How to Get Rid of Rodents Naturally

Wild rats and mice do not make cute pets. They can pose both as a sanitation and health hazard. Rid your home of these destructive rodents without using harmful chemicals. Here are a few steps to get your home rodent free.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mousetraps
• Gift bows
• Vitamin D3 rodent bait
• Live animal traps
• Gift bags
• Glue boards
• Rodent traps
• Wrapping paper
• Gift ribbons
• Tissue paper

1. Inspect your property regularly for signs of rodents. Look for telltale droppings both inside and outside of your home.

2. Remove sources of water, food and housing from your closets, attics and gardens.

3. Keep trash bins covered.

4. Store cupboard food in metal bins.

5. Remove wood piles, junk sheds and garden debris that attract rodents to nest on your property.

6. Turn the contents of your compost bin regularly and check to make sure no critters have been feeding there.

7. Seal up small holes around pipes, vents, doors and windows with 100 percent silicon caulk.

8. Set mouse and rat traps in problem areas. Both live and snap traps are effective and can be baited with foods such as cheese and bread. Release live animals as far away from human dwellings as possible.

9. Lay glue boards in pathways that rodents travel as an alternative trap.

10. Use a natural rodent poison as a last resort. Look for brands of rodent bait made with vitamin D3. Rats and mice eating a small amount of this vitamin suffer heart failure within days. There is no chance of secondary poisoning of your pets even if they find and eat the dead rodents.

11. Place the bait in areas that rodents frequent.

Tips & Warnings

• Get a cat to keep rodent infestations down. Note that cats are not selective about their prey and throughout the United States are destroying songbird populations. Although it's hard to keep tabs on outdoor felines, try to discourage the capture of wild birds.
• One big problem with using bait is that the rodents often die in inaccessible places. Prompt removal of dead critters is mandatory to avoid a foul odor.

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[perk]

on 7/29/2009 This is a valuable article. I have learned myself to get "Rid a Pest" at your local feed store or farm bureau. They eat the substance and do not have a smell. I have tried it and I still use it.

[jzone]

on 3/9/2009 The part about removing habitat is right. I had an oak half-barrel on my deck with plants in it, and when I figured out that it was harboring mice and ripped out the plants, about forty mice came out in a hurry! I couldn't believe it, they wouldn't stop coming!

[w1z111]

on 1/3/2009 Well...I'm afraid I cannot agree with this method of getting rid of (at least some) rodents.
Check out http://www.ehow.com/how_2242189_catch-mouse-house-humane-way.html, as an alternative (humane) method. Not everyone will want to try this method, but it does work if you're patient and persistent enough.

[Amewzing]

on 12/16/2008 Or maybe you could tie a rat to that kite you're gonna lose in 10 days: http://www.ehow.com/how_4680490_lose-kite-days.html.

[cassaundra]

on 11/16/2008 I tried peppermint oil did not work. I need a natural way of getting rid of larger rodents such a squirrel or opossum in my attic