Pets are a lot of fun to have in your home, but other animals such as mice – at least the undomesticated ones – are another story entirely. When there are mice or other pests in your house, you should take steps to remove them promptly, but already having a pet there makes things a little more complicated. To get rid of mice while having one or more pets, Preventive Pest Control CA has some key tips for you.
Health Risks
Mice are dangerous to both you and your pets. Mice can carry a variety of diseases, and they will contaminate your food supplies if they have access to them. This could put your pet at risk, especially if your pet doesn’t know any better and gets too close to a mouse when you’re not looking. For your pets’ safety, keep them away from areas of the house where they are more likely to encounter a mouse.
Avoiding Crossfire
There are lots of different ways you can exterminate mice – the trick is finding one that targets only the mouse and not your pet too. For instance, poisonous sprays and baits are effective on mice, but your pet could get poisoned as well. Likewise, a conventional mousetrap could snare a curious pet instead of the rodent.
Fortunately, there are still multiple ways to deal with mice under those circumstances. Live mouse traps are a good way to catch mice without harming them – or your pet if it gets curious. Peppermint oil is an excellent deterrent against rodents – just keep in mind that cats hate the scent too. One other option is ultrasound repellants, but watch your pets to make sure that they aren’t affected by the frequency.
Training Pets to Catch Mice
On the other hand, you might want to make the most out of your pets and have them deal with the rodent problem for you. With the right training, cats and dogs can learn to safely and effective capture mice for you. The key to the training is to get them interested in the chase and reward them.
For dogs, there are several training approaches you can take:
- Live Mouse – Encourage your dog to pursue and catch a pet mouse.
- Toy Mouse – Get your dog to track a mouse-scented toy.
- Scent Trail- Teach the dog to follow mouse-scented trails.
Cats are often more finicky, so here are a few things to try:
- Leave cat treats in mice-infested areas.
- Teach your cat to play with mouse-like toys.
- “Apprentice” your cat to a trained mouser.
Multi-Pest Experts
Rodent control services are just one of the many pest management areas that Preventive Pest Control has professional experience in. No matter what kind of pest control problem you have in Southern California, you can trust us to leave you 100% satisfied. Contact us today or learn more about our services today.