Things You'll Need:
- bleach based spray
- mouse traps
- rat poison
- cauking and spray foam
- weather stripping
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Step 1
Start off by cleaning the whole house. Yes, that means throwing out all of the trash, getting rid of all clutter and scrubbing everything. Rats and mice love to burrow and make nests, so if you provide a lot of clutter, you’re providing them with a home. Clean everything with bleach. Remember that rats carry disease, so you want to make sure that any feces is cleaned out of cabinets. You want to make sure that you use a strong mixture of bleach.
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Step 2
Next, check under your sinks, make sure that there aren’t any holes. A mouse only needs a tiny hole to get into your house. If there are any holes, spray the spray foam into it. The foam expands and makes a complete seal to keep out pests. You would be surprised how many openings there are in and under your house. Remember, if there is a hole big enough for a mouse other things – spiders, roaches and snakes – can come in as well.
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Step 3
Go under the house, and use the spray foam on any openings around plumbing pipes, electrical wiring, heating and air vents. Anywhere there is an opening, you need to apply the foam or cauking to seal it. Watch out for spiders and snakes while you are under the house. Remember, snakes like to eat rats and mice, so if one is around the other is usually close by.
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Step 4
Put weather stripping on the doors to make sure that there aren’t any places that a mouse can squeeze through.
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Step 5
While your outside, make sure you cut the grass, clear the weeds and remove debris away from the house. It gives rats and snakes a place to hide. They, usually, dislike short grass because they can’t hide in it.
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Step 6
Apply the rat poison in areas that children and pets cannot reach. Remember that is poison, and it can hurt or kill children or pets.
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Step 7
Set the mouse traps up in the kitchen and in the attic. Mice tend to love those areas. Everyone seems to think the best bait for a mousetrap is cheese, but they come to peanut butter a lot faster. If you have larger mice or rats, don’t bother with a glue trap. It won’t hold them.
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Step 8
Keep the house very clean for the next few weeks, and keep checking the traps and areas that you put poison in. Once you kill the one’s inside the house, you shouldn’t see any more rats or mice if you closed off all of the holes.
