Cold season is around the corner and this means skiing! Well, at least for humans, but for mice, cold season means finding a warm place to hide and breed. Most often their warm place is your warm place. Mice love to hide in your attic or garage, and sometimes they sneak into the house in their search for food.
Hence, small mice and also rats can cause real problems if they nest on your property. These disease-spreading rodents can cause property damage to your home by chewing wiring, building nests, chewing holes into the walls and more.
How to tell if you have mice on your property?
The first sign is mouse droppings, followed by mouse damage. Since they are nocturnal mammals, mice will hang out and squeak during the night in your attic or garage. Personally, I found an entire mice colony in the garage and I consider myself lucky because it’s pretty hard to discover their nest.
How to get rid of mice in the garage?
Traps are one of the most common ways to get rid of mice, and they work particularly well in garages. But there are a few things you should keep in mind before you set the bait.
- Traps that use poison are hazardous to pets and kids. See our article on using mouse poison safely.
- Spring traps can injure children and pets – especially if you use a tasty treat, like peanut butter, as bait.
- You’ll need to dispose of the body, and you’ll need to avoid contact with the mouse. Remember, rodents carry parasites and diseases.
- Glue traps won’t kill the mouse. Instead, mice get stuck and starve to death.
That being said, setting up traps is a fairly simple process. And because the mice are in the garage, you should have a much easier time keeping kids and pets away from the area.
Homemade Trap
- Fill a bucket halfway with water.
- Drill holes into each flat end of a soda can.
- Drill two holes into the top of the bucket on opposite sides.
- Thread a dowel through the bucket and through the soda can holes. The can should hover over the middle of the bucket.
- Bait the can with peanut butter or chocolate.
- Add a ramp, so mice can easily get up and onto the soda can.
When the mouse jumps onto the soda can to take the bait, the can will spin. The mouse will fall into the bucket of water and drown.
