Mice infestations are one of the most frustrating problems homeowners face worldwide. When dealing with a mouse infestation, it’s vital to learn how to get rid of mice in the garage and how to prevent mice from entering your garage and causing future issues.
Aside from carrying many viruses and diseases like Leptospirosis and rat-bite fever, mice damage properties, cause turmoil in the home, and give the impression a house is unclean and unsanitary. Having a mouse infestation is inconvenient and upsetting, and the issue needs to be addressed swiftly.
There are various home cures and DIY mouse repellents to help you handle your rodent problem. Fortunately, getting rid of mice in a garage doesn’t have to be a headache. Whether you prefer natural methods such as essential oils or are focused on safety because you have children or pets, there’s a mouse control option to fit every situation.
Tips for Getting Rid of Mice in a Garage
Controlling mouse activity and getting rid of mice in a garage is crucial for disease control and hygiene. Taking care of environmental factors contributing to your mouse infestation is vital before setting up a mouse trap.
You have to know what to look for to know if you have a rodent problem. Typical signs of a mouse infestation include chewed holes in walls, wiring, and packages, droppings and a urine smell, and a dead mouse or two.
Seal potential food sources in rodent-proof and airtight containers, including dog food, bird seed, and grass seed. Inspect your garage door and walls for cracks or openings where rodents may be gaining entry and repair them to prevent mice from entering your garage.
Once the environment is less favorable for mice, learning how to get rid of mice in the garage allows you to take care of mouse issues quickly. Protect your car from rats as well as your garage and home.
A Live Trap Humanely Catches Mice
A live trap is the most humane and responsible method of dealing with mice and is the best way to get rid of field mice permanently. Live traps pose no risk to children, pets, or the ecosystem and are not cruel like snap traps or glue traps.
Place a bucket beneath a countertop for a simple live trap. Balance a spoon on the counter or bench with the handle hanging over the bucket. Put a little peanut butter at the end of the handle.
When the mouse walks out onto the spoon to get the peanut butter bait, the spoon and mouse fall into the bucket below. Release the mouse away from your home and repeat nightly.
Scents to Prevent Mice From Entering Your Garage
If you’re eager to get rid of mice in your house without using traps or poison, there are numerous essential oils to repel mice. Apply throughout your home to deter them.
Add 20 drops of your favorite mouse repelling essential oil to two cups of water in a spray canister and use this mixture liberally around the garage and your home. The spray leaves everything smelling fresh and repels mice. Keep mice away from outside of your house by growing some of these plants instead of using the oils.
Combined with cleaning potential food sources, this goes a long way to keeping mice out of the garage. Essential oils are also ideal to get rid of dead mouse smell after you dispose of a trapped rodent. Add a few drops in your car for mice in car vents or underneath the hood.
Peanut Butter – The Best Way to Catch a Mouse in a Garage
If you’ve come up with a live trap idea and need reliable bait, a bit of peanut butter on a cotton ball is irresistible to mice. The nutty, sweet flavor is potent enough that they smell it from long distances and are more likely to engage with the trap, whether you need a way to get mice out of ceilings and garage walls or from behind a shelf.
It’s cost-effective, widely available, and won’t hurt your children if they find it first. Whether you’re reloading a bait station or setting up a humane trap as one of the ways to get rid of mice in your attic, give peanut butter a try when you need the best bait.
Do you want to know what food kills mice instantly? Mix some boric acid with peanut butter and place the bait in hidden locations for mice and rats to eat. It’s one of the ways to get rid of mice in a basement without going to too much trouble. Note that you will have to find the dead mice to dispose of them properly. You won’t have a rodent problem for long.
How to Get Rid of Mice in the Garage with Moth Balls
Moth balls are an excellent way to get rid of mice from your garage or home. They are highly toxic and a low-cost technique to eliminate vermin infestations. Using rubber gloves, place the mothballs in strategic locations throughout your home, including the garage, basement, and attic.
Exercise extra caution while using mothballs as they are hazardous to you, your pets, and children. Always make sure you put mothballs where there’s no possible chance your pets or children may come into contact with them.
Use a Snap Trap to Kill Mice in a Garage
Spring traps or snap traps work on the principle of presenting the mouse with bait such as cheese, peanut butter, or fruit resting on a weighted plate. When the mouse walks on the plate, the trap releases and springs or snaps shut on the mouse, maiming or killing them.
Although they do typically work quickly for killing rats in the garage, snap traps are inhumane, and mice are often left injured to die a slow and painful death. They’re typically messy and involve cleaning up after decapitated or otherwise disfigured mice.
To be reset, the trap must be emptied, meaning the user may come into contact with a dead mouse. Spring traps should be a last resort; employ easier, more humane, and cleaner pest control options.
Kitty Litter to Prevent Mice
While this isn’t the most hygienic method for getting rid of mice without poisons, it is effective. Mice are natural prey for cats; if mice believe you have a cat, they will avoid your home. Mice stay away if you put used kitty litter in tubs near likely entry points. They’ll get a whiff of the cat’s urine and bolt.
Ammonia is also helpful as a sensory repellent, as the molecules in it mimic the smell of urine. If you don’t have a cat but want to try this method for what keeps rats away naturally, set cups of ammonia out to copy the scent and repel mice.
Glue Traps Treat a Mice Infestation
Though they are inhumane and unkind, glue traps catch multiple mice. Much like the glue traps designed for insects, these sticky traps are usually large pieces of cardboard with a strong adhesive applied to one side. When the mice walk over the adhesive, they become stuck and die.
With these traps, there is a good chance you will find a mouse still alive and struggling and be tasked with disposing of it. These traps are not reusable and may stick to pets, children, clothes, and shoes if they touch them.
Like bird control or bed bug control, pest control for a mouse infestation can be challenging. Whether you know you have a mouse problem because of finding mouse droppings, you’ve seen multiple mice, or noticed holes in pet food bags, getting rid of the pests is critical.
The house mouse is generally searching for nesting material and a food source, so removing these items before employing traps increases your chance of successfully removing the rodent infestation.
Finding a dead mouse or seeing fewer mice is a good sign your pest control efforts are working. Always consider the impact and dangers of mice control measures for the safety of children, pets, and other adults in the home.
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