Prevention

• The key to eliminating mice is to make your home harder to enter and less inviting if they do get in. Inspect the exterior of your home to look for holes, wide cracks and gaps where they can enter. Mice can squeeze through an opening as small as a dime. Caulk around vent pipes and windows, and seal holes with sheet metal or cement.
  
  Inside your home, cleanliness is key. Don't leave food uncovered, particularly at night when mice are most active. This means making sure dishes are washed and pet food is put away in containers with tight-fitting lids.
  
  

Poison

• Poisons, such as d-Con or TomCat brand baits, are one of the easiest ways to get rid of mice. Place bait along walls, in dark corners and anywhere you see evidence of rodent activity. This could be droppings, gnawed wood or shredded bedding material.
  
  Poison is not without its drawbacks, however. Theoretically, the mice leave the area to die, but often, they simply go back to their hiding spot in your home to die. And while poison kills mice, remember that it also is hazardous to humans and pets.
  
  

Traps

• Snap traps are one of the cheapest ways to get rid of mice. These are typically wooden rectangles with a spring-loaded bar on the top. Bait is placed on a pedal, and when a mouse touches the pedal, the bar is released, snapping forcefully down onto the mouse and killing it.
  
  Box traps, such as the Mice Cube, are a humane way to catch and release mice. These see-through rectangular cubes have a swinging door at one end that lets the mouse enter, but then the door falls closed behind it. The mouse can't get out until you push open the door and tip out the mouse.
  
  Electronic mouse killers are effective ways to kill mice quickly. The cube-shaped traps are battery-powered and connected to a small piece of metal that zaps the mouse when it makes contact. The mouse is killed in seconds. Victor and Procter are two brand names of this type of mousetrap.
  
  

Cats

• Don't overlook one of the most natural methods of mice control. Cats have been catching mice for centuries. Barn cats or other cats that have been raised outdoors tend to be better mousers, as they have learned that they must rely on their hunting abilities to stay alive. However, even a pampered indoor kitty will be hard-pressed to ignore a mouse, even if it is just out of curiosity.
  
  A word of caution, however, if you have a cat, it is vital that you keep its litter box clean. Mice are attracted to feces, and you will be defeating the purpose of having a cat to get rid of mice if you are inviting them into your home with something that they consider tempting.