UNWANTED HOUSE GUESTS

 

UNWANTED HOUSE GUESTS

It’s that time of year again.  Your home feels different.  It is full of holiday decorations, ridiculous amounts of food, and houseguests.  While the holidays are a joyous occasion for most, they do not come without a price.  In the spirit of giving, you must include everyone on your invite lists including unwanted house guests.   It may be your in-laws, a judgmental grandparent, a kooky aunt, a creepy uncle, or some bratty cousins.  Most of us have some small percentage of invites we include out of obligation.  Unfortunately, I cannot help you with those.  However, I can help you with some uninvited houseguests which can be just as pesky.  These holiday crashers are coming in to get out of the cold and help themselves to whatever holiday food scraps they can find.  Like your creepy uncle, they will likely get into the cookies you were saving for your party the following day.  Like your kooky aunt, they have a tendency to scare away your desirable house guests.  So unless you want your family checking into The Battle House for their stay, you are going to have to get rid of these uninvited guests.  We always see a spike in rodent activity during the holidays.  It’s not that they weren’t there all year.  They were just doing most of their scavenging outside.  We would like to think they are coming in because they want to be part of the holiday spirit.  Most likely they are just after warmth and the abundance of food.   Either way, they are coming inside.  

If you would rather your family stay somewhere else, keeping your uninvited guests around may be the way to do it.  But if you decide the presence of your family is important enough to deal with a few annoying relatives, you’re going to need supplies.  There are a lot of options with various pros and cons.    

Get a Cat

Pros: This is the most effective method of mouse eradication.  Cats have nothing else to do all day but stalk rodent prey and take naps.  Cats are the only house pets fast and stealthy enough to catch mice, unless you want to let your kid’s pet snake out of its tank to roam freely.  When we started selling pet foods at the store, we suddenly had an outbreak of rodents.  We were trapping them as much as possible but couldn’t keep up with their rate of reproduction.  Finally, we got a store cat and our pet food is safe.      

Cons: You have to own a cat.  Chances are, if you want to own a cat, you already do.  If you don’t have a cat, there’s probably a reason why.  I’d love to have a cat or three, but my dogs think cats are chew toys.    

Poisons and Traps

Pros: Other than getting a cat, these are the most effective methods of rodent eradication.  One bag of poison can eliminate 20 or 30 mice.  Traps are inexpensive and can be disposable or reusable.  They also provide the peace of mind of knowing your house guest is exterminated.  

Cons: While these methods are very effective, they also come with the most cons.  Poison and traps are dangerous to house pets and small children.  They must be placed where only mice will get to them.  Poison can cause mice to die in your home, somewhere inaccessible to you, leaving a terrible odor as they decay.  When you catch a mouse with a trap, you have to endure seeing what you have done.   If you plan to reuse the trap, you have to remove the deceased mouse which can be difficult for some.  

Humane Traps

Pros: For those of you with a soft heart for ALL living things, this is a great option that can be very effective.  Humane traps trap rodents without harming them, allowing you to get rid of them without committing animal murder.  Humane traps are my preferred method of eradication.  I’d like to tell you it’s because I have such great love for all living things, but that’s not why.  I’m not going to lose any sleep over a dead mouse even if I am the hand that held the sword.  I don’t use poisons and traps because I have dogs and small children.  Also, I am not comfortable putting poisons into the ecosystem even though the EPA says it’s OK.  Humane traps are just as effective as inhumane traps.  They both lure rodents in with bait.  So why not go for the humane option?  When dealing with mice (not rats), humane traps can be even more effective than inhumane traps.  While inhumane traps are limited to killing one to three mice at a time, humane traps can catch as many as ten to twenty at once.  Rats are much larger versions of mice.  Full grown mice are usually three or four inches long, not including their tails.  Rats can grow up to a foot long, though they usually range six to eight inches.  Whether the trap is humane or inhumane, you are probably only going to catch one full grown rat at a time.     

Cons: Humane traps are much more expensive.  An inhumane trap costs under $2.  Humane traps are usually $20 and up.  If you are someone who, despite loving all living things, is still totally grossed out by rodents, humane traps can be tricky.  All of the mice you catch have to be disposed of, which means you have to pick up the trap with living mice inside and dump them somewhere else.             

Other Options

Pros:  If you don’t want a cat, don’t want to use poisons, and there is no way you are getting within ten feet of a mouse, dead or alive, there are other options for you.  There are sound emitting deterrents that plug into an electrical outlet.  They emit a sound that humans can’t detect, but mice detest.  There are poisons that don’t use dangerous chemicals.  Using steel wool or Mouse Shield foam sealant to plug openings around your home is a great way to keep mice from ever coming in.  Rodents can chew through almost anything, but they don’t like chewing through steel wool.  Mouse Shield foam sealant is formulated to offend mice that try and chew through it.  Don’t use regular foam sealant.  The mice will chew straight through it.  

Cons: These options allow you to avoid getting your hands dirty but at the cost of being less effective.  The sound emitting deterrent only works in rooms with little to no furniture.  If a piece of furniture is blocking the sound from the mice, it will not work.  Non-chemical poisons are not as effective because they don’t always kill the mice and take longer to work.  Using steel wool or foam sealant will work, but it is nearly impossible to find every entry point that a mouse could get into your home.  Mice are able to fit through openings much smaller than their bodies.  

Repurpose the Rodents

If you decide that you want to leave the rodents alone and make them work to your advantage, you can definitely use them to get rid of your other unwanted house guests.  If you have had enough of your mother-in-law’s advice, or you’re tired of your grandmother asking when you are going to get married, the rodents can help.  Use sound emitting deterrents in all rooms except the guest room.  Under the guest room bed, place a plate of peanut butter.  Put another plate of peanut butter under the dresser to create some cross floor action.  This may not work on your kooky aunt as she may be one with the rodents.  If she brings you an empty plate asking for more peanut butter, she has made them her pets and it’s time to abort.  Your creepy uncle may also not be rattled by the presence of mice as they are common place in his pig sty of a home.  But if you are trying to get rid of in-laws, a grandparent, or bratty cousins, this is sure to do the trick.