As wintertime approaches, all of the furry little friends outdoors will seek warmth. However, sometimes this means finding warm places inside people’s homes. For mice, this is the perfect time to find the best hiding spot with the best food. People tend to get worried about having unwanted guests during the holiday season. It’s a good idea to learn how to set a mousetrap as well as dealing with pests. You’ll be able to protect yourself and your pets from these nasty little mice!
Ace Hardware’s ‘How To Set A Mousetrap’
If you have an Ace Hardware in your neighborhood, you’re in luck! This video provided by the hardware company provides an excellent demonstration of how to set a mousetrap.
It’s important to pay close attention to what you are doing as you set the mousetrap. Using a traditional mousetrap like the one in the video, this method works for most traps. A lot of people have the idea that using cheese is a good idea for a mousetrap. However, using something such as peanut or almond butter proves much more useful. The butter forces the mice or rats to touch the release lever. If it were a piece of cheese, then a rodent could easily steal it without getting trapped. (1)
First, remove and discard the staple that holds the little latching wire. This is the latch you will use to set the spring-loaded trap with. Second, using your choice of delicious sandwich butter, coat the bait holder. Third, gently peel back the spring-loaded part of the trap with the latch wire over it. Carefully position the latch underneath the small hook attached to the bait holder. Finally, you should now be ready to set your mousetrap. (1)
Where To Set A Mousetrap?
Being careful not to accidentally set off the trap in your hands, place the mousetrap mindfully. You will also want to avoid setting your mousetrap anywhere your pets can get into it. If you can isolate a spot or know of a particular corner, be mindful of who can get to the trap. If not your pets you certainly don’t want your children to accidentally get hurt.
Ideally, if you have no pets, you would place these traps along the wall. There also may be openings somewhere you can find and set mousetraps in these areas. You’ll want to check your attic space for any potential entrances. Set mousetraps all along the walls and corners of your attic space. It also might be a good idea to do a quick survey of your home on the outside. Set mousetraps at any outside entrances that you may find. (2)
Additional Precautions
Ace Hardware also provides some pretty helpful tips on how to prevent mice and rat problems. Although setting mousetraps all-around your house is important, so are these other precautions. If you truly want to rid your home of any rodents, you should try these methods.
As demonstrated in the video by Ace Hardware, there are multiple cheap products you can use. Using steel wool as a blockade to mice and rat entrances can prove useful. Break up the steel wool into small enough pieces and using a pencil to cram the opening with wool. The steel wool is too tough for them to chew through and wears their teeth down. You can also try using the rodent repellents Ace Hardware shows how to use.
The general idea is to seal up any kind of potential entrance that a mouse could crawl through. Some people set mousetraps on top of their rooves sometimes as an extra precaution. If you think you’re setting too many traps, you actually might not be setting enough. After all, rodents reproduce at an alarming rate.
Read: How to Keep Mice and Other Rodents Out of Your Home, Garage, and Camper
Is This Humane?
If you want complete honesty, no, these traditional traps aren’t exactly humane but tend to be the quickest solution. There are however several types of no-kill & DIY mousetraps to choose from.
Whichever way you approach your rodent problem, you will find that getting rid of them will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. Time to start getting ready for a rodent-free holiday season this year!
Keep reading: The One Natural Way to Keep Mice out of Your Home – It’s the Only Tactic You’ll Need