No one likes a guest that invites themselves, and it is even worse when your guest is a pest like mice or rats. Mice are not only dirty, but they also carry diseases, destroy wiring and furniture, and eat your food. No one wants to experience an invermination, here is what you can do to keep them out of your apartment.
How to Spot Mice
You most likely will not spot a mouse in your apartment, rather you will find the telltale signs that they were around. The key sign of a rodent infestation is finding droppings along walls or areas they might hide. Rodent droppings appear as little black grains of rice, and if you find these “rice grains” in strange places, you probably have a mouse about. Other findings may include chewed-up furniture or food items. If you find eaten food and rodent scat, you might find a mouse or rat nest hidden somewhere in your apartment.
Seal Any Possible Entrances
The best way to prevent an invermination is to not allow it to happen in the first place. Meticulously analyze your apartment for spots where pests can make their way in. See that you do not have any holes in your windows, walls, floors, and doors. When temperatures start to drop, around the middle of Autumn, rodents want to get indoors and out of the cold. The end of summer is prime time to inspect for possible rodent entrances. If you do find a possible entrance, it is still warm enough outside to properly seal up any crack or hole.
Keep a Secure Lid on Pet Food
A bag of pet food can feed a family of mice or rats. When you purchase a bag of pet food, transfer the food into a sealable air-tight container to keep pests out of your pet’s food. Storing pet food in the bag will only allow the smell to escape and attract nosy rodents.
No Open Garbage Containers
All garbage bins and containers in your apartment need to be covered and sealed appropriately. Covered trash cans will keep mice and rats from smelling their way in, but your apartment will have a better overall smell and cleanliness.
Hard Containers for Dry Goods
Bags, such as the ones that dry goods and foods come in, are easy work for rodents and bugs to chew through. Dry goods, such as cereal, sugar, flour, and rice, should all be kept in hard, sealable containers to keep rodents away.
Keep a Tidy Kitchen
Rodents seek a spot inside your apartment for two reasons, food and warmth. Daily routine kitchen cleaning followed with once per week deep cleans is the most significant way to keep rodents from chewing through your walls and taking your food. All crumbs and food scrapes should be cleaned up immediately to keep pests from seeking out your space.
Make Sure All Doors Shut and Close Tightly
Rodents are nocturnal, as it is safest to move in the protection of night from owls and other predators. Before you go to bed at night, make sure all the doors are closed to trap any uninvited guests where they are, should they enter your room or apartment while you sleep. If you keep the door open, at the bare minimum you should have a screen to keep rodents from creeping in when you are not awake.
Keep Traps Around
Mouse traps can be used to detect a problem as well as eradicate a problem. It is your choice to utilize live traps, however it is necessary to set up traps to know for sure if there are rodents in your apartment. Should any rodents have decided to try and nest in your apartment, simply keep setting up the traps until the problem is solved.
DIY and Natural Remedies
The strong smell of peppermint oil irritates rodents’ mouth and nose; drip the oil on a cotton ball and place the balls throughout your apartment strategically to keep pests from entering. If your apartment allows pets, consider adopting a cat, as they will seek out mice and rodents on your own. Additionally, if your cat thinks you are not eating enough, they will go out and hunt for mice or rats and bring them back to you, doing all the exterminating work for you. Likewise, a small dog bred for hunting is a great way to figure out where rodents enter your apartment from or where their nest is located.
Contact the Professionals
If you find you have an invermination in your apartment, the first thing you should do is contact your landlord. Tell your landlord immediately so they can notify other tenants in the building and infestation can be isolated before it spreads to other apartment units. Your landlord may also cover the bill of an exterminator or pest control expert.
