Having mice or rats in your house can be embarrassing as a homeowner. A mouse can be present in your house without you noticing it.
Mice are smart, nocturnal animals that know when to make a run or move. They are sensitive and careful not to get close to larger creatures or expose themselves in the open where they will be vulnerable.
You can have a mouse in your home without knowing. Likewise, a mouse can live in your apartment for months without you seeing it. If you see any of these signs below, there’s a possibility you have a mouse in your home:
- Holes in walls.
- Ripped food containers.
- Droppings.
- Chew marks on furniture and food items.
Once you see these signs, it’s important you take action immediately and get rid of the rodent. Maybe you saw a rodent in your garden or attic, and you are wondering how to get rid of it. Perhaps, the first thought that would come to your mind would be to run to the nearest store to purchase mouse traps, poison, or repellent sprays to eliminate the rodent.
Particularly, mouse repellents have been advertised as an effective way to get rid of mice from the home but do they actually work? There are several rodent repellent products on the market that are believed to keep rats away from the home but there is little or no scientific evidence showing that they work.
In this article, we will look into this issue and discover if rodent repellent sprays are effective.
READ MORE: How To Get Rid of Rodents in Walls
Do Mouse Repellent Sprays Work?
With lots of mouse repellent sprays, liquids, and products on the market, it’s hard to tell which of them works. To compound matters, none of these products have been tested and confirmed to resolve rodent-related problems.
Several manufacturers and companies advertise and sell mouse repellent sprays on and off the internet. The companies advertise their rodent repellent products as an easy, inexpensive, and quick way of eliminating mice.
Companies package and brand their mouse repellent products with different names. They do not have to prove that it really works. All they have to do is to assure buyers of its effectiveness and the label or description of these products state this.
If your home or office is infested with rats, you will be desperate to get rid of them to save yourself some shame. I understand that rats can cause a lot of havoc and damage to your property and you are probably wondering if using rat repellent sprays will chase them away.
There are lots of mouse repellent sprays on the market, offering similar benefits and promises to get rid of rats from your space. While some of these products work, others do not live up to expectations.
Rat repellent sprays release a strange odor that may irritate the rodent for a while but the mice would find a workaround by avoiding the treated areas. Looking at this, you can tell that mouse repellent sprays do not get rid of mice completely.
Due to this, many people have resorted to using natural repellents such as garlic or peppermint oil to put off rats from their houses. These products stand a good chance of producing great results if they are highly concentrated or renewed regularly.
It is important to note that oils are volatile and the smell is sure to dissipate quickly as the substance evaporates. The smell has to be strong to work. I am sure you don’t want your office or house to have a strong smell of garlic just because you want to keep rats away.
Nonetheless, some rats are able to beat the strong, unpleasant smell. Think of it, some of these rats live in drainage pipes, and dustbins, and get their food from there, so they will be used to bad smells.
Rats can ignore unpleasant smells if they are hungry. Even if the smell of the repellent doesn’t harm the rat, it can only put off the rat for a while and once the rat gets used to the smell, it will ignore it and return to your home.
If you are tired of rats damaging your property or disrupting your sleep with their squeaks, scratching, and running about, then you need a more effective solution. Maybe you are thinking about getting a trap already. You have a good chance of killing the rat if you do this but keep in mind this method has its pros and cons.
Setting a mouse trap in your home may pose a risk for your household, especially if you have pets and young kids around. The trap itself can injure and inflict injuries on them.
Trapping isn’t the most effective solution as mice tend to give birth every 21 days, and young mothers produce new litters within six to eight weeks. Therefore, it will be impossible to get multiple traps to catch them all.
It can take several hours for an injured mouse to lie in a trap. Once a mouse learns of the dangers of a trap or survives after an encounter with a trap, it avoids it in the future.
Trapping is an inhumane way of killing a mouse. Similarly, mouse poison is a cruel way of eliminating mice from your property. The poison does not kill the mouse straightaway but will take some time to work. The rodent goes through a lot of suffering, as it struggles for life and then dies a slow, painful death.
Some rats can die in inaccessible places such as holes and areas where you can get to. Once they die, their bodies rot, leaving an offensive odor.
Dead rats produce odors disproportionate to their size and can also release pathogens in your home. It will be sad if your pets, little children, or vulnerable members of your household find a poisoned rat that is still alive and eats or makes mouse contact with it, the consequences could be fatal.
While battling for their lives, poisoned rats can come out of their holes, and scurry around your kitchen countertop, contaminating meals or food items in the process.
A cat or pet that ingests a poisoned rat can also get poisoned indirectly. While you are searching for effective solutions to keep rats away from your home, it is important to adopt the right method – a humane approach.
How To Prevent Mouse Infestation In Your Home
Getting poison, traps, sprays, and all sorts of products will not prevent mouse infestation. The best way to prevent mice from entering your office or house is to seal all pathways giving them entrance into your space.
If there are holes in your home’s exterior that allow these rodents to get in, be sure to block the access. As long as these holes are not addressed, the rodents will keep using them to gain entry into your home. Same away, all doors and windows should be closed tightly.
Mice do not get into people’s homes unless they need shelter and food. You can prevent these rats from entering your home if you block them from accessing your apartment. Typically, mice tend to stay closer to their food source. They build homes and find shelter in your kitchen or store.
What you want to do in this case is to remove the harborage areas as well as the food source. Once you do this, you can be sure the rodent will be stressed or unable to survive in your home.
Food (including pet food and supplies) and grass seed should be kept safely in closed containers that cannot be chewed into or accessed by mice. Keep your home clean and habitable and remove clutter from the dustiest areas.
If you can’t handle this yourself, you can contact a professional with sufficient experience in animal prevention service to bail you out. Professional wildlife companies with specialization in rodent prevention are well-equipped with the tools and knowledge to eliminate or reduce rodent infestation in your home.
Wildlife removal agencies and specialists understand rodents and know how best to eliminate them from your home. Once you notice the presence of mice in your home, it is crucial to get rid of them quickly before their population grows. If not, the infestation will continue and probably get worse.
Conclusion
Rodents can be difficult to deal with, especially if they are much in number. You shouldn’t downplay the chances of rodents coming into your home because they can find their way even if your house is tidy.
They can compress their bodies to fit tight spaces and small openings to gain entry into your home. Consider examining your home to find potential points of entry for these rodents. The best way to reduce or prevent rodents from getting inside your house is to block potential entry points.
Don’t put your hopes in traps, repellents, poison, sprays, and all sorts of rat products because a lot of them are not effective and do not work as they are advertised. We hope you find the best rodent removal method to reduce the mice population in your home.
