Amouse infestationin your garage can create a surprising amount of damage and debris.
The mice might chew walls and electrical cords, as well as leave food waste and droppings.
Plus, they can carry diseases.
The Spruce / Madelyn Goodnight
The Spruce / Madelyn Goodnight
Fortunately, its usually fairly easy to get rid of mice in the garage.
Heres what you oughta know.
Check the floor along the edges of the room for droppings.
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If necessary, move large items the mice might be nesting under or inside to look for signs.
What Do Mice Look Like?
Mice belong to the Rodentia order and Mus genus and infest homes and garages, seeking shelter and food.
The House Mouseby-4028mdk09-wikipedia
Mice vs. Black rats are black to light gray in color and 5-7 inches long.
Brown rats are brown or light gray and can be 13 inches long or more.
Some white varieties of the brown rat have been domesticated as pets.
RatsHeiko Kiera / Shutterstock
Trapping requires much larger, stronger traps.
The iconic bait for catching mice is cheese, but almost any food substance will do.
The creatures are not crushed, as some people think.
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Check the traps frequently.
Tip
Peanut butter makes for a very good bait substance.
And if you do trap a mouse, youre left with then killing it anyway.
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It is nearly impossible to extricate a live mouse from a sticky trap.
But you will then need to figure out what to do with the live mouse.
Released in a residential area, youre just off-loading your own problem on someone else.
Released in the countryside, youre just making the mouse a burden for a farmer.
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Rodent Bait
A variety of poisons can be used to kill mice.
Small predators like foxes or owls that eat mice contaminated with poison can also be affected.
All in all, poison bait is not the best choice for ridding your garage of mice.
What Causes Mice in a Garage?
Begin your efforts at prevention by first trapping or baiting any mice already in the garage.
At the same time, begin to declutter your garage andseal holes.
Bites from mice happen very rarely.
In the protected environment of a garage, a mouse can live for two or three years.
But because the reproduction rate is so rapid, don’t expect your mouse problem to go away.
Sealing carcasses in plastic will prevent other animals from getting to the carcasses and ingesting anything.
Even better: They can offer solutions that are both pet- and family-friendly.
Rodents.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Restriction on Rodenticide Products.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Get Rid of the Mouse!
With Kids in the House?.
National Pesticide Information Center.
Peppermint and Peppermint Oil Profile.
New York State Integrated Pest Management Program with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Diseases Directly Transmitted by Rodents.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
