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MOUSE PROBLEM
If you have a mouse in your house, you know all the problems they can cause. They'll chew holes in your walls, food bags and cereal boxes. It starts with just one mouse. After he's made himself an uninvited, cozy guest in your home, he tells all his friends. One woman in Ohio suffered $20,000 in damages from one mouse nibbling away at her walls and wiring, and after several botched attempts by an exterminator, left her in debt and without electricity. With such dire consequences, it's best that you nip a mouse problem in the bud!
If you haven't spotted the little scoundrels, you've probably seen their handiwork: mysterious holes in food bags and boxes, droppings in corners and cupboards, and carefully crafted holes in walls. If you have just one, consider yourself lucky. He can easily be eradicated. If you know his habitual grazing grounds, getting rid of him is a cinch. Set traps and place them in corners the critter frequents. When you hear the trap snap, you know your mouse problem is history
There are more humane traps which doesn't kill the little fellow, but simply capture him, so you can let him loose, far away from your house. These can be purchased for about five dollars. This device consists of a box, with a stick to prop the box open tied to a string. You set a tasty morsel, like cheese, in the center of the box. When the mouse goes for the cheese, the box falls shut, capturing your mouse problem without harming him. You only need carry the box away from home and set him free in the wild outdoors.
Do you hear a family of these little troublemakers in your walls, spoiling your sleep and driving you crazy? If so, you've got a tough mouse problem. If they didn't move in from underneath the house, then they got in through a hole.
If you can find their holes, get some rat poison pellets. Using gloves to handle the poison, stuff some into each hole. The critters can't resist the aroma, and soon you'll be sleeping peacefully again, and your mouse problem mice will be, hopefully, in mouse heaven.
If you can't locate the holes, it's time for a professional. An exterminator is vital to preserving your wiring in this case. Some houses have enclosed wiring out of the reach of Mr.& Mrs. Mouse's teeth, while others have exposed wiring within easy reach. If you aren't sure about your wiring system, its better to err on the side of caution. Call the exterminator.
If all else fails, get a cat. Good companions, they're natural born hunters. Mice may evacuate the house altogether if they smell a cat. From simple 50-cent traps to complicated fumigation, a mouse problem requires an extra dose of patience and vigilance.