Getting rid of mice involves a combination of prevention, trapping, and professional help. Here are some steps you can take:

    1. **Seal Entry Points**

   – Mice can enter through tiny gaps and cracks(1/4 inch!), so seal specific openings around your home.  Mice enter your home through utility entries, holes in brick and siding, gaps in wood trim, foundation vents, garages roof lines, ridge vents, and a multitude of other entry points.  The use of high quality materials is paramount in preventing entry such as caulk, rodent proof weather stripping around doors, heavy gauge metal, steel screen on foundations and roofs.

 

    2. **Remove Food Sources**

   – Store food in airtight containers, including pet food.

   – Clean up any spills or food crumbs in the kitchen and food storage areas.

   – Take out the trash regularly and ensure trash cans have tight-fitting lids.

 

     3. **Keep Your Home Clean**

   – Regularly sweep, mop, and vacuum.

   – Reduce clutter where mice might nest, especially in attics, basements, and garages. Store items away from walls to prevent nesting. 

 

    4. **Set Traps**

   – **Snap Mouse Snap Traps**: Mouse snap traps are both traditional and effective; place them along walls or in areas where you’ve seen droppings.

   – **Mouse Glue Traps**: Less humane but can be very effective due to the scent attractant formulated in the glue.

   – **Live Mouse Traps**: These capture mice alive so they can be released. It is not humane to take mice too far from the point of capture because they have a small home range and will not survive.

   – **Electric Traps**: These kill mice quickly with an electric shock. Often times these style of traps will not address the entire colony because they will learn not to enter them. 

 

   **Tip:** Use peanut butter or chocolate as bait since these attract mice more than cheese.

 

   5. **The Use Natural Repellents**

 

   – **Peppermint oil**: Mice dislike strong smells. Dabbing cotton balls in peppermint oil and placing them around entry points can help deter them. this is by no means a permanent solution liquid deterrence only put a Band-Aid on a mouse problem. 

   – **Ultrasonic devices**: These claim to repel rodents, though their effectiveness is debated and has never been scientifically proven.

 

    6. **Use Poison with Caution**

   – Poison can be effective, but it should only be used in lockable safe bait stations by professionals and the label should be followed by law.

   – Mice may also die in hard-to-reach places, causing unpleasant odors so bait should be used after the structure is sealed on the exterior to control populations outside.

 

   7. **Consider Professional Pest Control**

   – If the infestation is severe, or if DIY methods aren’t working, a professional exterminator is  be the best option.

 

Smart Solutions Pest and Wildlife Removal a specialized in  mouse removal and mouse control for over 18 years https://www.smartsolutionspestcontrol.com/wildlife-removal/mice/. Their office is located in Roswell, Georgia.  They service a multitude of locations in Cobb county, Cherokee, county, Forsyth County, Fulton county, Gwinnett county, DeKalb, county and more.  Smart Solutions Pest and Wildlife Removal specializes in mouse trapping, mouse control, mouse exclusion, mouse sanitation, mouse baiting and preventative maintenance, and will recommend mouse habitat modifications for the yard and the home in order to ensure that they’re doing everything to control a mouse problem. They have biologists on staff that have  decades of experience testing and developing programs to offer the best processes available. Smart Solutions is really a diamond in the rough and over the test of time has proven to be a leader and Pest Control in the state of Georgia. Their pest control technicians and wildlife control technicians are highly trained, educated, background checked, fully insured, and they pride themselves in customer service and solving pest and wildlife issues. they have built a reputation of solving problems that other companies or clients could not solve! 

 

By combining these strategies and hiring professional help you should be able to get rid of mice and prevent future infestations.

 

In Georgia, the most common types of mice you might encounter include:

 

     1. **House Mouse** (*Mus musculus*) 

   – **Appearance**: Small mice that have grayish-brown fur with a lighter underbelly.

   – **Habitat**: Commonly found in homes, barns, and other buildings. They prefer indoor environments.

   – **Behavior**: House mice are very adaptable and can live in close proximity to humans. They reproduce quickly and are active year-round making them challenging to control.

 

   2. **Deer Mouse** (*Peromyscus maniculatus*)

   – **Appearance**: They have a brownish upper body with white feet and underbelly, larger eyes and ears compared to house mice.

   – **Habitat**: More likely found in rural areas or outdoor environments like forests, fields, horse farms and sometimes attics or sheds.

   – **Behavior**: They are nocturnal and may enter homes for warmth and food during colder months. Deer mice are also known carriers of hantavirus, which is a human health risk.

 

    3. **White-Footed Mouse** (*Peromyscus leucopus*)

   – **Appearance**: Similar to the deer mouse, with brown fur and white feet and underbelly, but a slightly darker shade of brown.

   – **Habitat**: Often found in wooded and rural areas, but can enter homes, especially those near wooded environments.

   – **Behavior**: Like deer mice, they are nocturnal and may nest indoors in colder months.

 

    4. **Cotton Mouse** (*Peromyscus gossypinus*)

   – **Appearance**: Dark brown to blackish fur on top and white on the bottom, with larger bodies than house mice.

   – **Habitat**: Prefers damp, wooded areas, swamps, and forests. It is more common in the southeastern U.S. and is becoming increasingly more common. 

   – **Behavior**: Less likely to enter homes but may seek shelter indoors in cold weather. Active primarily at night.

 

If you live in an urban or suburban area, the **house mouse** is the most likely culprit. In rural or wooded areas, **deer mice**, **white-footed mice**, or **cotton mice** might be more common. identification and control methods of these mice can be effectively done by a professional exterminator.

 

Mice can carry a variety of diseases and cause a variety of health problems. They carry diseases such as: hantavirus, salmonellosis, tularemia, leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV), plague, allergies and asthma and more. 

 

Taking precautions like cleaning up rodent droppings carefully, sealing entry points, and using traps can help reduce the risk of these diseases. Sanitation, remediation and cleaning of mouse urine, mouse droppings and mouse damage is best done by a professional to minimize exposure to the people, homes and businesses.