How To Get Rid of Mice
18–21 minutes to read | Updated for 2021

They will chew their way through your home, leaving feces and tracking bacteria and disease. Along with a host of health hazards, there are known neurological and emotional effects resulting from a mouse infestation.
To address an infestation, your first move to determine just what you’re dealing with. It’s important to distinguish mice from rats and to identify the specific species that is causing you problems. Once you learn about several common species of mice that are found throughout homes, you can take steps to rid your property of them and prevent more from returning.
Common Characteristics
While mice can bite if they feel threatened, their main danger is in the diseases they transmit, including salmonella, hantavirus, and forms of meningitis. Mice teeth never stop growing, so they’re constantly gnawing and chewing on rough materials in order to file them down. This causes them to chew through wiring and insulation inside homes.
Differences Between Rats and Mice
- Mouse are more curious than rats and more likely be seen running around.
- On average, most mouse species are smaller than rats.
- Mice like to burrow within walls, while rats dig under buildings and plants.
Common Species of Mice

House Mice
How To Identify:
- 1/4 to 1/2 inch
- Reddish black
- Found throughout the U.S.
- Can destroy wet and decaying wood
- Pose a serious structural threat; consider seeking professional help immediately
- Nocturnal

Deer Mice
How To Identify:
- Slightly larger than the average house mouse, on average.
- Can grow to 5” to 8” long
- Light to dark brown with white feet and white belly
- Found throughout the U.S., but tend to cause the most problems in rural areas around outdoor garages and sheds
- Known to chew through wires, insulation, furniture and clothing

White-Footed Mice
How To Identify:
- Average adult length is 6” to 8”
- Fur color can range from light to reddish brown, with white feet and bellies
- Found in colder regions, such as the Northeast United States and Canada
- Tend to thrive in brushy, forested areas
- Omnivorous diet that includes insects, wood, seeds, nuts and fruit

Pests-Proofing your RVs, Campers and Travel Trailers for Winter Storage
Read more to find out how you can protect your RVs and campers while they are in storage from pests. Some methods are surprisingly easy.

Tomcat Snap Rat Trap
| Updated for 2021Overall Rating: ProsEasy setupWorks for different sized ratsEasy to clean ConsRats are visible in trapRequires safe removalMay not always...

Top 4 Best Electric Fly Swatters
| Updated for 2021Elucto Large Electric Bug ZapperSourcing4U Limited The ExecutionerBeastron Bug Zapper Racket Teniswatter Electric Bug Zapper Best Electric Fly Swatters The common house fly, Musca...

Even if you’ve seen one or two, you’ll want to develop a treatment plan quickly as they can breed rapidly and cause an enormous problem in no time. Look for any of these additional signs as well:
- Small footprints among the dust in your house
- Small droppings
- Gnaw marks on furniture and clothes
- Small burrows or holes along your walls
- Foul odors
- Scratching noises in your walls
- Signs that your food has been tampered with or eaten
Gather the Tools You’ll Need

a good flashlight

protective clothing

clear eye goggles

a breathable face mask
Step 1: Prepare Yourself for Safety

Step 2: Check Your Entire Property

Step 3: Clean and Develop a Treatment Plan

Pro Tips
But if you see even one mouse in your home, it’s a good bet that you’ve got entire families of mice—in your walls, in your attic, in hard-to-reach spaces in your garage, and in other hidden places. And even if you don’t already have a lot of these resilient pests in your house, spotting that one mouse indicates that you probably will soon.
- Mice tend to live in groups, which is why it’s so important to begin a treatment method the moment you see any evidence of them.
- On average, female mice can have five to ten litters each year.
- Like insects and other pests, mice use pheromones to communicate and leave trails to their nesting areas. Part of a successfully integrated pest management plan should include disrupting these trails and making it harder for the mice to communicate.

Why is Getting Rid of Mice a Priority?
- Wild mice become sexually mature at only six weeks of age.
- Litters usually contain up to eight baby mice, and females can reproduce up to eight times each year.
- One pair of breeding mice can produce up to 64 direct descendants a year, and meanwhile all of their descendants can begin reproducing within six weeks. This means that a few mice can multiply into a huge population in a short time.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified a few diseases that mice and other rodents can transmit directly to you or your family:
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome:People typically contract this serious respiratory illness from breathing dust that has been mixed with rodent droppings.
- Rat Bite Fever:Mice are usually too timid to scratch or bite people, but you can also contract this disease by drinking or eating food or water that mice have contaminated with feces.
- Salmonella:Even the common house mouse can spread a strain of this dangerous bacteria. That’s one reason why many health professionals caution families against keeping pet rodents when they have very young children in the home.
Besides spreading disease, mice aggravate allergies through their dander and droppings. They also bring in fleas, opening the door to another type of infestation and all the risks that come with it. Mice will spoil stored food, destroy property, and contaminate your home. They will also chew holes in essential structures and in electrical wiring and insulation, and so pose a risk to your safety as well as your health.
According to Cornell’s Dr. Hermanson, even relatively clean houses may provide attractive nesting and hiding places for mice. These tiny creatures can survive on leftover food in a pet dish or a few crumbs that have been swept into a corner.
Identify Entryways
Installing Barriers

Mice in the home have been a problem for as long as there have been indoor dwellings, so it is no surprise that there are many different opinions on how to get rid of them.
Many traps on the market are quite effective, but it is important to choose one with your specific circumstances in mind. Mouse poison is be dangerous for pets and children, while live mouse traps require extra effort on your part to be emptied and reset for catching more mice. You also need to consider the level of mouse problem in your home. If you have hundreds of mice in the walls, it may be more practical to bring in a professional exterminator. Popular treatment options include:
Traditional Mouse Traps, Snap Traps, and Beyond

Last update on 2023-06-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Live Traps

Glue Traps

Many people who want to avoid the dangers of poison prefer glue traps. But glue traps are considered less humane. You cannot extract a mouse once it has become entangled in the glue, and it can survive for days in the trap — an outcome many find unnecessarily cruel. Glue trap users also often find themselves needing to dispose of live, struggling mice along with the trap. As anything that touches the trap becomes stuck to it, families and pet owners must use extreme caution with them.
Bait Stations

Mouse Bait

Learn which types of bait or bait stations might be the best options for your particular mouse problem.
Last update on 2023-06-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Mouse Repellent

Mouse Poison

Traps and poisons for mice are also effective for rat control. We’ve outlined some of the best mouse poisons on the market to fit your needs, whether you have a big infestation, a small one, or have children or pets at home.
Last update on 2023-06-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Natural and Herbal Mouse Repellents

Pure Peppermint Oil

Peppermint Repellent Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup of food-grade diatomaceous earth
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 2-3 drops of peppermint oil
DIRECTIONS
The mixture created with this recipe can be stored in containers that you should open and leave near the places where you’ve seen mice congregating. Look for 100% pure peppermint oil, as you want the strongest oil you can find. The oil’s potency will diminish over time, so you will need to reapply at least once a week for protection.
Soap

Cat Urine

Pets

Either way, having a cat or dog in the house will either have a positive or neutral effect on a mice infestation, and definitely won’t be a negative. Having pets just means you’ll have to pay special attention to the types of traps and baits you’re using so that they aren’t harmed in the process.
Last update on 2023-06-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Mouse-Proof Food Storage


Regulations in some places like the State of New York require landlords to have licensed commercial exterminators apply pesticides inside occupied rental units. Tenants in these areas may be free to use their own measures, but they probably also have the right to ask their landlord to take care of a problem that arises.
You should also be sure to contact a mouse control expert if you’re seeing widespread signs of an infestation, such as mouse droppings, home damage, and other significant signs of mice and rats.
Remember that exterminators can’t end your mouse infestation if you don’t take their advice. If your pest control technician applies traps or poisons, but you will still need to heed their suggestions to seal up tiny entrances, keep dirty dishes from piling up, and store food properly. By working with exterminators as part of a team, even a rapidly multiplying mouse infestation can be controlled.
According to Orkin, these cities consistently rank as having the worst rat problems:
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Portland, Oregon
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Miami, Florida
- San Diego, California
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Houston, Texas
- Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Seattle, Washington
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Denver, Colorado
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Detroit, Michigan
- San Francisco, California
- Washington, DC
- New York City, New York
- Los Angeles, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming