Do DIY Mouse Solutions Work?

There are a variety of commercial mouse traps, poisons, and other solutions available on the market that do work to control mice. But for households looking to save money or would like to avoid poisons in their home altogether. Many of the DIY options do work, but only if used correctly. What are some of these DIY mouse solutions?

The Bucket

You’ve probably seen the videos on social media of a bucket full of mice that can’t escape. This trap employs a ramp to a bucket that has some sort of bait – usually peanut butter – on a beam of some sort over the empty space of the bucket. The mouse goes across the ramp and while reaching for the peanut butter, falls into the bucket and can’t escape. While this trap can work, there are a few problems.

The trap must be set in an area where it won’t be disturbed. You don’t want the dog coming around and eating the peanut butter. Or the kids run by and knock it down. Peanut butter and other food baits can also attract ants, resulting in a two-pest problem. Once you trap the mice, what are you going to do with them?

Homemade Baits

Another strategy is homemade baits or poisons. First of all, any poison is going to be unsafe for you, your kids, and your pets, so they must be used carefully – even the store-bought variety.

One version of a homemade bait is mixing cement, plaster of Paris, or another similar coagulant with a food bait or water where the mice will come along and eat it. The idea is that the chosen ingredient will harden and kill them. Unfortunately, many of these would also kill a pet or even a child. It is also not humane. No matter how annoying and disgusting mice are you don’t want to kill them in such a cruel manner.

Professional Help

While some DIY solutions do work for the occasional mouse, they aren’t an effective long-term solution if you’re in an area prone to infestation. Your best option is to seek professional help, particularly if you have a major mouse problem. An added benefit to going with the professional services from Mice Mob Exterminators, they also disinfect the inside of the home, killing the germs and bacteria that mice carry. This is just as important as the removal of pests.