Do you suspect that a family of mice has moved into your home for the winter? Are you tired of hearing them scurry around in the dark at night? Although domestic mice can make cute pets for some people, wild mice are simply pests. They can quickly contaminate your food and may spread diseases in their urine and droppings. In order to keep your family safe and healthy, the wild mice that have moved into your home will have to go. Some tips for home mouse removal include:

No poison: Poison is often the first choice of people who don't want to deal with dead mice in traps. However, you can't control where the mouse will die. If you put out poison in hopes of home mouse removal, you could find dead mice in your pantries, behind your appliances, or they may crawl off and die in your walls. Mice that die in your walls obviously cannot be removed and can cause your house to smell as they begin to decompose. Their corpses may also attract or feed various insects, such as cockroaches, that may spread even more diseases than the mice did when they were alive.

Professional assistance: Setting out traps instead of poison is a good choice when it comes to home mouse removal. But it can be extremely frustrating to repeatedly set traps, only for the mice to completely ignore or escape the traps with apparent ease. Calling in a professional is the best way to counter these tricky mice. Your professional will know which kinds of traps will work best for your specific mice as well as exactly what sort of bait to use to ensure that they are trapped. Without this experience, it could take you weeks of trial and error before you're able to catch any mice on a regular basis. During this time, the mice will continue breeding and expanding their numbers.

Repackage food: A house mouse may look innocent and vulnerable but they have sharp teeth and strong jaws for their size. This allows them to chew through cardboard boxes, plastic bags, and even some plastic food canisters. Whenever possible, repackage your food so that it is in sturdy metal or glass containers. Placing boxes of pasta or rice into sturdy and airtight plastic totes may also prevent the mice from getting to it, though you should check these containers frequently for signs that mice have gotten to it. Cans of food should also be placed into plastic totes or at least washed thoroughly with soap and hot water before opening due to possible contamination by mouse urine and feces.