How do you prevent mice?

[PeterPan]

Let's just say it's a rather rural setting and there's no indoor or outdoor cat. I know you can do traps, but they aren't very little kid friendly, right? Anything you've found that works? 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Traps put in basements or cabinets or other areas which are off limits to little kids might work.  Especially if you go around to empty traps before the kids are up. 

[kbutton]

You really need to seal up the house well. They can get into very tiny spaces, and then they multiply. In our old house, the kitchen and laundry room were the most vulnerable spots because the cabinets were old and there were spots inside where holes had to be drilled for updates. The laundry room had been enclosed from a garage, and that led to some vulnerable areas as well. Any time you do little repair jobs or change things, you should seal things up well. 

I think I've read on here that putting steel wool in some areas will deter a lot of rodents.

The cheap dollar store traps work exceptionally well--they tend to be more sensitive than sturdier traps. You want to place them where the mice are moving. They tend to follow the same path over and over. 

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Traps put in basements or cabinets or other areas which are off limits to little kids might work.  Especially if you go around to empty traps before the kids are up. 

Yeah, you're right, probably a combo approach.

I did find this old thread. Thinking the peppermint oil might be good.

  

[Ausmumof3]

You can use cage traps designed for aviaries.  They are no kill though so you will either have to release elsewhere or kill them yourself.  We ended up resorting to poison last month.  I hate doing it because of the risk to pets and wildlife for secondary poisoning but nothing was working.

however we have a very poorly built/sealed house and we have birds which means a somewhat limitless supply of food no matter how much we clean.  You might get away without that.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, kbutton said:

You really need to seal up the house well.

Ok, someone mentioned this about spraying foam to fill in spots. I'm going to talk with dh about it. 

[kirstenhill]

I have such a long sob story about mice in a rental house we formerly lived in that I could write a novel.  😁  It was a multi-year saga with a slightly eccentric landlord.   Ultimately, nothing done IN the house will help if major holes in the foundation are not taken care of.  We looked and looked, and it wasn't until sidewalk repair meant a back deck had an underside panel removed for the first time, and lo and behold there were major holes in the foundation under that deck that even pest control professionals hadn't found before because it was difficult to access under the deck.

In our experience any kind of trap, even the electric zapping ones, couldn't completely take care of the problem even after the holes were patched because so many were already inside.  The thing that really helped was poison that a pest control professional put in strategic places.  I don't know what exactly he used as it was a "don't ask/don't tell situation."  The landlord had made him promise not to use poison and asked us not to use poison, but the pest control guy got so tired of the situation that eventually he did a wink-wink-nudge-nudge and used it anyway.  I know people have some strong feelings about not using poison due to harm to other wild animals, but this had gotten really bad in the house and it was truly a case of potential human harm needing to be put ahead of other concerns.

[PeterPan]

3 minutes ago, kbutton said:

The cheap dollar store traps work exceptionally well-

Yeah, I'm gonna go buy a bunch, lol.

 

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, kirstenhill said:

poison,

Oh mercy, I have zero issues with poison. So long as kids can't get into it. Is there a way to buy the stuff ourselves or is it hard to get?

I think we're looking at a combo approach here, like you're saying, with sealing plus lethality.

[kbutton]

2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Yeah, I'm gonna go buy a bunch, lol.

 

Spring and fall have been the worst times for us--in the spring, they are trying to avoid the wet, and in the fall, they are trying to get out of the cold. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Nutella makes a trap very enticing.  

[kbutton]

4 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

You can use cage traps designed for aviaries.  They are no kill though so you will either have to release elsewhere or kill them yourself.  We ended up resorting to poison last month.  I hate doing it because of the risk to pets and wildlife for secondary poisoning but nothing was working.

however we have a very poorly built/sealed house and we have birds which means a somewhat limitless supply of food no matter how much we clean.  You might get away without that.

We had to resort to poison for a squirrel in the attic. That was quite the ordeal! It took a lot of time to seal up the attic after it left permanently. We had a single story ranch with a hipped roof, so there were a lot of tight spaces for humans that were not tight for squirrels. 

[Terabith]

A cat is easiest.  Even a cat just being around will dispel mice.  

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'm reading this article on poison. Seems to me like I want a FAST acting poison device so the mouse doesn't go anywhere and get eaten by a cat and poison the cat. Any advice on this? 

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Nutella makes a trap very enticing.  

This I have in stock, lol.

 

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

A cat is easiest.  Even a cat just being around will dispel mice.  

I know, I know. If I could make a cat happen for this location I would.

[Spy Car]

13 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Ok, someone mentioned this about spraying foam to fill in spots. I'm going to talk with dh about it. 

Spray less than you think you need, as it keeps expanding. If you spray until you have "filled" the void, you will have a big mess on your hands.

Go slowly.

Bill

[Ausmumof3]

Also if you need a temporary fix shoving steel wool into gaps seems to help 

[sweet2ndchance]

Fill any and all holes in walls and cabinets with fine steel wool. Not SOS soap pads but the fine steel wool for sanding that doesn't have any soap in it. It will be labeled as "#0000 steel wool". You'll find it in the hardware section. You'll need to really pack it in there so that the mouse has to try to chew it to get it out. You don't want it so loose they can just pull it out.

In my experience, the local mice think spray foam is mighty tasty.

Peanut butter is another great attractant for snap traps. I usually just keep a cheap jar from the dollar tree with the mouse traps in the utility room. No way I'm sharing my Nutella with them lol!

We use poison out in the sheds and the shop. No particular brand, just the blocks. It works but sometimes they die where you can't find them and it stinks. Not had a problem with other animals being poisoned second hand by poisoned mice.

Far and away, the best mouse trap solution has been getting a cat. We haven't had a mouse problem in the house since. 😉 

 

[klmama]

Just be aware that poisoned mice will die in weird places, and you may not find them -- but if they are inside, you will smell them for days.  😝 

[gardenmom5]

first you want to make sure any possible entry point is sealed.   spray foam is good for small holes.

we have a 5gal bucket with a rolling log mouse trap, baited with peanut butter.  you want a deep bucket so they can't jump out.  if there isn't any water, even the smallest kids are safe.   we have one in our garage (the only place we've had mice indoors).  when we first started using it, we had a mouse problem and the normal traps didn't do much.  with that - we caught 30 mice in four months.  (incl. four that had probably been in 1ds's car and stuffed his fan with insulation.  it was a very expensive repair. - never ever buy a nissan.  we had to do a similar repair for a toyota - and it cost 1/2 as much.  it was because of the differences in design.)

we still have it out there, and occasionally get one or two. but nothing like the first year, and it's usually recent entrants into the garage.

one person found an inch of peanut oil in a wide shallow bowl was effective too.  they're attracted to the scent, get covered with oil and can't get out.

[gardenmom5]

12 minutes ago, klmama said:

Just be aware that poisoned mice will die in weird places, and you may not find them -- but if they are inside, you will smell them for days.  😝 

i had a mouse get into a box in my garage - and it couldn't get out.   it was summer . .. and it stank.  it was a long time before we found it by chance.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

A cat is easiest.  Even a cat just being around will dispel mice.  

Everybody always says that, but it never worked with our cats. I think they thought the mice were cute. 

At one point, we had two cats that would kill mice, but the other cats? Nope. No blood on their paws, thankyouverymuch!

[PeterPan]

22 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

a rolling log mouse trap

Ooo, hadn't seen this!!

[gardenmom5]

the cat loves to be in the garage (and it's as close to outside as he's getting at night) - but he has yet to catch a mouse there.  Even when there are mice in the bucket.  he did bring me two newborn rabbits the other day . . . . something needs to take them out.  we have no coyotes around here.  (we used to see them all the time - but something happened and we had a rabbit explosion.)

[klmama]

2 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

the cat loves to be in the garage (and it's as close to outside as he's getting at night) - but he has yet to catch a mouse there.  Even when there are mice in the bucket.  he did bring me two newborn rabbits the other day . . . . something needs to take them out.  we have no coyotes around here.  (we used to see them all the time - but something happened and we had a rabbit explosion.)

Our rabbits were way down when the neighbors had a hunting cat and others had dogs that were always outside. Both families moved, and now the rabbits are everywhere.  They seem to think my hosta shoots are their personal buffet.  First thing in the a.m. I'm going to mix up some deer/rabbit repellant and spray all the plants.  And put out silica on the ant hill.  And reset the mouse traps.  Lots of critter control happening now.  

[gardenmom5]

4 minutes ago, klmama said:

Our rabbits were way down when the neighbors had a hunting cat and others had dogs that were always outside. Both families moved, and now the rabbits are everywhere.  They seem to think my hosta shoots are their personal buffet.  First thing in the a.m. I'm going to mix up some deer/rabbit repellant and spray all the plants.  And put out silica on the ant hill.  And reset the mouse traps.  Lots of critter control happening now.  

I planted 40 lilies last year . . . . . . I'm not sure how many survived, it wasn't many as they ate them right down to the ground.

[klmama]

1 minute ago, gardenmom5 said:

I planted 40 lilies last year . . . . . . I'm not sure how many survived, it wasn't many as they ate them right down to the ground.

That happened to my neighbor one year with her tulips.  She planted 100 bulbs; between the deer and the rabbits only two flowers survived.  Now everything in her yard has major fencing around it. 

[Carol in Cal.]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

That happened to my neighbor one year with her tulips.  She planted 100 bulbs; between the deer and the rabbits only two flowers survived.  Now everything in her yard has major fencing around it. 

My inlaws had a little fence around their veggie garden that supposedly they could step over but rabbits couldn't, and darned if a preggers rabbit didn't figure out how to get in.  She would sit herself right next to the fence sideways and hop up in the air as high as she could, and tumble herself down into the garden.  Then she built her nest for the babies under the leafy veggies.  MIL couldn't bring herself to drive them out until the babies were grown.  Those rabbits FEASTED.

[Carrie12345]

I’m not exactly ethically against poison, but I am very squigged out by the thought of things dying in walls and weird spaces.

We had 2, then 1 cat all but the first year we lived here, and didn’t get mice after their first kills except for when accidentally leaving the sliding door open.  This is our first spring in a long time without a cat, and I’m nervous. I don’t want to get another cat. But I could totally see myself caving in attempt to avoid dealing with other methods!

Honestly, if we have to resort to traps, that’s got to be dh’s job. I have a weird appreciation for the cuteness of mice. That absolutely does not mean I want them in my house, but I can’t deal with them in distress.

[PeterPan]

6 hours ago, klmama said:

tulips. 

Yeah, the only way I can keep tasty plants like tulips or day lilies is to protect them with roses. Seriously. I have sort of a nook in the landscaping that is raised, so the only way the deer can access it is if they walk through some of those short (2') ever blooming roses. You might be able to get them at Walmart, don't remember. Definitely at a landscaping place. So I put my delicious nibbles in that nook, protected, haha. 

You know, it strikes me that barberry would work the same way, and it's attractive and affordable at Walmart ($5).  Around here landscapers will make a large square with bushes and put the delicate stuff in the middle.

Deer definitely make it interesting, lol. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by PeterPan

[Laura Corin]

At our old house, we used poison in the lofts and snap traps in the kitchen (200-y-o house - no way to make mouse-tight).  I've come across an odd problem in the new house: the mice come in through a larder that we are waiting to have newly lined (Covid restrictions on work).  Unfortunately, the same gaps that admit mice can admit slugs.  The slugs also like peanut butter but are not heavy enough to trip the trap.  They clean the trap beautifully each night, so the mice no longer approach.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Laura Corin

[PeterPan]

6 hours ago, klmama said:

my hosta shoots

Hey, now don't be cursing my hostas! I was just thinking I would try some at a new spot. But you're right, I totally forgot. Hostas are very tender and delicious when they're new. The deer will literally walk RIGHT UP to my house and eat them. There's a reason my freezer is full of deer, lol. (joking, it is but we only hunt in season)

I ended up using bird netting. You can buy it at Walmart sometimes, and you spread it over the plants and weigh it down with bricks or rocks. It's just enough to protect the hostas from the deer. Once the plants are *mature* they don't taste so good and you won't have that problem. It's only when they're young and tender. I netted them for the first year or two and after that the deer gave up. But now my hostas are so mature the leaves are huge. I imagine they taste pretty nasty at this point, lol.

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

Unfortunately, the same gaps that admit mice can admit slugs.  The slugs also like peanut butter but are not heavy enough to trip the trap. 

Oh PLEASE do not say this, lol. When we moved into this house (new build, in the woods) every spring we had a new type of invasion. It's like the ecosystem had not figured out we were artificial and that they were to stay out. One year it was the year of millipedes, and you'd come out in the morning to seemingly thousands of MILLIPEDES all over the floor. You know how they SMELL if you crunch them with your feet? 

Haha, so please, no slugs. Now I remember having slugs in CA when I lived there as a kid, hmm. I think I've seen maybe one slug here in 20+ years. Interesting. But you're right, when one infestation ends, another begins. Nature keeps trying, lol.

Edited April 22, 2021 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

Hey @klmama this is the bird netting. https://www.amazon.com/Dalen-Gardeneer-Protective-Netting-100055856/dp/B000BQ81A4/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=bird+netting&qid=1619090112&sr=8-5  But try walmart as it used to be cheaper there. You just lay it over the plants gently right now, as they're coming up, and it gives them protection.

Once hostas get chewed down, sometimes they miniaturize. Then they're toast and not going to recover, least so far as I've seen. They might survive partial chews, but you definitely don't want them eaten off and stunted.

[Katy]

39 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

At our old house, we used poison in the lofts and snap traps in the kitchen (200-y-o house - no way to make mouse-tight).  I've come across an odd problem in the new house: the mice come in through a larder that we are waiting to have newly lined (Covid restrictions on work).  Unfortunately, the same gaps that admit mice can admit slugs.  The slugs also like peanut butter but are not heavy enough to trip the trap.  They clean the trap beautifully each night, so the mice no longer approach.

Slugs hate something really simple... I think maybe it’s copper. A few houses back we had raised garden beds & I ordered something from a catalog to stop the slugs.  I think maybe it was copper tape I nailed along the edges.  Also I found some instructions to make traps, I think with water bottles and beer.  Anyway the point is there should be easy economical solutions for slugs and snails if you’re so inclined. 

[Farrar]

If I lived rurally, I'd do the rolling log or the bucket thing in garages and out spaces.

We live in the city. The mice are wily. They don't fall for the old fashioned spring traps no matter what I do. I poison them everywhere. But sealing up the house is the only true way to get rid of them. Steel wool and spray foam. Ideally what you want to do is poison them for a week or two and then seal things up and then poison again. IME, yes, they go die in the walls, but they're so tiny that they usually don't stink.

[Zebra]

I have posted about my mouse problems a couple of times.    The first time I had baby mice falling from my ceiling, and we NEVER figured that one out.  (I'm still working on my horror movie screenplay for Hollywood.)  Then, this past summer, I had an infestation.   I put out some little poison cubes for the mice, and our ENTIRE HOUSE STANK TO THE HIGH HEAVENS when a bunch of them died in the walls!    I live in a small house, but still.  There were 4 distinct "stink" zones in our house, which leads me to believe at least 4 mice died in various areas in the walls, and it was a nightmare.  I know you're thinking, "so what, your house was smelly!"  But I am telling you, it was AWFUL.   And it stank for WEEKS.   

So, I called in a professional.   They did find 3 holes that they plugged, they set up a ton of snap traps everywhere.   We only caught 2 mice.   And he said there wasn't much evidence of anything serious going on.   So then they just put out more poison outside around the house.   The mice allegedly won't come in the house to die.   A week after the bait stations were set out, thousands of flies descended onto my house.   And whether it was the mouse carcasses from before or the bait stations I don't know.   I can tell you I first saw a bunch of flies flying out of the outdoors bait stations, and that is when I called to have the bait stations taken away.   But it was too late by then.      

The professional did give me a good trick for snap traps.   Put peanut butter in the trap with a sunflower seed in it sticking straight up.   The mice can kind of lick at the peanut butter without engaging the snap, BUT, if the sunflower seed is sticking straight up they really have to work to get it out.   It has worked like a charm for us.   I have to put out traps the minute I hear any scratching, and just keep on top of the situation.   That seems to be all I can do about it.

And also, the worst times I have had have been August and dead of winter so I don't know about this whole fall/spring thing either...

I am deathly afraid of living in an area with snakes, but I am starting to wonder if that would be better than this!

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Slugs hate something really simple... I think maybe it’s copper. A few houses back we had raised garden beds & I ordered something from a catalog to stop the slugs.  I think maybe it was copper tape I nailed along the edges.  Also I found some instructions to make traps, I think with water bottles and beer.  Anyway the point is there should be easy economical solutions for slugs and snails if you’re so inclined. 

Thank you!  I have to go to the garden centre next week so I'll pick up some copper tape to surround the traps with.  Brilliant solution!

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

At our old house, we used poison in the lofts and snap traps in the kitchen (200-y-o house - no way to make mouse-tight).  I've come across an odd problem in the new house: the mice come in through a larder that we are waiting to have newly lined (Covid restrictions on work).  Unfortunately, the same gaps that admit mice can admit slugs.  The slugs also like peanut butter but are not heavy enough to trip the trap.  They clean the trap beautifully each night, so the mice no longer approach.

eewww.  the thought of them in a house.  blech.   I did piles of slug bait in my yard - and the next few days there were a lot of desiccated slugs.  I find more snails now.

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Hey, now don't be cursing my hostas! I was just thinking I would try some at a new spot. But you're right, I totally forgot. Hostas are very tender and delicious when they're new. The deer will literally walk RIGHT UP to my house and eat them. There's a reason my freezer is full of deer, lol. (joking, it is but we only hunt in season)

I ended up using bird netting. You can buy it at Walmart sometimes, and you spread it over the plants and weigh it down with bricks or rocks. It's just enough to protect the hostas from the deer. Once the plants are *mature* they don't taste so good and you won't have that problem. It's only when they're young and tender. I netted them for the first year or two and after that the deer gave up. But now my hostas are so mature the leaves are huge. I imagine they taste pretty nasty at this point, lol.

we don't get deer very often - but there were three bucks eating my strawberries one day . . . they didn't care much when we came home, they kept right on eating before moseying off.

2 hours ago, Katy said:

Slugs hate something really simple... I think maybe it’s copper. A few houses back we had raised garden beds & I ordered something from a catalog to stop the slugs.  I think maybe it was copper tape I nailed along the edges.  Also I found some instructions to make traps, I think with water bottles and beer.  Anyway the point is there should be easy economical solutions for slugs and snails if you’re so inclined. 

yes, copper is good.   

I've heard even just a bowl with beer.  the bottle would probably make for easier disposal.

[City Mouse]

Poison can be purchased that comes in small plastic box which is designed for the mouse to crawl inside and eat the poison, and the opening is too small for pets or kids to access the poison. However, I have not had good luck with that working. 
Pellet poison, water based traps, and filling in holes have been the only things that have been successful here. Sticky traps work sometimes, but can be very gross when not successful. Also, when we had a very large garter snake living under the house we did not have as much problem with mice, but I doubt you want to go get a snake.

[prairiewindmomma]

When we moved into this house we inherited a mouse problem. We scoured the house completely clean (checking all corners and crannies) and had pest control come seal up the house. They continued to arrive and we couldn’t figure it out. They had gnawed through the crawl space subflooring to under the stove. So...as you are sealing up the house, be sure to pull out the appliances.

We haven’t had a problem since.

[PeterPan]

4 hours ago, Zebra said:

sunflower seed in it sticking straight up.   The mice can kind of lick at the peanut butter without engaging the snap, BUT, if the sunflower seed is sticking straight up they really have to work to get it out.   It

Thank you for the amazing tips!!!

[MercyA]

Here I am. 🙂  (Raise your hand if you were expecting me. 😉 )

Poison. Someone remarked that they've never had trouble with poison killing other animals. How could you possibly know? If an owl or hawk flies away with a poisoned mouse, it's not going to return to drop down dead at your doorstep. Poison is not only dangerous to other animals, it's inhumane. It causes a slow death by internal bleeding, which I wouldn't wish on any living creature.

Sticky traps. Please, please, in the name of all that is good, don't use sticky traps. The mice gets stuck on them, rightly panic, urinate and defecate from fear and stress, and sometimes resort to chewing off their own limbs to escape. If they give up, it's a slow death by dehydration. Even if someone eventually finds them and bashes them over the head, they are going to spend the end of their life in fear and pain.

Rolling log traps. Please don't put water in these. Death by drowning is, again, extraordinarily inhumane. So is leaving the mice in the trap to dehydrate or starve to death. 

Live traps. This is what I used when we lived in the country and they worked very well. You *must* be willing to check them carefully multiple times a day and release the mice several miles from your home. 

Snap traps and electric traps. If you must kill the mice, this is the way to do it. They have the greatest chance of ensuring a quick and relatively merciful death. 

Definitely keeping the mice from getting inside in the first place is the best solution.

Good luck, PeterPan.

[Moonhawk]

Ok, so you said prevent mice. There are these not-poison sprays that have cinnamon and lavender and some other scents in them that you can spray in areas where you think they'd like to nest or enter and it helps deter them from coming around. They also sell sachets of the fragrances.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/insect-and-animal-control/animal-repellents/7672678

YMMV, but while this house was vacant there were definitely mice here that I had to convince not to roommate with us anymore. The house is so porous there's no way we can logically stop all entry points. Spraying first weekly then monthly has prevented them from coming back (it can be a slightly nauseating scent if you do a lot). The scent seems to do the trick for us and I haven't had to go to anything more deadly yet. At the very least it can be used as one ingredient in your recipe of prevention.

[kbutton]

On the rabbit problem...hosta and tulip raised bunnies taste quite good. 😉 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, City Mouse said:

hen we had a very large garter snake living under the house we did not have as much problem with mice, but I doubt you want to go get a snake.

That’s an interesting point. I wonder what would make the location more hospitable to snakes. 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

the house. They continued to arrive and we couldn’t figure it out. They had gnawed through the crawl space subflooring to under the stove. So...as you are sealing up the house, be sure to pull out the appliances.

You may be into something. This room has a crawl space below. 

[Carol in Cal.]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

When we moved into this house we inherited a mouse problem. We scoured the house completely clean (checking all corners and crannies) and had pest control come seal up the house. They continued to arrive and we couldn’t figure it out. They had gnawed through the crawl space subflooring to under the stove. So...as you are sealing up the house, be sure to pull out the appliances.

We haven’t had a problem since.

Yes.  The last time we had mice it was due to a little tiny opening to the outside that developed behind the refrigerator.  It took forever to find it.  Once we did, I told DH that I thought we could not rely on something flimsy like foam for out of sight locations like that, so he installed quarter rounds in the corners where the walls and floor met.  Sounds like overkill, but it wasn't.  

[PeterPan]

45 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

Ok, so you said prevent mice. There are these not-poison sprays that have cinnamon and lavender and some other scents in them that you can spray in areas where you think they'd like to nest or enter and it helps deter them from coming around. They also sell sachets of the fragrances.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/insect-and-animal-control/animal-repellents/7672678

YMMV, but while this house was vacant there were definitely mice here that I had to convince not to roommate with us anymore. The house is so porous there's no way we can logically stop all entry points. Spraying first weekly then monthly has prevented them from coming back (it can be a slightly nauseating scent if you do a lot). The scent seems to do the trick for us and I haven't had to go to anything more deadly yet. At the very least it can be used as one ingredient in your recipe of prevention.

If I put peppermint oil or cinnamon oil in a diffuser would the effect be similar. Where does it need to be to work? All around the space or targeted?

[athena1277]

We have a field behind our house, so we have to stay on top of dealing with mice.  We’ve had them in the house before.  As they attract the legless reptiles that I’m deathly afraid of, the mice cannot stay.   My pest control guy puts out bait boxes.  One thing he mentioned before was putting them near the air conditioner outside.  Apparently that’s a common spot for them to get in.  He put another under the deck, so both are in places kids don’t play and we don’t have pets.