Mice are a very annoying pest. They can also be a point of embarrassment in your business or home. They are capable of destroying your property as well as creating a mess from their excrement. There are various ways you can use to help you get rid of these rodents. Depending on your nature, you may decide to use humane ways of capturing the mice like capture and release or use bait and kill methods. Here are five ways to capture mice that will help you get rid of the pesky problem and control mice at home. The Traditional Spring-Loaded Trap
This trap has been used for over a century and its effectiveness has made it a favorite in many communities around the world. The trap works by baiting it using food that mice are drawn to. While there is a misconception that mice love cheese, they only eat it when they have nothing better to eat. Using nuts, chocolate and peanut butter will attract mice faster. You can also use beef, bacon, and dried fruit. Use a small portion of this for bait. Using too much food may have the intended victim eat the bait without triggering the snap mechanism. Use two or three of the traps within one location. You will need to get the mice accustomed to the traps by baiting them without setting them for two to three days. You will also need to set them along the traffic regions of the mice or where you know they have nests. While this is a very effective trap, it kills the mice upon capture in a rather brutal manner.
Electronic Traps
These traps are a more humane way of capturing and killing the mice. It involves baiting the trap and setting it in high-traffic areas before turning it on. The advantage of these traps is you do not see the dead mouse as the trap is a closed short tunnel. There is also little involved while setting them up. This trap is considered humane because the death of the rodent comes almost instantaneously through a high voltage. Caution is, however, advised when using this trap around children and pets as the voltage delivered is dangerously high. Depending on the model you buy, you can kill from twenty up to sixty mice with one battery pack.
Capture Mouse Traps
These traps are modeled to capture and quarantine a mouse till you release it. They follow the same method of baiting and are reusable. You set the trap in the same manner as the others. Placing the trap along the wall gives you a sure bet of capturing them as they walk along walls for protection. You can be able to find traps that work to capture more than one mouse at a time and they work well to round up many mice. This is because mice are drawn to each other.
Glue Traps
These traps work the same way a fly trap does. It works by simply placing the trap along the wall and it captures the mouse. It does not require any baiting and is safe to use around children and pets. A downside to this trap is if the mouse decides to make good its escape. Cases are reported where the mouse chews through its feet, thereby freeing itself. This method is considered one of the least humane ways to trap a mouse.
Homemade Traps
You can also make a homemade trap using some easily found items in your home. You would need the bait, a toilet paper tube, and a bucket. You will first flatten the tube on one side so it can sit as a tunnel without rolling. You will then place the tunnel along the path of the mouse, but on a surface higher than the ground level. Place the mouse tunnel balanced on the edge of this surface and bait the end that is hanging out. Make sure that the tube is light enough to tip when a mouse is on one end. Next, place the bucket under the tube. This will capture the mouse once it tips over the edge while in the tube. Be sure the bucket is tall enough that the mouse can’t climb out.
When handling dead mice or when disposing of them, be sure to wear gloves. Take care to clean any surfaces or items the mice may have gotten to as they can carry harmful bacteria as well as diseases.