The House Mouse (Mus musculus) is a typical rodent pest within people's homes. They are quite a bit bigger than rats. They can have up to a dozen litters annually, and up to a dozen infant mice per litter. They seldom live more than a year in the wild.
They frequently travel along urine or pheromone pathways. Since they're so small, mice can fit through very small holes and openings in building structure. I mean, like 3/8 inch openings, and holes the size of a dime!
Poison won't ever kill all the mice, and it is only a temporary effort at a solution - after you kill a few mice, new ones will only come and take their place. They reproduce very fast, and distance or food supplies will dictate inhabitants. Additionally, the use of poisons will often mean dead and smelly mice in the walls or attic. Poison is a cruel thing to do too, since the death is slow and painful. But most of all, it doesn't work. The one thing that works is shutting off the mouse entrance holes. Occasionally mice will happen in unusually large numbers, in what people call a rodent infestation, but even in this instance, especially in this instance, don't use poison.
The most frequent kind of "repellent" used is mothballs, which does not work well, but many other deterrent devices are developed and marketed. Regrettably, none of those gimmicks work nicely. I have often trapped mice right alongside working ultrasonic sound machines, merely to prove how useless they are, and I have really used moth balls and peppermint as bait, and it worked! This was only to prove that mice do not care about such things. A repellent won't deter a mouse because if a mouse leaves a secure attic, it's guaranteed to quickly die outside, because of lack of shelter, competition from other mice, or vulnerability to predators. In a life or death situation, no mouse could ever get chased out with a irratant. This is the reason there's not any sort of repellent, not a device, chemical, or natural mouse repellent. The only way to look after a mouse problem, is to stop the rodents from getting into the home in the first place! Then you are able to trap and eliminate them.
The most frequent kind of "repellent" used is mothballs, which does not work well, but many other deterrent devices are developed and marketed. Regrettably, none of those gimmicks work nicely. I have often trapped mice right alongside working ultrasonic sound machines, merely to prove how useless they are, and I have really used moth balls and peppermint as bait, and it worked! This was only to prove that mice do not care about such things. A repellent won't deter a mouse because if a mouse leaves a secure attic, it's guaranteed to quickly die outside, because of lack of shelter, competition from other mice, or vulnerability to predators. In a life or death situation, no mouse could ever get chased out with a irratant. This is the reason there's not any sort of repellent, not a device, chemical, or natural mouse repellent. The only way to look after a mouse problem, is to stop the rodents from getting into the home in the first place! Then you are able to trap and eliminate them.
