An Internet search on 'how to get rid of a mouse' delivers thirty one million nine hundred results. Search phrases such as, 'how to set a mouse trap' and 'best way to get rid of mice' will probably produce as many possibilities It is doubtful that there are so many ways to actually dispose of such a small creature. Many of the pages must deal with how to get rid of other things.
However, it is likely that there are millions of mice and rats globally because they are the staple diet of predatory birds, snakes and innumerable small mammals such as foxes and jackals. Not only do they survive predation, but also the ravages of diseases, germs and parasites. This makes them very unwelcome travelling companions for human beings who may be less resistant to the germs than the rodents.
It is not the smell of a rat, but more probably a sound of soft feet scuttling on a ceiling board that indicates the invasion of a house by rodents. There may be tell-tale nibbles at morsels that have been left out, movements in the night and little black pellets of rat droppings deposited between the knives and forks in a drawer. At this, there is need for action.
Many people distinguish between mice and rats. In dictionaries mice are defined as a class of four legged hairy rodents with long tales. Rats are defined in the same way, except that they are said to be larger and more widely distributed across the world. Norway rats, for example, have established themselves in Africa after long sea voyages. Some mice, confine themselves to outdoor lives, very often in fields of grain or corn. It is those which insist on coming indoors to share the lives and stores of human beings that become the biggest nuisances.
The Pied Piper of Hamlin promised to get rid of rodents by baiting them with music that was irresistible to them. When they followed him he led them into a river where they drowned. No such musician has been found since then, so pest exterminators have turned to other baits.
Poisons can be placed at strategic points where mice are known to feed, or where they follow little roads that they have created. Common poisons include Anticoagulants, Metal Phosphides and Calciferols. These cause lingering deaths and in some cases shrivel the insides of the rodents so that they do not smell much when dead. However, there are cases when an animal dies in some inaccessible corner of a house and then residents are reminded forcibly of Hamlet's words, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark'. The other problem with poisons is that they pose a danger to children and pets unless they are very carefully placed.
Knowing how to get rid of a mouse and a rat entails being more canny than a creature that has outsmarted predators for thousands of years. Nevertheless it can be done with the aid of a traditional mouse trap. This is usually a steel spring that is attached to a board so that it can be pulled back and then released by a catch.
Bait is placed on the catch so that the slightest pressure will release the spring, allowing it to spring back and kill the mouse. It is important to attach the bait quite firmly so that it has to be pulled by the mouse in order to release the deadly spring. It is not unknown for mice to eat all the bait without releasing the spring, thus outwitting the trapper.
However, it is likely that there are millions of mice and rats globally because they are the staple diet of predatory birds, snakes and innumerable small mammals such as foxes and jackals. Not only do they survive predation, but also the ravages of diseases, germs and parasites. This makes them very unwelcome travelling companions for human beings who may be less resistant to the germs than the rodents.
It is not the smell of a rat, but more probably a sound of soft feet scuttling on a ceiling board that indicates the invasion of a house by rodents. There may be tell-tale nibbles at morsels that have been left out, movements in the night and little black pellets of rat droppings deposited between the knives and forks in a drawer. At this, there is need for action.
Many people distinguish between mice and rats. In dictionaries mice are defined as a class of four legged hairy rodents with long tales. Rats are defined in the same way, except that they are said to be larger and more widely distributed across the world. Norway rats, for example, have established themselves in Africa after long sea voyages. Some mice, confine themselves to outdoor lives, very often in fields of grain or corn. It is those which insist on coming indoors to share the lives and stores of human beings that become the biggest nuisances.
The Pied Piper of Hamlin promised to get rid of rodents by baiting them with music that was irresistible to them. When they followed him he led them into a river where they drowned. No such musician has been found since then, so pest exterminators have turned to other baits.
Poisons can be placed at strategic points where mice are known to feed, or where they follow little roads that they have created. Common poisons include Anticoagulants, Metal Phosphides and Calciferols. These cause lingering deaths and in some cases shrivel the insides of the rodents so that they do not smell much when dead. However, there are cases when an animal dies in some inaccessible corner of a house and then residents are reminded forcibly of Hamlet's words, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark'. The other problem with poisons is that they pose a danger to children and pets unless they are very carefully placed.
Knowing how to get rid of a mouse and a rat entails being more canny than a creature that has outsmarted predators for thousands of years. Nevertheless it can be done with the aid of a traditional mouse trap. This is usually a steel spring that is attached to a board so that it can be pulled back and then released by a catch.
Bait is placed on the catch so that the slightest pressure will release the spring, allowing it to spring back and kill the mouse. It is important to attach the bait quite firmly so that it has to be pulled by the mouse in order to release the deadly spring. It is not unknown for mice to eat all the bait without releasing the spring, thus outwitting the trapper.
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