How to Keep Mice and Rats Out of Your Home
Why keep mice and rats out of your home? Some mice and rats can carry harmful diseases, such as HPS, Leptospirosis, lymphocytic chroiomeningitis, plaque and typhus. The best way to protect you and your family from these diseases is to keep mice and rats out of your home.
What you can do inside your home:
- Keep food in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids.
- Clean up spilled food right away.
- Wash dishes and cooking utensils soon after use.
- Put pet food away after use. Do not leave pet-food or water bowls out overnight.
- Keep garbage in a thick plastic or metal container with tight lid.
- Check inside you home for gaps or holes that a pencil can fit into. Seal them with steel wool, lath metal and caulk.
How to Clean Up After Mice and Rats
How to clean up mouse and rat urine and droppings:
- Wear rubber or plastic gloves.
- Spray urine and droppings with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water. Make sure you get the urine and droppings very wet. Let it soak for 5 minutes.
- Use a paper towel to wipe up the urine or droppings.
- Throw the paper towel in the garbage.
- Mop or sponge the area with a disinfectant or bleach solution.
- Wash gloved hands with soap and water or spray a disinfectant or bleach solution on gloves before taking them off.
- Wash hands with soap and warm water after taking off your gloves
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Clean-Up Tip |
| Do NOT sweep or vacuum up mouse or rat droppings or urine. This will cause virus particles to go into the air, where they can be breathed in. |
Use either of these when cleaning up after mice and rats:
- General- purpose household disinfectant. Make sure the word “disinfectant” is written on the label.
- Bleach and water solution. Mix 1 1/2 cups of household bleach with 1 gallon of water. Small amounts can be made with 1 part bleach and 9 parts water.
Mice Extermination Options
Once mice become a problem they can be extremely hard to get rid of. If in a home for a good period of time, a large amount of mice may be living in your attic, foundation or walls without home owners being aware of their presents or damage that is being done. Also, as said earlier they can live off almost nothing! Not only will A Minnesota Animal Control eliminate your mice problem in your home, they will also ensure they will not come back through proper sealing and guarding of entry points.
