How to Get Rid of Mice, Romans Family Style

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

06 Apr 2009 02:16 PM

It never fails. Every spring it seems that something finds its way inside our house and then promptly passes away. Since our home is in the middle of the woods, this tends to be inevitable. We are veterans in the war against unwelcome visitors. We've learned to ferret out their places of entry and close them up tight. This last hunt and discovery, however, had even us surprised.

The notice that a little friend had entered started with some scratching noises. I told my husband to get ready. My eldest son was convinced the noise must have been coming from our cat, who after catching one mouse early in our ownership at this house has decided to retire.

Sure enough, a couple of days after the scratching, a noticeable smell started to come about. It was worse in the kitchen, on the wall bordering the hallway.

When I first mentioned the smell, my husband thought it might have something to do with my recent spring cleaning of the kitchen cabinets. When the smell got worse a few days later, he was finally convinced that some investigation was warranted.

One lower cabinet was pulled out, as was the ancient stove, which probably hadn't been moved since its first installation in the early 1960s. Ah, a good opportunity to spring clean some more, I joked with my husband, who faced with the task of opening up a wall, was not amused.

Open the wall he did, down near the bottom where it would be easily covered back up by the kitchen cabinet. The smell worsened considerably. And my husband came upstairs to inform me of his find. I was up in the master bath, moving my spring cleaning as far away as possible.

He was able to pull out a cute little mouse. Dead, but cute. He also pulled out the mixed remains of at least 12 others, now reduced to nothing more than spines. "Look honey!" Ew! Eh, thanks.

The conclusion: The mice must have been getting in to the house for the last 45 years through the roof or garage attic. They scamper on to the roof or a beam just inside the roof and then fall down into the hollow wall. Trapped and unable to scamper back out to the great outdoors, they perish. One dust bin, a shop vac and some bleach later, the mice were gone and my husband installed a mouse access panel until he can find the original point of entry.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

Related Articles:

Why Don't Our Mice Do That?

The Skull in the Backyard

My Life with the Sink Monster

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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