Tip Dude has lived in many apartments in all parts of the world where there were mice problems. One thing is certain: mice and rats are ubiquitous; all experts agree that mice generally live where people live and they have peacefuly co-existed with Homo Sapiens for as long as history itself. So, adopt some self-defense strategies if you think you might encounter a mice problem:

Disambiguation: This article concerns household mouse, Mus musculus. For the corded human interface device, you’ll have to wait until Tip Dude does his tip on “Input Devices.”

• Cut Off Food Supply - Mice need to eat. They will go to great lengths to eat. They’ll squeeze through a gap 1/2″ to go eat. Less food, less mice. So, keep containers of open food in glass or plastic containers like metal tins, Mason jars, Pyrex storage containers, Sterilite food boxes, Tupperware, Ziploc and Gladware boxes. These are not absolutely mouse-proof, but it’ll make it difficult enough to get at that they go visit a neighbor’s kitchen.
• Keep Grains High - Cookies, cereal, oatmeal and even rice or dry petfood can be prime mouse food. In a traditional kitchen, these tend to be kept in bottom cabinets that mice can easily access. Make it harder by keeping these things high. Mice can generally climb but they prefer not to, so if these grains are kept high and canned food are kept low, it will reduce the chances of the mice getting fed on your dime. They will gnaw through paper, wood, plastic or cloth packages in no time, but I’ve yet to see a mouse who can gnaw through a tin can or glass jar. If you’re keeping grains low, use a jar or tin can.
• Remove Mouse Ladders - In modern reservoirs, civil engineers build salmon ladders so salmon can swim upstream to breed. In many kitchens, people inadvertently build mouse ladders by leaving a piece of electrical wire hanging from the countertop to the ground, or leaving a broom leaning against a counter overnight. If you need to keep the clock radio or the fridge plugged in, don’t plug it into a counter-top outlet. If you have a long phone cord, make sure it doesn’t drape to the ground. Install a phone jack at counter level and plug the phone directly into the jack.
• Seal The Mouse Flaps - Mice will squeeze through a gap less than 1/2″ in width. If you can put your little finger through a hole, a mouse can squeeze through it. So, seal it up with silicon putty like GE Silicone II, expanding foam, wood sealer, plaster, cement or whatever is appropriate for your decor. Duct tape or just nailing a piece of wood over it won’t do. Oh, and yes, you have catflaps to let your cat in. They also let mice into your house.
• Forget The Mouse Traps - The number one problem with mouse traps is that there are probably 20 mouse traps at your house and there are 100 mice in the neighborhood. Although experts say mice generally don’t travel very far, there are probably still more mice than you can feasibly trap if you are even seeing them. Mice get more daring if there are more of them, and they breed fast, so if you’re seeing them and trapping them, there are already too many for you to trap. Find out what they’re eating and cut off the food supply. It’s usually obvious what they’re eating: just follow the mouse poop trail.
• Forget The Mouse Poison - Mouse Poison isn’t very environmentally friendly. Nor are they pet safe. Nor are they very effective. And dead mice that have eaten the poison block drains, let out a stink as they rot behind the refrigerator or end up cooked alive on top of engine manifolds (this happened to a friend of Tip Dude’s). Even after they die, the dead mouse carcass could poison a cat, a dog or (unlikely, but possible) a bald eagle. That aside, a kid might decide to play with the white powder and then not wash their hand before eating. Yes, there are industrial strength rat poisons that work, but you probably need to be a licensed exterminator to buy or handle these highly toxic chemicals. Don’t bother.
• If you Need An Exterminator, Call One - If the mice problem is so bad that every time you walk into the space you see more than two mice (or they don’t run away when you walk into the space), call an exterminator. Seeing one or two mice that run away when you turn on the light once in a while isn’t a big deal; they’re probably just visiting and once you remove the food they’ll visit someplace else. Seeing a few mice every time you go into the kitchen at night is when you need to seriously think about getting rid of them.
• Take The Trash Out - Yes, mice eat trash. They’ll gnaw through the plastic trash barrels. Take the trash outside daily so they can gnaw on the outside trash can, not the brand-name one you’ve got in your kitchen. Plus, that gets them out of the house and maybe out of gnawing your grain bucket.
• Check For Mouse Often -How do you check for mice? Well, first, do you see them? Surprise them by tiptoeing and turning on the light suddenly. Check for mouse dropping - mice poop as they eat, so mouse poop is found near their food source. Check for gnawed cables, food containers and wooden furniture. Tip Dude recently saw some gnawed hardback books at a local bookseller. Check for a dirty trail of grease along the skirting board about 1/2″ off of the ground and about 1″ in width, looking as if someone had gone over it with a greasy finger or grease spray bottle - that’s a mouse superhighway.
• Read Up On Mice - Robert Sullivan’s Rats is an excellent beginner’s guide.  There is also plenty of information available from public health departments online. Remember, knowledge is power, and the more you know, the more power you’ll have in your fight against the evil rodent empire!
• One Bonus Point - One of the most common advice given to people with mouse problems is to get a cat. Cats work like policemen to criminals. Presence of one police officer will deter a few perps, but at some point the perps will outsmart or outnumber the one officer and the place will become overrun with perps. Not only that, police need donuts and cruisers. So before you go out and buy a cat to keep the mouse away, think about this: do you really like cats? If you do, great, get a cat and remove the mouse food, so the one cat doesn’t become overrun with many many mice. If you don’t, just remove the mouse food and the mice will go away. Getting a cat is a big lifestyle change and will create its own problems (Can you say furball? And a cat tracks litter all over the house!) Tip Dude prefers living with mice than with cats - but of course, Tip Dude keeps all his food far away, so he doesn’t live with mice or cats anymore.

What do you do to keep mice away?

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