Some people aren’t afraid of or bothered by mice, and under the right circumstances, some even consider them cute. But you may not feel the same way if one of these rodents suddenly scurries across your path inside your home. Mice can contaminate food and food preparation surfaces, as well as cause potential health issues. If you live in multi-unit housing, your first thought may be to try figuring out how to get rid of mice in your own apartment. The second thought might be whether or not a mouse infestation in your apartment or other apartments in your housing unit is the landlord’s responsibility or yours.
The bottom line is that nobody should have to live with pests. Mice in an apartment can be troublesome for property managers as they need to eliminate unwanted pests, not inconvenience tenants and minimize the use of chemicals control measures. But the faster property managers address a mouse infestation in an apartment, the less likely they’ll have to deal with potentially bigger issues later, including poor property appearance, interior and exterior damage and potential health concerns. After alerting your landlord to a potential rodent issue, you’ll likely begin to search for information about how to help get rid of mice. When in an apartment, what to do often starts with what not to do.
The Potential Danger of Pesticides
Pesticides are often the first method people consider when looking to eliminate rodents. When improperly used, they can also be toxic to people and pets. Anyone handling pesticides needs to have an in-depth understanding of proper usage including when and where to administer, and methods for safe and targeted application. To get rid of mice in an apartment, it’s best to leave any use of pesticides to professionals like Terminix® technicians.
Be advised of laws in your area in the event your property manager attempts to personally apply pesticides, including over-the-counter foggers and aerosol sprays, in an effort to eliminate mice in an apartment. States such as California require landlords and apartment-complex employees to alert tenants in writing as to what pests they’ll be targeting, and the name brand of the product they plan to use.
Try a Trap
Outside of professional pest control technicians, one of the best ways to try catching a mouse in an apartment is with a good old-fashioned mouse trap. In fact, a classic wood snap trap may be all you need (that is, if you can stomach the process). To bait the rodent, you can use popular food such as peanut butter, bacon, chocolate, dried fruit or oatmeal. Once set, tie the trigger to the bait to keep mice in the apartment from getting away with the goodies.
option is a glue trap. These types of traps do not require bait and the trap is placed in an area of known rodent activity. In this case, how to get rid of mice in an apartment is as simple as a rodent walking over the trap. The disadvantage is that glue traps don’t kill the mice and any that that are trapped will need to be properly discarded.
Before attempting either of these tactics yourself, reach out to your landlord or property manager to alert them of your intended action. They may offer to provide and set the traps, and if nothing else, remove the trapped rodents from your property.
Help Decrease Your Chances of Mice in an Apartment
Before having to deal with getting rid of mice in the apartment, think about what you can do to help prevent their entry into your home. Follow these steps to help minimize your chances of having a surprise encounter with these unwanted rodents:
- Keep things clean. Sweep up any crumbs on the floor, wipe down your counters and try not to leave dirty dishes in the sink.
- Close openings in walls. Search your apartment for holes near pipes or other gaps and fill with steel wool as mice can’t chew through this material.
- Utilize hard, plastic containers. Switch food products from dry, cardboard boxes or bags to more sturdy containers with lids that are more difficult for mice to chew through.
- Keep your garbage can covered. Don’t make it easy for mice in an apartment to go digging through recently disposed items.
- Utilize window screens and door sweeps. Mice will try getting into your apartment any way they can, especially in times of extreme temperatures. Sealing potential entry points such as cracks beneath your doors and around windows is an easy way to help keep them out.
If you’ve recently seen a mouse in your apartment and don’t want to take matters into your own hands, contact Terminix. Our professional technicians will help eliminate them and develop a customized solution to help prevent them from coming back.
