mice get into your home, they may chew through your walls, eat your food, leave droppings and even leave holes in your clothes or furniture. According to Research, a single mouse can give birth to over 200 mice in a year – making them a pest that can be a hard to get rid of!
So, What do You do?
Mouse traps are an excellent way to get them out for two reasons – they are easy to use, and they don’t require spraying chemicals throughout your home.
Still, mice are crafty little critters and knowing how to use mouse traps properly can save you frustration.
There are several types of mouse traps that you can either buy or make yourself. While they all use food to attract mice, each has a different way of getting rid of your pest.
There are 3 Different Types:
1. Humane Mouse Traps
If you don’t want to kill the mice, you don’t have to. These traps simply lure them into a box that they can’t get out of. Then, just place the trap outside, open up a special hole, and the mouse will scamper away.
2. Homemade Mouse Traps
Not everyone has success with these, but if they can save you money, they’re worth a shot.
The basic concept is to put some bait in a bucket or something similar that the mouse can’t escape from. Provide a little walkway for the mouse to get to the bait that will tip over or break once the mouse is near the bait. If the mouse can’t get out, you’ve done it!
3. Common Mouse Traps
The rectangular piece of wood with a bar that snaps has been around since the 1800’s, and it is considered one of the most effective ways to get rid of mice.
Most common mouse traps follow the same design. Each comes with a trigger (where the bait goes), a lever (a single rod that connects to the trigger), and a bar (which is connected to a coil and physically traps the mouse).
While you see these traps in movies and cartoons with a piece of cheesy lying inside, don’t use cheese!
Despite what you might think, cheese and mouse traps don’t go together. Mice are not as attracted to cheese as most people think. Instead, mice like sweeter food. Most Pest Control Sydney exterminators recommend using peanut butter because it’s sticky. A little dab is all you need!
How do you set these traps?
1. Put the bait on the trigger. Most triggers aren’t very big, so if your bait keeps falling off, put it right on the end of the trap.
2. While holding down the trap with one hand, use the other to pull back the bar. You should be able to feel the coil attempting to pull the bar back. Adjust your hands so that the hand that is holding down the trap is also holding down the bar.
3. Here comes the tricky part… Using your free hand, pull the lever over the bar so that the lever will hold the bar down when the trap is finished being set. Be careful, though! Letting go of the bar too early will pinch your fingers!
Once the lever is over the bar, attach the lever to the trigger. If you’ve done it right, the lever will remain firmly in place.
4. Test the trap using something small and thin – like a pencil – so that your fingers will be out of harm’s way. Push down on the trigger with your pencil, and the lever should come loose.
So, once you’ve got everything figured out, where should you put your mouse traps?
That depends on where your mice are. Usually, you can tell where mice are spending their time because you’ll see droppings. Get a bunch of traps, and leave them all over the places where your mice are hanging out. Soon enough, they should be gone!
