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Mice are a common pest, especially during the winter months. When the weather is colder, mice come inside homes and garages to find food and a warm place to nest. They might be small, furry, and cute – but they can contaminate your food, chew up wiring, and spread diseases.
How To Know If You Have Mice
It can be hard to spot signs of mice before an infestation really takes hold. Signs can include:
- Small, dark droppings that are around the size of grains of rice
- Chewed holes in bags and boxes – especially in food and pet food
- Greasy smear marks against walls, floors, and skirting boards
- Gnaw marks
- Nests filled with shredded paper or wood shavings – these are often found behind fridges, under cabinets, or in other dark, secluded places
- A strong smell of ammonia from the mice’s urine
How to Mouse Proof Your House
1. Block any possible entry points
Mice can fit through tiny holes – as small as 6mm! It’s important to block any holes or cracks that rodents could use to enter your home. This could be as simple as popping a brick in front of a disused pipe or pushing wire wool into a crack. For larger entry points, you might need to cover the hole with sheet metal or mesh with very small holes (around 5mm). For gaps under the door, try a bristle strip or an excluder. Don’t forget to check your windows and doors to make sure they make a tight seal! You can use caulk to fill small gaps.
2. Seal any sources of food
Keeping your dry food items (e.g. pasta, sugar, and flour) in plastic or paper bags is just inviting mice inside to enjoy their buffet! Store your dry foods in sealed plastic, metal, or glass containers and, if possible, you should keep the containers on a shelf so they are off the floor.
The same also applies to any pet food that you might have! You should keep dry food in bins and any wet food should be kept in storage containers.
3. Keep everything tidy
It can be so hard to find the time to keep up with the cleaning but it is well worth it to avoid unwanted guests at home. Leaving crumbs on the worktop or dropped pet food on the floor will encourage mice by giving them an easy source of food. Having an untidy house will also mean that there are potentially more places for the mice to hide.
4. Get gardening
It might be the winter but if you’re worried about mice, you can exercise your green fingers year-round! Mice can use hedges and plants around your home as somewhere to shelter and nest. You should try to keep your lawn nicely manicured to stop them from hiding there. If you have plants like ivy or wisteria growing up the side of the house, mice will be able to climb it and use it to get onto your roof and into your attic.
5. Use smells
Mice are very sensitive sense to scents so using substances that have a very strong smell is a good way to deter mice. Peppermint essential oil and clove essential oil have strong scents that will repel mice by irritating their noses. Did you know that mice don’t like spicy things? Putting spicy hot sauce in dishes around potential entry points will stop them from entering. Make sure you use really spicy hot sauce and not a sweet one!
There are also plants that you can plant in your garden which give out scents that naturally repel rodents. These include
- Marigolds
- Rosemary
- Lavender
- Daffodils
- Onions
- Sage
- Tomatoes
6. Use traps and bait
Most of the methods above are more useful to prevent an infestation – rather than controlling an established mouse colony. If mice have set up home in your house, you need to take action quickly to prevent them from becoming entrenched!
Our Racan Rapid Range is perfect for anyone who wants to control their mouse infestation quickly. Alphachloralose. Racan Rapid, with its patented micro-encapsulation technology is a unique breakthrough in the range which can control mice within minutes. Other anti-coagulant baits can take days before any control is seen, adding to your customers distress at their unwanted guests.
The Racan Rapid Mouse Killer Stations come pre-baited for complete ease of use. These bait stations can easily kill over 50 mice and are refillable so they are an economical choice. The sturdy bait station has a small hole which only allows mice in to enter, meaning that it’s safe to use around household pets and children. The clear plastic allows users to see if the bait is being consumed and when it is time to replace the sachets.
The Racan Rapid Paste is also available separately. Each sachet is packed with hazelnut attractants to lure the mice to the bait station. Previously, this range was only available for use by professional pest controllers but Lodi has brought it to the retail market!
The Racan Rapid range ensures that you are offering your customers the fastest way to control their mouse problem efficiently and painlessly.
