You hear scratching above the ceiling, droppings turn up next to the bin, or you find a packet of biscuits nibbled in the cupboard. If you're wondering how to get rid of mice in your home, timing matters: as autumn turns cold, they come indoors looking for warmth and food, and a single pair can become a large family within a few months. Before trying home remedies to keep mice away, make sure it really is mice and find out how they're getting in. Here's the complete method, step by step.
How to tell if you have mice
Mice are nocturnal and wary, so you're more likely to spot the signs they leave than the mice themselves. These are the clearest signs:
- Droppings: small, dark and elongated, like a grain of rice. They usually turn up along walls, behind appliances and inside cupboards.
- Gnaw marks on cardboard packaging, pet food bags, cables or skirting boards.
- Noises at dusk: scratching or scurrying in ceilings, cavity walls or behind the oven.
- A smell of ammonia in enclosed corners, from their urine.
- Nests made of shredded paper, rags or insulation in drawers you rarely open.
- Pets on alert: if your cat or dog keeps staring at a piece of furniture or a vent, there may be something behind it.
Mice in the house: what to do first
The most common mistake is setting traps without blocking the way in. The right order is: seal, remove their food and only then catch them.
1. Seal the entry points
A mouse can squeeze through a gap just over half a centimetre wide, about the thickness of a pencil. Check where pipes pass through under the sink, air vents, gaps under external doors, roller-shutter boxes and cracks along skirting boards. Fill them with wire wool or metal mesh and finish with silicone or filler: mice will gnaw straight through expanding foam on its own. On doors that lead outside, a draught excluder along the bottom will stop them getting in.
2. Remove their food
- Keep cereal, flour, pulses and biscuits in airtight glass or hard plastic containers.
- Take the rubbish out every night and use bins with lids.
- Sweep or vacuum the kitchen every day: the crumbs left under the oven are enough to feed them.
- Don't leave pet food out overnight. Pick up your dog's or cat's bowl after every meal and keep the bag of food in a sealed container.
Home remedies to keep mice away: what works and what doesn't
Some tricks help as an extra, but none of them will solve an established problem on its own.
| Remedy | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil | May bother them for a few days, but it needs refreshing often and the effect is limited. Be careful: many essential oils are toxic to cats. |
| Cloves, pepper or bay leaves | Little evidence that they work. At best, a mild deterrent. |
| Bicarbonate of soda mixed with flour or sugar | Very popular, but there's no solid evidence that it works. We don't recommend it as a solution. |
| Ultrasonic devices | Mixed results: mice tend to get used to them quickly. |
| Having a cat | Partly deters them, but guarantees nothing and is no substitute for sealing entry points. |
In short, home remedies help keep mice away from a house that's already sealed; they won't get rid of a colony.
How to get rid of mice for good: traps
Once the entry points are sealed, it's time to catch the ones already inside.
- Snap traps: the classic option and the most effective. Bait them with a little peanut butter or chocolate spread, which sticks and makes the mouse keep working at it.
- Live-catch traps: cages that catch mice without harming them. Check them every morning and release the mouse well away from houses.
- Where to put them: right against the wall, at a right angle to it, with the bait end facing the wall, because mice always run along edges. Set several at once, a few metres apart.
- Be patient: mice are wary. If you haven't caught any in two or three days, move the traps.
Avoid glue traps: they cause the animal a great deal of suffering and can catch your own pet.
Be careful with poison if you have a dog or cat
The most common rodenticides are anticoagulants, and a dog or cat can be poisoned by eating the bait or a poisoned mouse. If you have pets or children at home, never leave poison lying around. If you decide to use it, keep it inside locked bait stations or, better still, leave it to a pest control company. If you have the slightest suspicion that your pet has eaten some, call the vet straight away rather than waiting for symptoms.
How to clean up safely
Rodent droppings and urine can spread disease, so don't sweep or vacuum them up dry: you'd stir up contaminated dust.
- Air the room for half an hour before you start.
- Put on rubber gloves and, if it's a large area, a face mask.
- Spray the mess with bleach diluted in water (one part bleach to ten parts water) and leave it for a few minutes.
- Wipe everything up with kitchen roll, put it in a sealed bag and throw it away.
- Mop the floor, wipe down the surfaces and wash your hands thoroughly.
When to call a professional
If you're still finding fresh droppings after two weeks of trapping, if you can hear them inside the walls or if you see mice during the day (a sign there are a lot of them), call a pest control company. The same applies if the problem affects the whole building: then the entire block needs to be sealed.
To get rid of mice in your home, order is everything: block the gaps, leave them nothing to eat and use well-placed traps. A tidy house with food safely stored away is the best defence for the winter. And if you're using the opportunity to sort out your kitchen and your pet's corner, take a look at Velia Select's home and pet products.