Things You'll Need
Catch trap
Snap trap
Zapper trap
Glue board
If you start hearing rustling noises in your walls and finding small spherical droppings on your floors, then you probably have a field mouse in your home. Since mice can contaminate food and carry diseases, it is important to get rid of them as soon as possible. To catch a field mouse, you can purchase either lethal or nonlethal traps at your local hardware store. With some patience and resourcefulness, you can catch the little critter squatting in your home and easily dispose of it.
Step 1
Use a catch trap if you want to catch a field mouse without killing it. Available at most hardware stores, catch traps lure mice with bait and then shut the mouse inside the trap. Purchase three to four catch traps to start and place them around your home where you've noticed the mouse droppings. (You may need to purchase more if you have many mice in your house.) For the bait, use a dollop of peanut butter or raw bacon. Once you have caught a mouse, release it at least one mile from your home to make sure it doesn't return.
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Step 2
Consider using a snap trap if you want to use a lethal trap to catch a field mouse. Snap traps lure in a mouse with bait and then kill it with a spring-loaded bar. Snap traps are a popular method to get rid of mice since they are cheap, readily available at hardware stores, and kill mice quickly and efficiently. For the bait, try using peanut butter or raw bacon.
Step 3
Use a zapper trap. Zapper traps kill mice by luring them into the trap and then killing them with an electric shock. These traps work well to catch mice, but they can be expensive.
Step 4
Use a glue board to catch field mice. Glue boards are pieces of paper with sticky adhesive on them. Put the glue boards in places where the mice frequently travel. You can buy these traps at your hardware store, but you should put them in areas where your young children or pets will not step on them. Be wary: Glue boards kill mice through starvation or distress. Use a snap trap if you want to kill mice more quickly.
Step 5
Call a professional. If your mice problem is more than you can handle, consider calling a professional exterminator to remove them from your home.
Tip
Keep field mice from re-infesting your home by blocking their points of entry. Scan the outside walls of your home and search for mouse droppings, which should help lead you to the entry points. Plug up any holes or cracks in your foundation with steel wool covered in spray foam. You can also cover the holes with steel or aluminum netting.
Maintain a neat and clean yard. You can keep mice at bay by getting rid of places where they can hide and next. Mow your grass often and remove any piles of leaves in your yard. Also, remember to cut down tall grasses since mice like to hide inside them.
Maintain a clean home. Keep mice away by removing potential food sources in your house. Sweep your floors and wipe your counters often to get rid of crumbs. Keep your food in tight plastic containers. Purchase a trash can with a lid to discourage mice from digging into your garbage. If you have pets, use an elevated food stand so mice cannot get to your pet's food supply.
Warning
Be wary of using mouse poison. If you use mouse poison to kill field mice, the mice may die within your walls or ceiling, which will cause horrible smells. You should also be wary of using poison if you have pets or small children. Try snap traps or catch traps instead.
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