Have you lost hope dealing with a rodent infestation, when your attempt after attempt being unsuccessful? Do you fail even after scouring forums or websites for "natural remedies"? And are there remedies against mice that can be used to drive away rodents without side effects for your family and without risk? This article with complete fresh information and valuable tips is for you!
Do we need to be afraid of rodents such as mice and rats?
The plague is gone, but not the fear of rats. According to popular belief, the animals are said to be dangerous carriers of disease and due to their high levels of reproduction, they will eventually become a nuisance. But that's wrong!
It was not rats that transmitted the plague in the Middle Ages, but the rat flea that lives in the fur of rodents. While it's true that rats can transmit up to 120 different diseases, many other wild animals also carry diseases. Only diseases that occur in one region can be passed on.
How do rodents appear in our homes?
Rodents mostly find their way into people’s homes via cable ducts, basement corridors, or supply lines. The strong sense of smell allows them to keep an eye even on hidden food supplies. The thoughtless storage of garbage and food supplies encourages infestations.
What helps against rodents?
In order to drive away rodents, you should first find out how they were able to get into your home and what specifically attracted them. The first step is to eliminate possible damage and weak points such as brickwork openings, open basement windows, and other points of entry. Let’s discuss this in more detail.
- Cracks in the doors: Rodents need only minimal cracks in the door and wall holes to penetrate the inside of the building: even pencil-thick holes of 6-7 mm are enough to squeeze through. In order to be able to drive away mice in the long term, doors should be equipped with so-called brush strips or rubber door lips.
- Cracks and joints in walls: Not only for energy reasons, all doors, basement, windows, and wall passages leading to the outside should be checked regularly for leaks.
- Defective windows should be replaced if possible. It may be necessary to consider whether stable wire grids with an appropriate mesh size are installed to secure the building against mice. In order to drive away mice and keep them away, the width of the wire mesh should never be larger than 5 mm.
- Wall and ceiling openings should be sealed with suitable materials. Pipe sleeves can also help here. Another remedy against mice is to seal them with suitable metal sheets, especially in the case of wall and ceiling openings made of wood.
- Elevator shafts can also be the reason for the spread of mice or rats. Rodents are excellent climbers and can even run up smooth walls. In this way, mice can spread throughout the building via cable ropes, risers, etc. The area of the drive motors in elevator shafts often offers mice a relatively undisturbed area to nest.
- Do not leave any holes open for mice and rats to get into the house. These include door gaps, defective ventilation flaps, or broken doors. Note that mice can even get in through holes the diameter of a pencil!
- Check your drainage pipes because rodents like rats can very easily get inside your building through your toilet!
- An effective remedy against mice is to keep garbage bags closed or to deposit them in the garbage container. The rubbish bins should only be placed on the street on the day of the garbage collection. Bio bins should also be locked.
There are other ways mice get inside a building. A tree approaching the building can be the entryway that many of us wouldn’t suspect to be useful to rodents.
What’s the best remedy against rodents? Keep your house clean
Most of the time, if you clean your house regularly, you won't have to worry about rodents. In fact, all food scraps like breadcrumbs attract rodents. Clean behind and under your refrigerator, gas stove, and under kitchen elements. Also, remember to store food in airtight containers.
Rodents such as mice and rats gnaw their way through almost any material, especially paper and foil. Keeping food supplies, especially grain, flour, nuts, pasta, dried fruits, and spices, in tightly fitting containers helps against rodents. This also protects against other storage pests.
The food of domestic animals such as cats and dogs, but especially birds, hamsters, and the like, is also tasty for rodents. If you want to drive away rodents or keep them away, animal feed should always be stored locked. Birdhouses set up near the house serve as a regular source of food for mice because rodents prefer high-carbohydrate grain foods.
Animal stalls and cages should also be kept clean. Insufficient cleanliness almost inevitably leads to rodent infestation.
Doors to the garden or yard should be closed consistently, especially in the winter months, to prevent mice and immigration. Mice are increasingly crowded into buildings during the cold season. This also applies to unbarred cellar windows that should not be left open. A short moment of slackness is enough for mice.
Make use of iron wool
Mice have the ability to gnaw almost anything and their motivation increases when they suspect the presence of food! Fortunately, there's one material they can't gnaw through - it’s iron wool. We recommend that you fill any holes and spaces that you have identified in your home, such as electrical wiring, etc., with iron wool to minimize the risk.
Do "natural" repellants for rodents work?
You may often hear about "natural" repellants such as peppermint or mothballs, which are supposed to help against mice. These are positioned as miracle methods of driving mice away. In reality, however, they are completely ineffective. These methods could slow down an infestation, but have no long-term effects.
Rats and mice are very intelligent beings. They know full well that the outside world is a great danger to animals of their size. Once they find a safe place, with no natural enemies and with plenty of food, they settle permanently. They will even prefer to endure the presence of stinky peppermint rather than leaving their new homes. Let’s examine other “natural” remedies against rodents.
Mothballs versus rodents - do they work?
In short: no!
Naphthalene is a strong-smelling white substance. When ingested or ll inhaled, naphthalene causes a decrease in blood oxygen. Therefore, this substance has long been regarded as an effective agent against harmful rodents.
It has been suggested that placing mothballs near mice would be enough to force them to flee. However, this method does not work:
Mothballs, which are used as a moth repellent and are available in the market, only contains a tiny dose of the product. This is sufficient to repel moths or other insects but is unfortunately ineffective against rats or mice. In order to make naphthalene a repellent against rodents, which also deserves its name, a dose must be used that would be uncomfortable even for a human. But most of the time the substance is simply ignored by rodents.
Cats against rodents: Do they help?
When we talk about mice, we immediately think of cats. The image is even firmly imprinted in our culture.
If you are not allergic, you can try adopting a cat. Remember, however, that this is not a guarantee of success.
Cats are hunters, at least some of them. Most of the time, they ignore rodents. Why? Domestic cats don't have to hunt to survive, they have everything they need: plenty of food, cuddles, petting, toys, etc. You can help scare off the mice and even eliminate some of them in time if they manage to catch them. Unfortunately, in a real infestation, cats prove to be less effective.
If you observe the following tips against rodents, you should succeed in driving away rodents in the future and prevent them from developing again.
But don't waste any time, because rodents are spreading at breakneck speed. A small rodent infestation can quickly turn into a rodent plague.
Get your house equipped with ultrasound pest control devices at an early stage. They will chase away rodents quickly and efficiently without harming anyone, including your home pets. Specially tuned to act against rodents, an ultrasound pest repeller is your best bet against rodent infestation.
