Mousetraps are normally the first thing people try when they discover they have mice. This is a tried & true method of getting rid of mice. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions on getting rid of mice with mousetraps.
How many mousetraps do I need?
The more traps you set, the more mice you will catch!
You should buy way more than you think you need. Your goal is to catch all the mice within the first few days of setting the traps, not over the course of weeks when they will have had time to breed & make more of a mess. I recommend setting out 6 mouse traps at a bare minimum. And it doesn’t hurt to use a few different type of mouse traps.
What type of mouse trap is best?
Here our Top 3 Favorite Mouse Traps.
- The Victor Electronic Mouse Trap is a true customer favorite, since they are quick, clean & effective. They are easy to set & you don’t have to touch the dead mouse – plus the electric shock is quick & humane. You don’t need to worry about stolen bait with this mouse trap.
- The Snap-E Mouse Trap is the best selling and highest rated snap trap . These traps are easy to set, easy to bait and easy to release & reuse. They are made of strong plastic & steel, so will last a long time. Amazon has a great deal on a 6-pack too, so this is a nice economical solution.
- If you prefer a humane mouse trap, we like the Havahart Live Catch Mouse Trap. This live mouse trap gets our vote since it has a cage design that allows air to circulate while your mouse is waiting to be released. There are a few other humane mouse traps options, you can read a comparison in our Humane Mouse Trap Review article.
If you are still undecided, visit our best mouse traps page to see the pros and cons for each type of mouse trap, plus helpful tips for using them.
Where should I put the mousetraps?
Once you have your mousetraps, you need to place them in the correct location. Place the mouse traps near where the mice are living for your best success rate. This is a critical step in your success to getting rid of mice with mousetraps and the one people most often overlook.
Tap into your investigative powers and find out where the mice are sleeping. Place the traps a few feet away from their home base along the walls or baseboards. Another great location is behind furniture. Mice are very skittish, they will be more likely to investigate a new object if they feel safe. If you don’t get any mice in a certain location after a few days, be ready to change it up a little. You may either change the bait you are using, the location of the trap or even the type of trap you are using.
How often should I check the mouse traps?
The short answer is at least twice a day if possible. You want to remove the mice you catch from the traps as soon as possible. This is important for health reasons, since you don’t want to allow the mouse to start decomposing & spreading bacteria. You will also want to set another trap in its place to keep getting rid of mice.
Check mouse traps at least 2x a day for best results.
If you are using the live traps, this is especially critical. When you use one of those plastic tip traps & don’t remove the mouse from the small enclosure within a day it will suffocate.
If you are using live traps to be more humane, make sure you can empty them often. The plastic enclosed ones should be checked about every 8 hours or so, while the cage type traps should be checked at least daily. If you can’t do this, using one of the snap or kill traps is actually much kinder.
How do I know when I have caught all the mice?
You will know you have been successful in getting rid of mice when you don’t see any droppings or other evidence for several days. Make sure you regularly clean up all mouse evidence, so you can tell if the mice are coming back.