The Profit Property participates in the Amazon Associates Program as well as other affiliate programs. This allows us to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please visit my affiliate disclosure page.
If the thought of living with a rodent intruder makes your skin crawl and you are wondering how to get rid of mice in your garage or home, then you are in the right place. Often when it comes to mice inhabiting a home, visions of uncleanliness and trash scattered across the floor comes to mind. That doesn’t necessarily have to be true as even relatively clean homes can have mice from time to time.
Mice are small to begin with and can fit through a crack as small as a fourth of an inch wide. With those contortion skills, odds are at some point in life you will unfortunately find yourself at war with a mouse. Aside from the obvious fact that sharing a house with these unwanted guests is repulsive, mice can also cause a lot of property damage and even carry disease. Outlined below are our top mouse trap picks to help you get rid of mice in your garage.
How to Know If You Have Mice
Mice tend to inhabit areas of the home or garage that go unused or have little activity. They nest in areas like garages, attics, or basements without much human interaction. You may notice signs of mice such as nesting materials, droppings or chewed food remains long before you come across the mouse itself.
Mice use their teeth to chew up materials like cardboard boxes, kleenexes and paper to build their nest. Nests are typically found in places tucked away that are not often disturbed.
Droppings are a big clue that you have a mouse. Mice droppings are small, brown rice-shaped pellets that usually range from 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. If you see a string of droppings and think you have an infestation, don’t panic. A single mouse can produce 50-75 droppings in a single day.
Mice have a keen sense of smell and can easily chew through food boxes and packaging to feast on whatever is inside. If you notice packaging with holes or half eaten food items in your pantry, you likely could have a mouse. Mouse droppings may also be near.
Best Mouse Trap Options
Thankfully there are several options when it comes to getting rid of mice in your garage and home. Poison, glue traps, catch and release devices and traditional spring traps are just some of the products on the market today. There are pros and cons to each depending on your situation. Outlined below are our top picks for how to best eliminate your mouse issue. Some things to keep in mind when selecting the best mouse trap include:
- How many mice do you think you have?
- Will children or pets be in the area?
- Where are the most high traffic areas of mice?
Best Mice Poison
Mouse poison is a popular choice for eliminating mice. There are a couple main types of poison including pellets, chunks or bait stations.
Pellets can be spread easily when purchased in loose form or throw packs.Pellets are used to refill bait stations or can be put in small crevices and cracks where other traps may not fit.The throw packs are good for areas like the garage because the pellets are contained in the pack until a mouse comes along and starts to chew into the package.
Chunks or ‘blocks’ of poison are essentially a bigger form of pellets. These are handy if you have mice or rats that like to carry the poison off. These blocks of poison have a hollow center that is good for screwing the poison block into exposed framing in a garage or basement. Mice or rats will gnaw at the corners of the block but be unable to move it.
A few years ago we purchased a house that we planned to renovate and sell. The home had sat empty for awhile so we put some poison blocks in the basement knowing that there were likely a few mice. After a few days, the blocks would disappear. That’s when we knew we were probably dealing with a rat. We mounted a trail cam just to be sure and captured the below images. Sure enough we had a rat on our hands. After that we screwed the block into the framing of the wall and found the rat dead a couple days later.
There are two type of bait stations – either refillable or disposable. If you have on-going mice issues, refillable bait stations are an inexpensive option. Check the stations every so often and refill with pellets. For a more hands off approach, purchase a disposable station that is already baited with poison. Many of these pre-baited stations come with enough poison to kill up to 12 mice so they are still pretty economical.
While mouse poison is an attractive option, you should take into consideration if there will be children or pets near the area baited with poison. Poison can be appealing to pets since it’s often peanut butter, apple or other flavors.
See below for the mouse poison we used to catch our rat.
Best Glue Traps for Mice
Another option for getting rid of mice are sticky glue traps. These types of traps lay flat and have a very sticky adhesive on top that ensures a mouse cannot get off. They are very easy to use. All you have to do is peel a film off to expose the adhesive and then place it.
Some glue traps have a scented adhesive to attract mice. Bait a trap with a little peanut butter, popcorn or other snack for extra attraction.
Glue traps are an inexpensive trap option. They are also very good at catching bugs and spiders as an extra bonus.
Catchmaster is our top pick for glue traps to help you get rid of mice in your garage and house. We have had success with them and you can get a large quantity of traps pretty inexpensively.
Best Traps for Mice
In addition to poison and glue traps, there are quite a few mouse trap devices on the market. Below are a few of our top picks to help you eliminate your mouse issue.
New and Improved Spring Traps
A better mouse trap has been built. A new spin on the traditional spring trap provides a more sensitive trigger with stronger bite force. These mouse traps are more effective and safer when compared to traditional wood or metal traps. Only 0.025 lbs of weight is needed to trigger the trap. Traps are easy to set and bait.
Humane Mouse Traps – Catch and Release
Not sure if you can kill off your unwanted house guest? Capture the mouse and release it later with a live trap. Make sure to take the mouse away as far as possible so that it doesn’t return for you or your neighbors. A benefit to a catch and release trap is that it is child and pet friendly. They can also we used time and time again.
5-Gallon Bucket Trap
The 5-gallon bucket trap seems too easy to be true but it’s proven time and time again to be very effective. It’s a simple concept. A mouse scurries up the ramp towards the bait. The weight of the mouse then triggers the lid to spin and the mouse falls inside the bucket. The lid automatically resets for the next mouse that may come along. It is very effective for catching multiple mice.
*Note – This trap does require that you have your own 5 gallon bucket. This trap can be used as a lethal option (fill bucket with poison or water) or non-lethal for catch and release if checked regularly.
RinneTrap Flip N Slide Bucket Lid Mouse Trap
How to Repel and Prevent Mice
Now that you have eliminated your mouse problem, it is time to take action towards preventing mice from sneaking back into your home. Below are some top tips for preventing mice from entering your home again:
- Seal up cracks and crevices in your home’s foundation
- Keep human and pet food sealed
- Reduce clutter and materials that mice use for nesting
- Keep vegetation and firewood stacked away from the house
How to Get Rid of Mice in Your Garage
It can be overwhelming when you first learn you have a mouse problem. Take a few deep breaths and know there are several quality products on the market to help you get rid of mice in your garage or home.
Happy Hunting,
Interested in learning more property management tips? Check out our other blog articles related to property management here!
