Whether you think mice are adorable or you’re terrified of them, they’re certainly not the most welcome visitors in your home. Not only would the sight of one in your home give you a nasty fright, they also carry diseases and can cause damage to your furniture and other possessions.

Here’s how to banish them from your home – and stop them coming back.

Prevention is key

Keeping your surfaces clean and crumb-free is key to preventing mice from making themselves at home as they can live on a lot less food than you would think.

You should also make sure your food containers are sealed and kept in a cupboard where rodents can’t reach, particularly boxes of cereal, bread, pasta and pet food. It may be worth putting your pet’s food bowl away overnight.

How to tell if you have mice in your home

Small dark droppings, shredded packaging, nests of paper and a sour smell are all signs of mice, and you may also hear them scuttling around at night.

Unfortunately, it’s never just the one mouse. If you’ve seen one skulking around, there are more hiding somewhere. The mice that invade your home may be resident (house mice) or merely hunting for food and warmth (field mice), but both have the same unhygienic habits that spread disease.

Because mice urinate to mark their territory, they contaminate food and can cause outbreaks of food poisoning. As rodents, they need to chew constantly and can cause fires when they bite through cables and wiring.

Skip the home remedies

There are a whole host of DIY repellent ideas (including peppermint sprays, dryer sheet stuffings, cotton balls soaked in oil and cayenne pepper, etc), but there’s little scientific evidence to back up the effectiveness of these solutions, and if you’re not blocking off the route that the mice are entering through, it’s not going to solve anything permanently.

Set the traps

The first step is to find out where the mice are getting in and block off these holes with quick-hardening sealant, or ‘mouse mesh’. Avoid using caulk, rubber or plastic fillers as mice can chew through these.

Traps should be placed in areas where there is evidence of rodent activity, and will be more effective if they are put inside tunnels or set directly alongside walls. Always use gloves when handling traps, as rodents tend to avoid anything with a human scent.

They are also suspicious of changes in their environment, so for the first few days, provide bait (chocolate, peanut butter and bacon are all good choices) but don’t actually set the trap. Being able to take the food without harm at first lulls them into a false sense of security, and they will approach the traps with less caution, making successful capture more likely.

If you use a live trap, it’s recommended that you release the mouse at least two miles from your house to prevent them from getting back in.

Don’t forget the garage

Make sure you check that the mice aren’t coming into your garage. They could choose to live in your car and gnaw at wires near your engine, which causes serious damage. Attach brush strips to the bottom any doors and your garage door so that mice can’t squeeze themselves underneath them.

Call in help

For serious infestations, you should contact your local authority’s environmental health officer, or a commercial pest control contractor.

Top 21 how to get rid of field mice quickly edit by Top Q&A

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