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Preventing Mice from Entering your Home and
Getting Rid of Mice
How to Prevent Mice from
Getting into your Home
By Mark
J. Donovan
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Are you seeing mice droppings in your
attic, basement, garage, or in the main living areas of your home? Are you
hearing mice in the walls? If so, preventing mice from entering your home should
be your first priority. Getting rid of mice that have already entered your home
should be your second priority. Why in this order? Because when it comes to
getting rid of mice the most common way involves killing them. To reduce the loss
of life, you should first prevent additional mice from entering your home so you
can limit the carnage that you inflict on your existing rodent population.
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To prevent mice from getting into your home start by closing outside doors, such
as garage doors and bulkheads, that often have the tendency to be left open.
Also check around the home’s foundation for small holes where mice could be
entering. In addition, check around doors and windows to make sure they close
tightly. Even the smallest of crevices can be entranceways for mice. Mice can
enter into a home via holes as small as ¼ of an inch in diameter. Seal all
holes, cracks and crevices with caulk or other permanent solutions. If a door or
window does not close tightly, adjust the door or window appropriately so that
it does.
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Another area to inspect is around
fireplace chimneys. Frequently chimneys have an external air intake hole/tube.
Make sure to place steel wool in the tube to prevent mice from entering the home
via the fireplace air intake tube.
Mice also like to live where food and water sources are abundant. Make sure all
food in your home is properly stored in sealed containers. This includes dried
grain dog and cat food. By sealing food and water you can prevent mice from
setting up home in your house. Its also an ideal way to get rid of mice because
with no food or water they move on. |
If you see signs of gnawing around doors and windows you may need to install
metal material around the door or window edges to prevent mice from gnawing on
them.
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For getting rid of mice
that have entered your home the old fashion spring mouse trap is still one of
the most effective means for exterminating mice. Unlike rodent poison, spring
mouse traps kill mice quickly. In addition, you know if the mice have been
killed, and they don’t end up dying in walls and smelling up your home as they
decompose.
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Photo by Mark Donovan |
So if you have mice infestation problems, prevent mice from entering your home
first, and eliminate the mice intruders second. In the end you’ll kill fewer
mice and you’ll prevent other rodents from entering your home later.
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Mouse Traps
Rat and Mouse Traps from Amazon.com
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