Question

We have an old farmhouse so we expect to have occasional problems with mice. When that happens, we put poison bait out in a couple of places and it does seem to knock back the mice, but then we have to deal with the odor of dead mice. We can never figure out where exactly the nauseating odor is coming from and it seems to last for days. Is there a way to get rid of the mice without having to deal with the odor?

Answer

Yes, there is definitely a better way to get rid of the mice and you’ll say, “why didn’t I think of that?” It’s simply the good, old-fashioned mouse trap. When you trap mice you have the obvious advantage of having the carcass right there for disposal. I know that many people would prefer not to see the dead mouse but the alternative is having mice die in your walls.

None of the poisons (called rodenticides) available for mouse control kill the mouse immediately after feeding. Mice usually die later in hiding places in or near their nests, which often means inside wall or ceiling voids. When this happens, unless you know exactly where the carcass is and can easily get to it, you have to put up with the odor of decay. Dead mice will smell until they are completely decomposed or until they are dried out. Until then, there are deodorizers or odor neutralizing products that can be applied into the wall void or into the whole room to help you tolerate the odor.

Besides the odor, there’s another problem when mice die in wall voids. Flies and other insects may move in to feed on the carcass. Blow flies seem to be able to find a carcass no matter where it is. The female lays her eggs and the maggots feed on the dead mouse. That would be okay except maggots turn into flies looking to escape from the wall void. Other insects like hide beetles and carrion beetles sometimes move in for the leftovers.

Give us a call. One of our trained technicians can set you up with a mouse trapping program that can eliminate mice without the use of rodenticides and without any odor. Our technicians are also experts at mouse-proofing. They will thoroughly inspect your home and seal up all the little openings that mice use to get inside. Since mouse-proofing can provide a permanent solution to your mouse problem, you won’t even need those snap traps.