What Kills Mice?

Folks usually laugh when a frenzied woman jumps atop a table and screeches, "Eeek, a mouse!" That laughter, however, can become very short lived if a house becomes overrun with the little fuzzy critters. Mice can do thousands of dollars worth of damage to walls, possessions and especially wiring throughout the home. The surefire way to get rid of them is to kill them, of course, and there are a host of methods to eradicate the bothersome creatures.

Types

Mice killing techniques and devices vary from the very simple to the very dangerous.
The simplest mouse killer is probably the longstanding spring-based mouse trap. Glue traps are another common way to kill off the little critters. Electronic traps, one of the newer methods, are also an option.
Traps can be supplemented or altogether supplanted by poisoned mice bait, poisoned pellets or poison powder dusted in mouse-laden areas.
Manufacturers have even come up with a cute little bait box, not unlike the well-known roach motel, where mice check in and die checking out. They will not stay in the little motel, as the roaches do, but the theory is they will go into the motel box to retrieve the poison so it doesn't have to be spread about the house.

Features

The most basic mouse trap is usually a wooden platform outfitted with a wire spring and fastener that bores down upon a mouse, snapping his neck.
Glue traps, usually sold in packs, are a little plastic platform coated with a heavy-duty glue that sticks mice on the trap to slowly wither away by starving or dehydration.
Electronic traps are small boxes filled with bait and armed with a battery. Mice crawl in and are killed inside the trap by electric shock.
Poisoned pellets and bait come in several forms. They can be small pellets, larger blocks, smaller pieces on ready-made bait trays or even in a powder form.
All mice killers should be placed in areas the mice frequent, like crevices, beneath stoves and appliances, small holes in the wall, nooks and crannies.

Warning

Just because mice killing devices are meant to kill mice, it doesn't mean they cannot kill or harm other living things as well.
Extreme caution should be used with rodent poison in a household rife with small children or pets. Even adults can be sickened by the mouse poison if it happens to contaminate surfaces used for food.
Glue traps are another big danger, especially with curious kids or pets, as the glue can become heartily stuck on hands, clothing, paws and fur. Removing the glue is extremely difficult, messy and will most likely hurt.

Considerations

A strong stomach and lack of compassion are needed before any type of mouse killing can begin. The snapping traps will leave a fully visible dead mouse, one that died quickly and cleanly, but a dead mouse just the same.
Glue traps leave a mouse writhing and slowly wasting away, an unattractive sight even for the most calloused mouse haters.
Poison may take several days to work, giving the mice a chance to crawl around in stages of sickness. The sickly mice may also end up dying inside the walls of the house, from whence they will emit the unbearable stench of a rotting dead mouse throughout the home.

Prevention/Solution

Keeping mice out the home in the first place may be much easier than having to kill them off once they've come in.
Repairing all small holes, cracks and openings around windows, floorboards and walls inside and outside the home is a start.
Stuffing openings with steel wool is also known to keep mice at bay as a temporary solution until you can permanently repair the opening.
Electronic repellents, which work with ultrasonic sound waves, emit a sound that mice cannot tolerate. Be advised, however, the sound waves will disturb any type of rodent and are not the method to choose for those with pet rats.

Resources

• Mice-killing products