House mice are classified as synanthropic animals, whose lifestyle is closely related to humans. These rodents can breed both in a private house and in a city apartment. Their unpleasant proximity can be detected by a number of obvious signs. These are night squeaks and rustles, spoiled food, small droppings, holes in the walls and a specific smell. How to get rid of mice in an apartment forever?
For thousands of years, people have been fighting small pests, coming up with new methods of destroying them. The most popular ways to get rid of mice in an apartment forever using folk remedies, and their effectiveness will be discussed in this article.
Mice in the apartment: how to get rid of them, what are they afraid of?
Rodents attack a person's home when it gets cold outside and it is difficult to find food. Deteriorating conditions force them to leave their natural habitat and seek a warm shelter with a source of food. If they appear in one apartment, they will soon spread throughout the entire multi-storey building, since in favorable conditions they reproduce all year round. You can get rid of them if you know that they are afraid.
Main deterrent factors:
- Bright light. Mice work in the dark, looking for food. When the light suddenly turns on, they hide in a secluded crevice. This feature can be used in the fight against rodents, since they prefer to leave places where the lighting is often turned on.
- Loud noise. Pests prefer to scour in silence, and extraneous noise forces them to retreat and look for another habitat. It is enough to turn on the music center several times a day.
- Strong smell. Mice cannot tolerate strong aromas. To combat, you can use many herbs, vinegar, ammonia and cat litter. These components should be placed near holes and crevices.
Advice! You can reduce the likelihood of rodents appearing and breeding in a private home if you put food in the refrigerator and store cereals in glass or iron containers with a tight-fitting lid.
Using an ultrasonic device in rodent control
The most effective and harmless way to control pests today is ultrasound . Modern devices operate from an electrical network, emitting subtle signals that are not felt by humans. But they are not tolerated by mice at all and force them to leave their habitat.
Most ultrasonic devices operate in an area of up to 200 square meters. meters, so one such device will be enough to protect an entire apartment. According to customer reviews, pests can be eliminated within a week. They do not appear again for a long time.
If there are pets and birds in the apartment or you cannot cope with the rodent infestation on your own, it is better to seek help from specialists. This is not always an affordable option, but it is the easiest option for pest control. Professional companies will carry out disinfection, which is the most effective way to get rid of mice in an apartment forever.
How to get rid of mice in an apartment forever: 6 effective ways
Before you begin to destroy uninvited guests, it is worthwhile to thoroughly clean the apartment and identify the presence of cracks, holes in the floor, walls and ceiling. This will prevent rodent infestations from recurring after the house is cleaned.
The best ways to fight:
- Mousetraps. This method involves the use of mechanical devices into which bait is placed. As soon as the pest pulls it, the mechanism is triggered. To catch all the rodents, you will need 2-3 devices. For bait, you should choose components that emit a pleasant smell - meat, sausage, bread.
- Chemicals. These substances are a kind of bait; after eating them, the animal dies. Chemicals should be used carefully, taking all precautions. After this, you need to regularly check the apartment for the presence of dead rodents, as they will emit a foul odor.
- Sound repellers. To fight, special devices are used that produce unpleasant noise for the animal. When the device is turned on, ultrasound fills the room and penetrates all the cracks, but a person does not detect it. This is stressful for the rodents, and they are forced to leave their home. It is enough to use the drug for 6-7 days.
- Glue. Adults can be caught using special glue traps. Apply adhesive to cardboard or other plate. And put a piece of fragrant bait next to it on the edge. An animal looking for food will fall into a trap.
- Professional help. In case of mass distribution throughout a multi-storey building, it is better to use the help of special services. They carry out deratization using toxic components that penetrate deep into cracks and holes. This allows you to get rid of rodents for a long time.
- Cat. To ensure that rodents disappear from your home and do not appear again, you need to get a cat. For this purpose, not purebred pets are suitable, but yard rat-catching cats, who are accustomed to getting their own food. A home predator will quickly catch pests and prevent them from reappearing in the house.
Signs of rodents
If you are observant enough, it is easy to notice when there is a mouse in the house. Signs characteristic of rodents appear:
- Holes appear in the baseboard area, between the wall and the floor. Their diameter is small, but damage is easy to notice;
- food remains left with teeth marks from pests;
- they leave behind droppings with a characteristic odor;
- rustling can be heard when the room is quiet. More often - at night;
Note!
If a cat lives in the house, then as soon as rodents appear, it behaves warily. The animal constantly sniffs, examines corners, and listens carefully to extraneous sounds.
Use of rodenticides (chemical poisons)
The fastest results can be achieved by using special poisonous baits. The principle of their use is identical for all types, regardless of the manufacturer.
Chemical baits should be laid out on a cardboard backing in secluded areas of the apartment at a distance of 3-4 m. After 2 days, check for the presence of poison and place the additive where it is absent. After a week, inspect the home and remove the rodents.
The disadvantage of these products is that mice often die by climbing into deep cracks and holes in the floor or ceiling. This makes it impossible to remove them from there. Therefore, there is a foul odor in the home. To get rid of an unpleasant odor, you need to constantly ventilate the apartment.
"Ratsid"
The substance has a gel-like consistency. Packaged in 5 liter buckets. Grain bait based on this poison is also commercially available. The main active component of the product is alpha-naphthylthiocarbamide. Its concentration in the product is 100 g per 1 liter of liquid. The substance belongs to the category of intestinal pesticides; if it enters the body, it causes paralysis. The death of the animal occurs within 24 hours after consuming the poisonous bait.
Attention! The drug poses a danger to human health; it must be used in compliance with the rules of protection in a room where people will not live for the next 2 weeks after treatment.
To fight, you need to moisten the bait in the prepared solution with the addition of water, and place it in the corners. The guaranteed shelf life of the drug is 5 years.
Protective spray against rodents "Marder-Schutz"
This drug is sold in special 200 ml cylinders. The product is sprayed under pressure. Produced in Germany. Its repellent effect is based on a combination of unpleasant odors for animals that humans cannot sense. The spray is easy to use and does not have a negative impact on the rest of the household.
To combat, you need to spray the product on surfaces where rodents appear. The effect lasts for 2 weeks. If necessary, the treatment must be repeated after this period. The spray has a shelf life of 2 years.
Traditional methods
Folk remedies have certain advantages: they are time-tested, do not require large financial costs and demonstrate excellent results. Such methods are often not humane, but they make it possible to deal with rodents.
It is necessary to pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a bottle with a large neck and twist the container so that the product spreads along the walls. Next, the bottle is placed at a slight slope. The neck should point up. The next morning you will find live mice in the container that were unable to get out through the slippery glass.
A bottle with oil spilled on the inside is an effective means of fighting mice
You can prepare a mixture that will cause intestinal blockage in rodents. You need to mix 1 cup each of sugar and flour, a small amount of butter and 400 grams of gypsum, spreading the product on plastic plates. You can take any food scraps and mix them with cement, lime, poison or crushed glass.
You need to pour half a bucket of water, placing a board with any delicacy in the middle. Next, the vessel is positioned so that pests can easily fall into it. Trying to reach the tasty morsel, the mice will drown.
You can purchase special glue and treat any surface with it, not forgetting the pieces of bait. When running over greased plywood or cardboard, pests will certainly stick. The only drawback is that the product dries quickly. It needs to be lubricated from time to time. The recommended layer thickness is 2-3 mm.
Mice in the house are afraid of many aromas , but usually they themselves leave a specific odor, which can be an additional problem. You can easily get rid of the stench using potassium permanganate. You need to dissolve it in water to get a rich shade. Next, the resulting composition is wiped onto dirty surfaces.
A solution of potassium permanganate in water will help remove the smell left behind by mice
Vinegar is no worse at neutralizing odors. It is a natural antiseptic that destroys toxic fumes and kills pathogens. 50 g of vinegar should be diluted in 0.5 liters of liquid. The solution is sprayed with a spray bottle or used to wash floors.
Mice are also afraid of light. Turning it on frequently at night can try to drive away pests. For a greater likelihood of success, it is recommended to use this method in combination with any other.
Folk remedies for mice in the apartment
You can also get rid of a mouse infestation using folk remedies. Their effectiveness has been proven at the initial stage of the appearance of rodents.
Effective means of struggle:
- Ammonia. You need to soak cotton pads in the product and place them in places where animals are expected to appear.
- Wormwood, peppermint, bay. The leaves of these plants emit a strong aroma. They need to be placed throughout the apartment. When dry, constantly replace with fresh ones. If fresh plants are not available, essential oil can be used.
- Wood ash. The alkali contained in the component has a corrosive effect on the animal’s paws. Ash should be poured generously into holes and cracks, along baseboards and on top of surfaces.
- Cement with flour. It is necessary to combine both components in equal proportions. Place the bait on a cardboard backing and place it in the corners. Under the influence of gastric juice, the mixture will harden and the animal will die.
Preventive methods
Fighting mice is a rather labor-intensive process. Therefore, it is better to follow a few simple recommendations that will protect your apartment from rodent infestation.
- Ventilation openings must be covered with metal grilles.
- It is better to seal any existing cracks in the ceiling or floor - special attention is paid to places where heating, water supply, and sewerage take place.
- Do not use paper packaging to store food.
- Clean your apartment regularly - every crumb, garbage and small leftover food attracts rodents. Wet cleaning is best done with chlorine-containing products.
