Exterminate Mice

There are some mice problems that may just be too much to handle for a non-professional such as yourself. Sometimes you need to call in the big guns and hire someone to professionaly exterminate mice. I wanted to briefly describe some signs that may suggest you need to hire a mouse exterminator in dealing with a mouse or rodent problem. Some of these signs of mice will be fairly evident, while others you may not have considered. They all have one common theme, however, mice are in your house and you need to know what the best way to get rid of mice is.

Let's start with the obvious... if you have so many mice in your home that you've seen them crawling on top of each other in bunches, you may need to seek the help of an exterminator. See when mice breed, they don't have one or two babies... they have a lot. If your mice problem has grown beyond the occasional mice here and there, your home may be acting as a breeding ground for the little rodents. It is imperative that you find the nest and dismantle it. If you're not sure if there's a nest, or you can't find it, I'd recommend bringing in a mice exterminator to address the problem. Exterminators in this field are generally very professional, and have a lot of experience under their belts. While you may deal with a mouse problem once or twice a year, they deal with hundreds of rodent problems, year round.

Another advantage the mice exterminator has over the do-it-yourself method is some of the tools at their disposal. One of the common methods the exterminator employs to get rid of mice is poison. Yes, I know that I did a lot of hand waving and made a not of noise that you should not use poison to get rid of mice in a previous article, but this stuff is different. The professionals have access to certain chemicals that are not generally available over-the-counter, so-to-speak. The poison that the mice exterminators use has special chemicals in it to not only kill the mice, but to also quickly and efficiently dry the mouse remains out. The mice essentially die by dehydration, and the remains they leave will not smell for weeks like they do for standard poison if they die outside of your reach. Now there are ways to deal with the dead mouse smell, but why mess with it if a mouse exterminator can professionally handle the problem and prevent these things from happening in the first place.

Back to why you may want to consider hiring a rodent exterminator to handle your mouse problem for a moment. Obviously if you're unable to stomach a dead mouse you catch in your traps, you may want to have someone else do it for you, but if you have pets or small children around, you may wish to consider using a professional. They are trained in the art of trap placement and baiting for rodents and will take the appropriate steps necessary to avoid putting your pets or small children in jeopardy. Let your exterminator know that you have concerns about this, and they will be sure to take the appropriate measures to both effectively get rid of the mice, as well as protect your pets or small children.

Some exterminators guarantee their work for a specified period of time... I'd like to stress some, not all, and it may depend on the overall situation. If an exterminator rids your home of mice, and the mice suddenly reappear shortly thereafter, the exterminator may come back and treat your home again free of charge, or at a reduced rate. At the same time, if an exterminator gets rid of all the mice in your home and they keep coming back, you may wish to read an article on how to prevent mice from coming in your house or garage in the first place! Lucky for you, I have one of those you can dust off and read. :)

Hopefully this article helped open your eyes to some of the methods and reasons why you may want to hire a mouse exterminator. If hiring professional help is not for you, there are plenty of do-it-yourself tips and tricks to get rid of mice, so check out the links and read up.

Electronic Pest Control for Mice

A lot of people seem to be fascinated by the use of electronic pest control in order to eliminate a rodent problem. This is for good reason as it can be an effective mouse deterrent when coupled with other rodent control techniques. The premise is simple: an electronic device emits a noise inaudible to the human ear but extremely irritating to mice, rats, and other rodent species. The pitch is such that common household pets like dogs and cats aren't affected by it.

So how do these electronic devices work exactly? That's an interesting subject, and a hotly debated topic of discussion at that. Some people will swear by the effectiveness of electronic pest control techniques, while others detest them and say the mice walked right up to the unit and laugh. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

How do these electronic mice deterrents work? Well, if you buy the right one they take a multipronged approach. First, they emit high frequency sound waves that are non-repetitive in nature. This is to ensure that the rodent doesn't become accustomed to a static tone. This creates intense auditory stress for rodents. The second technique is to emit a distinct frequency tone at 46.5 kHz to simulate the sound of a dominant male rodent. Due to the territorial nature of mice, if they hear another alpha male nearby, they will likely move onward. One such device that repels mice this way is the Victor Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent.

Now you'll see that these devices generally tend to have pretty mixed reviews. The fact is that in controlled testing, these devices do actually work. The Victor Ultrasonic Rodent Repellent has an 81.3% success rate in lab testing. After 3 to 9 days, there should be a marked decrease in rodent activity. These statistics come from a field test of these devices as deployed by professional rodent exterminators. The keyword there is "professional rodent exterminators." Unless you're in the business, you may not achieve these rates unless you keep these concepts in mind.

In order to maximize the devices effectiveness, you have to properly deploy the device. You have to take into consideration such things as room size, placement, and quantity. Larger rooms require more devices or more powerful devices. Placement is key. While it might be nice to hide the devices behind couches or other objects to keep them out of sight, this restricts the range of the devices. Soft materials will absorb the sound waves and render the device useless. You need to place the device such that sound waves can emanate freely and without restriction. Intelligently position the devices to maximize the coverage. There is directionality to soundwaves, and every time the waves encounter a surface some of that energy is lost and some is reflected. Don't expect the device you put in the kitchen to deter mice that are upstairs in your bedroom. Place the devices in your garage. Place them near doors or other access points. By properly placing these ultrasonic mouse repllents, you can prevent mice from getting in your home.

One word of caution... if you have a "rodent pet" like hamsters or gerbils, or anything similar, do not use these devices. The sound will drive your little pets crazy.

There are other electronic pest control devices to consider. The Victor Electronic Mouse Trap gives you an electronic version of the snap trap. Instead of a mouse tripping a spring loaded bar, when the mouse goes for the bait it completes an electronic circuit that generates a lethal pulse. Now the death of the mouse is not like the electrocutions you see on TV where smoke is pouring out if its ears and its glowing in the dark. The kill is quick and humane. Other nice features of electronic traps is that they are reusable and have a 100% kill rate. Sometimes the standard snap traps or other devices simply incapacitate the mouse causing great suffering and pain. The electric shock is quick and effective.

If you're concerned about the risk of deploying snap traps around small children and pets, I don't blame you. There is a risk of accidentally setting these traps off. You don't have that kind of problem with the electronic mouse traps as they tend to be much safer to use. If someone tries to tamper with the trap, the circuit gets deactivated which would prevent small children from getting shocked.