Here are the best D-I-Y tips to prevent-catch-kill rats and mice

They are irritating, unwanted house guests that can take over your property as long as there is food and a comfortable place to hide. They can spread and pass diseases around with their urine which is normally used as a trail around a property to get back to hiding place.

Mice are better killed than let go when spotted because they could find a way back to their nest in your home. But there are possible ways to prevent them from returning, if you choose the path of a good samaritan.

Here they are…

Preventing techniques

• Peppermint oil
  These gorgeous smelling oils cannot be withstand by rodents, they shy away from it. Very cheap to buy on ebay from a 10ml bottle like this Esspee 100% pure oil to a 100ml bottle like Mood’s oils.

  To use:  add peppermint oil/or dip onto cotton balls and place it near rodent prone spots, holes or edges.

• Wire (Iron) Sponges / Steel Wools
  Who knew these cheap stuff normally used to scrape (burnt) food off dishes are useful in other exciting ways?

  Available in £1 shops, they are God-send when it comes to rodents, providing one of the most effective ways to blocking mice and rat routes back into your property as it cannot be chewed through.

  Amazon has them for ridiculously cheap prices with free delivery like this 6 Pcs Stainless Steel Wire Sponge and 16 x Steel Wire Wool Rolls

  

  To use:  check your property for holes – check everywhere – mice can pass through as small a hole as that of the butt of a pencil. Where holes are spotted, shove some of the sponge in, as much of it as you can to fill the holes, essentially covering it up. Cut the sponge into small chunks if you have to, to fill in spaces. Some mice may want to try their luck and push it out, the more there are the less likely they are successful.

  For a neater method, fill the holes partially with the sponges and cover surfaces with caulk/re-fillers. It is not wise to use refillers on their own because if a hole was created in a wall in the first place, refillers have no chance – the rodents happily use them to exercise their teeth until coast is clear once again to join you at home.

Catching / Killing techniques

• • Mousetraps
    Like who hasn’t tried this method?

    They are possibly useless as very often mouse assume they are traps (which they are) and will go around it.

    However £1 shops do them and they cost as little as 50p for a B6 pc of resuable mouse / mice killer to a better but expensive Victor Electronic Mouse Trap for 100% Kill Rate on Amazon.

    

    An effective way to use is to stock up on as many as possible and set in paths where rodents normally pass through.

    Chances are even if it does not trap them, it will limit the visa-free areas they can roam around as they attempt to avoid the traps. There are mice traps and there are rat traps – a mix of both is worth trying.

    Having said that, they are dangerous – do not put in areas accessible to children or pets – good places are behind fridges, cookers, furniture close to walls, essentially hidden places. If there are sofas and beddings with fabrics sewn underneath and close to the floor, check to see if rodents have not cut through and created a nest.

  • Glue-boards

    From experience with £1 shop glue-boards, they might as well not exist. More inexpensive ones may do the trick although not tested. You could do without this method.

  • Peppermint oil / Human Hair / Onions / Pepper

    There are numerous methods of eradicating rats, but sometimes it just depends on patience level. Peppermint oil, already mentioned as a prevention tip is believed to kill mice and rats when inhaled by shrinking their lungs – a 2-in-1 options we like.

    Human hair also kill them as they choke on them when swallowed, and pepper and sliced onions give that sting in their mouth, inflating their lungs and leading to loss of life.

    To use, either place or sprinkle near holes – away from humans and pets – then wait for them to feast.

• Bleach

  Speaking of patience levels, bleach does the job (quick). Is it natural: no, inhumane: yes, morally wrong; it depends.

  Assess your patience level or the dangers of using. DO NOT use around children, humans or pets.

  It is most effective just before going to bed or leaving the house. Place tiny drops near pathways hidden close to walls or where they frequently gnaw. You could set bleach-laced nibblets in a plastic plate (not to be used again)  – keep away from accessible places for children/humans/pets.

  Bleach should be a last hope if all is failing, however the best(-est) practice is to mix and match different tips for maximum effect.