Rodents can be fun pets. But un-caged mice & rats make the worst houseguests possible.

These creatures can cause astounding damage. One cute little pair of mice can produce as many as 90 offspring a year. This is hardly a benign problem. For instance, the Johns Hopkins Medical Center has shown that rodent Dander & droppings are a leading cause of asthma in Children. I have seen cases in which rodents have started fires by gnawing through the plastic insulation of electrical wiring in the walls.

Banishing rodents requires a three pronged strategy. 1st, take steps to prevent them from getting inside in the first place. Start outside by taking a close look around the perimeter of your home. Any cracks in the foundation or holes such as those near the dryer vent or where the electric cables enter the house serve as doors to tiny mammals. A mouse can squeeze through a hole smaller than a dime. To seal these, stuff in wads of copper mesh (mice can't chew through it) then cover the holes with siliconized acrylic caulk. Or use expandable foam spray. You can purchase all of those things at the local hardware store.

2nd, look at the inside of your home from the rodent's point of view. Dispose of any stored wood, newspaper piles or trash on the floor (prime mouse terrain). Seal holes under sink cabinets where pipes poke out from the wall. Put all trash in lidded containers." If they can't feed, they can't breed," the Chicago Department of Streets & Sanitation is fond of saying, & they should know: In the past few years, the City has 7 million to less than 500,000, largely by issuing garbage cans with snap - on lids.

Now comes the gross part: You must kill the rodents living in your home. You have several options. The classic mouse trap works well enough. When you catch a mouse, you can either remove it and use the trap again, or dispose of the entire thing. Better mousetraps for some are ones coated with thick glue. These don't snap, so they're safer for humans, but they can leave you with a removal problem of a different sort. Either way, bait these with peanut butter, which rodents prefer to cheese. As the best "hands - off" alternative, consider rodent pellets or bait.

The leading brands, like dCon, contain a mild toxin that kills rodents within a few days. (there is an antidote in the event of human or pet intake. A medical facility can administer a shot of Vitamin K1 within 3 days to counteract the poison.) Keep in mind that a human, even a child, would have to ingest pounds of bait to become sick.

One last word: Plenty of products claim they give off an electronic sound or a pulse that will rid your home & yard of rodent pests these work initially but I find rodents get used to the sound quickly & soon ignore it. So save your money & remove those unwanted guests the right way.

Source of reference: USA Weekend 1.12.03 house smart by Lou Manfredini