Out Damn Mice: Effective Rodent Control and Preventive Measures

(Seal Up! Trap Up! Clean Up! Sanitation is the best way to prevent a rodent infestation by removing the food sources, water, and items that provide shelter for rodents. )

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Tumult reigned supreme when the sounds of 'eeking' by my elder sister as she pointed and yelled, "A mouse!" and before long she had jumped on a low stool. My mother came running with a broom and started to search for that intruder, which she found quite quickly. 'Boom, boom' went the broom slamming on the floor as my mother gave chase to that wee little mouse through our third floor apartment. Both my younger brother and I got into the spirit of the chase and we did our best to help trap the rodent but to no avail.

My dad brought home a model of the mousetrap invented by that chap who had a path beaten to his door. With care to his fingers he cut a delicious piece of cheese and baited the trap to catch our intruder. Then he placed the mousetrap in a corner in the kitchen, and every morning he looked at it to see if the mouse nibbled the tiny bit of cheese and set the trap, but the invention was never sprung. Somehow the cleaver little creature alluded our efforts, but I think the little creature's nerves were shattered from past experience, as he never reappeared in our home.

For weeks afterwards my poor sister jumped at every shadow and squeaks and feared the reappearance of that little creature. Deep inside her she wished for the coming of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.

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Today there are many firms that advertise services and products for rodent control, but the best is to take preventative measures. Remember there is never one mouse, as mice are family oriented creatures and they breed quite rapidly. Having found a desirable abode with sufficient food to nibble they move in quite quickly. Rodents can live on tiny bits of food that fall from your dining table, even from spilled and surplus food from the bowl served to your pet. Many times in kitchens you will find gnawing damage on the corner of boxes and paper, shredded for their nest. The worst problem is not in the nibbling of your food but in its contamination by mice with their feces and fur.