Looking for tips and home remedies to get rid of mice in your home? These pests can cause a lot of damage once they’ve gotten inside. To combat the presence of these pests in and around your home, you can take several preventive measures.
From identifying and sealing entry points to using repellent scents or ultrasonic devices, there are various methods to get rid of mice for good. The mouse exterminators at Elite Pest Control explain the 14 best ways to keep them away from your home.
1. Seal up holes to prevent mice from getting in
The first thing to do is to make sure there are no entry points for these small rodents, as they are very agile. Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a dime, the tiniest openings imaginable.
Seal all cracks in your foundation and the joints around your pipes. Also, installing metal anti-intrusion screens helps block entry points used by mice and rats.
Areas to inspect first:
- Seals around pipes under the sink and where they exit the walls
- Bottoms of exterior doors (install a rubber door bottom seal)
- Cracks in the foundation and walls
- Electrical cable and heating pipe penetrations
- Ventilation openings to be covered with fine-mesh metal screen
- Electrical outlets and switches on exterior facing walls
If you don’t feel confident doing this yourself, know that we offer an effective mouse and rodent sealing service and use the best sealants on the market. Our team can respond quickly to help you naturally drive mice away.
2. Keep food sealed and out of reach of rodents
However, these small rodents also enter your home in search of food. To address this issue, keep your kitchen clean. To do so, be sure to clean your countertops regularly, removing any food residue, and store your dry goods in metal or glass containers, as mice can easily chew through plastic.
If you leave trash cans with food scraps on the balcony, if there’s food behind your stove, and if cereal boxes are left open in your cabinets, mice will smell it and are likely to enter into your home. The best way to keep mice away is to avoid attracting them in the first place.
3. Seal your trash to minimize odors
Trash cans placed near your home or garage act as a magnet for mice (and often other pests like rats or raccoons) unless they are covered with airtight lids. You can secure the lids with bungee cords or heavy rocks.
If possible, keep these containers several dozen feet away from your home and place them slightly above the ground for optimal prevention. This simple step will keep mice away from your home.
4. Maintain Your Yard to Keep Mice Away
It’s not just the inside of your home that needs your attention, the outside does too.
To prevent mice from being attracted to your home, several steps should be taken around your yard:
- Cut tall grass: this will prevent mice from building nests near your home.
- Remove debris: Pests are particularly fond of easily accessible waste. They use it to hide and reproduce. Given how quickly mice reproduce, you’ll regret letting an infestation start in your garden.
- Trim branches near your house: Mice climb trees, and branches touching the house provide an easy entry point.
5. Exploit Mice’s Natural Fears
Mice are afraid of noise and bright light because they are nocturnal animals, but they are also afraid of sudden, unpredictable movements. Here’s how to put these instincts to practical use:
- Bright light: Install motion-activated lights in the garage, basement, or attic. A light that turns on suddenly is enough to scare them away.
- Noise and vibrations: Some homeowners place a radio on low volume in infested areas at night. The irregularity of the sounds disturbs mice more than a continuous noise.
- Unpredictable movements: Aluminum foil strips hung in high-traffic areas move at the slightest draft and disturb the mice, their shiny surface and the noise they make as they pass by can repel them.
These methods are effective when used in conjunction with other tips, especially in enclosed spaces like attics or basements.
6. Use mouse traps to get rid of them effectively
Traps are among the most reliable methods for capturing mice that are already present. There are several types:
- Mechanical spring trap (classic snap trap): fast, economical, effective. Place it perpendicular to the walls where the mouse runs, never in the center of a room.
- Live trap (net or cage with a trap door): captures without killing. Release the mouse several miles from your home while wearing gloves.
- Electric trap: instant and clean shock, ideal for moderate to severe infestations.
- Glue trap: avoid, causes a slow death from stress or dehydration.
Pro tip: Most homeowners underestimate the extent of the infestation. It’s not uncommon to need to set a dozen traps to catch a single mouse, or what you think is just one mouse. Set plenty of them, vary the types, and use the right baits (peanut butter, chocolate, nuts).
7. Use ultrasonic devices to keep them away
Ultrasonic devices emit sounds into the immediate environment at a frequency that mice find absolutely unbearable. If you want to scare away a mouse using ultrasound, get a device with a sound frequency of at least 10,000 Hz.
Buy several of these devices and rotate them every 3 weeks, mice get used to constant ultrasonic sounds if the frequency doesn’t vary. Ultrasonic devices don’t trap mice like a trap would, but they’re a good complement to other methods.
Warning: If you have pet rodents (hamsters, guinea pigs), the ultrasonic waves will affect them as well.
8. Use repellent odors
Mice have poor eyesight. However, their sense of smell is exceptional. So, to naturally repel mice, certain repellent odors are very effective, especially strong-smelling ones.
These include peppermint, vinegar, black pepper, and garlic, which have particularly strong odors.
That said, using anti-mouse essential oils is an excellent solution. Here are the most effective essential oils for keeping mice away:
- Peppermint essential oil;
- Sage essential oil;
- Lavandin essential oil;
- Eucalyptus essential oil;
- Bay leaf essential oil;
- Clove essential oil.
The best approach is to purchase essential oils, soak cotton balls in them, and place the cotton balls in areas where mice might gain access. Place them in cupboards, along pathways, or near entry points where rodents might enter.
Another solution is to make muslin bags filled with dried cayenne pepper, mint, and whole cloves, and leave them in places where mice tend to hide, such as under kitchen appliances and inside walls.
9. Getting Rid of Mice with Baking Soda
Among the home remedies for getting rid of mice, baking soda is another commonly used product. To get rid of mice with baking soda, you should sprinkle it in areas where mice are known to frequent. Focus your efforts on the areas where they pass through.
Alternatively, you can also mix baking soda with mouse bait such as cereal, dried fruit, peanut butter, etc. However, avoid using this method if you have children or pets. Children and pets might be tempted to eat the bait mixed with baking soda.
10. Use the white vinegar trick
White vinegar is known for its many household uses, and repelling mice is one of them. Its acidic smell creates a natural barrier that discourages rodents from settling in. Mix equal parts white vinegar and water, and spray the solution in strategic areas: behind appliances, along baseboards, or inside closets.
11. Use Your Cat’s Litter to Scare Away Mice
An effective way to use your cat to scare mice out of your home is to use its litter. Strange, you might say. Not really! As we’ve seen, mice have a very keen sense of smell and can therefore detect the presence of one of their natural predators: the cat. Cat litter contaminated with a cat’s scent acts as a natural repellent for mice.
To keep mice away with cat litter, sprinkle a little along the walls where the rodents usually pass. The stronger the scent of the cat litter, the more effective it will be at chasing mice away. To make the cat litter even more pungent, you can mix in a few drops of white vinegar.
12. Bay leaves in cupboards
Simple, economical, and completely safe to use around food. Place fresh or dried bay leaves in dark corners, under furniture, in cupboards, and along baseboards. Replace them every two weeks or crush them slightly before putting them out to release more aroma. For added effectiveness, combine this with peppermint essential oil on cotton balls placed nearby.
13. Insulation in Attics and Walls
An often-overlooked issue: damaged or missing insulation in attics, crawl spaces, or walls is a direct route for mice. Traditional insulation materials like fiberglass or cellulose wadding are easy for mice to gnaw through and are even used by them to build their nests.
If your home has been infested, it is highly likely that the insulation has been damaged or contaminated. In this case, two actions are necessary:
- Inspect the condition of the insulation after any infestation, particularly in attics and crawl spaces.
- Replace contaminated insulation with materials that are more resistant to rodents, such as rigid foam or steel wool around the perimeter.
Elite Pest Control offers a pest-proof insulation service that combines insulation replacement with preventive treatment to keep mice from returning to settle there.
14. Calling an Exterminator to Get Rid of Mice
Keeping mice out of your home is essential for your peace of mind and safety. There are many tips for keeping them away. Our Montreal exterminators recommend taking proactive steps to prevent major infestations, but if it’s too late, you’ll need to have them professionally exterminated.
The best way to exterminate this pest is to hire a professional. Their experience will allow them to identify entry points, seal them off, and ensure that no more intruders remain in the house after they’ve finished. Contact Elite Pest Control right away if you need help. Our services are discreet to ensure your privacy remains intact, and our industry experience guarantees quick and satisfactory results.
When should you call our pest control experts to get rid of your mice?
Keeping mice out of your home is essential for your peace of mind and safety. Our Montreal exterminators recommend taking proactive steps to prevent major infestations, but if it’s too late, here are the signs that indicate it’s time to call in the professionals:
- You hear regular noises in the walls or ceiling
- You find droppings in multiple rooms or on multiple floors
- You’ve set traps for several days with no results
- You notice damage to electrical wires or insulation
- You’ve blocked the entry points, but the mice keep coming back
Elite Pest Control serves the Greater Montreal area, Laval, the North Shore, and several other regions of Quebec. Our technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the signs that you actually have a mouse in your home?
Before implementing these methods, you first need to confirm that you’re indeed dealing with mice. Here are the telltale signs:
- Presence of droppings: small, rice-grain-shaped droppings found along walls, in cabinets, or under sinks.
- Gnawing marks: on plastic or cardboard food packaging, on wooden furniture.
- Damaged items: electrical cords, clothing, paper (mice gnaw on these materials to build their nests).
- Nests: Clumps of shredded material in dark, secluded places, behind appliances, or in attics.
- Smell of urine: Strong and persistent, especially in poorly ventilated areas.
- Noises at night: Scratching or scurrying in the walls or ceiling (mice are active at night).
How long does it take to get rid of mice?
It all depends on the extent of the infestation and the methods used. With properly placed traps, the first mice are usually caught within 24 to 72 hours. Complete elimination by a professional takes an average of 1 to 3 visits over 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the size of the colony. Without sealing off entry points, the mice will return, regardless of how long it takes to exterminate them.
How can you get rid of mice without killing them?
Several methods allow you to repel or capture mice without killing them: live traps (cages with a trap door), scent repellents (essential oils, white vinegar, cat litter), ultrasonic devices, and aluminum foil strips. Once captured, release the mouse several miles from your home while wearing gloves. Keep in mind that these methods are most effective for prevention or when dealing with an isolated presence; an active infestation requires a more comprehensive approach.
What product should you use to get rid of mice?
Several types of products are available depending on your situation. Rodenticides (anticoagulant poisons) are the most effective for eliminating a colony, but their use is regulated in Quebec; some can only be handled by certified technicians. Block baits placed in secure stations are a safer alternative for homes with children or pets. Essential oil-based spray repellents are suitable for prevention. For guaranteed results, the products used by Elite Pest Control are all approved by Health Canada and applied at the minimum effective dose.
How can you get rid of mice for good and prevent them from coming back?
The only way to permanently eliminate mice is to combine three actions: exterminate the existing colony, seal all entry points to prevent their return, and remove sources of attraction (accessible food, clutter, outdoor shelters). Home remedies alone are generally not enough in the long term; without professional sealing of entry points, new mice will take the place of the old ones. That’s why our services always include sealing, with a warranty of up to five years.
How can you get rid of mice quickly?
For fast results, combine several methods at once: set as many mechanical or electric traps as possible on the very first night (at least 6 to 8), immediately remove all accessible food sources, and block obvious entry points with steel wool. If you notice signs of a major infestation, call a professional right away, an extermination service call can be scheduled on an emergency basis, 24/7, for fast and effective treatment.
Can a cat get rid of mice?
If there’s one persistent myth about cats, it’s that they’re formidable mouse hunters. While their presence may help scare mice away, this is a common misconception.
A cat won’t necessarily help you eliminate mice near your home. In fact, not all domestic cats have a highly developed hunting instinct, and they have enough food that they won’t go out of their way to hunt every mouse that happens to be around.
However, the presence of a cat does keep mice away, whether the cat is lazy or not. So having a cat at home will help keep mice away to some extent, but don’t rely solely on their presence.
