Keeping Mickey at Disney

            Several weeks ago a colleague of my wife’s approached me with a “relentless” rodent problem at their home. His wife had spotted several mice scampering about their home in various rooms. The great thing about rodent control is that there are many different options because the scenarios can be infinitely diverse. The couple has a young child who is just beginning to venture around the house without the assistance of either parent. With this in mind, they wanted an option that would keep little Addie safe. My first recommendation was to simply use some glue traps along with some peanut butter as an attractant, and place the traps in the areas where it seems like the activity is the greatest. Feces are often a good indicator of this. Its gross to think about I know, but Mickey Mouse droppings are like bread crumbs, it helps us see exactly where they have been. I reminded him it was important to place the traps along the edges of walls, appliances or furniture because both rats and mice have poor eyesight, so they follow along edges with the sides of their body. He thanked me and then went straight home to rid himself of his little furry friends.

            About ten days later I receive a call from him and much to my chagrin, my glue trap suggestion failed. Now, I work for a company who sells pest control products and should be a credible source in his eyes. Needless to say I was a little embarrassed. As far as I knew his child had not magically grown up and was still exploring with her new found ability so I could not offer him any sort of mechanical trap or poison. Well, like I said there are many different options, so my next suggestion was one relatively new and not commonly used; rodent exclusion. No matter the situation, every rodent problem has one common denominator, an access point(s). If rodents are shying away from your trap or your bait, then a great alternative is determining how they have made it into your house and simply deny them that access. I told him to go home and determine where the mice were getting in at. Most likely, entrance points will be close in proximity to the area where the largest amount of the rodent activity has been observed. He called me back later that day and told a couple holes around his soffit and one inside his garage. That night he came by and picked up a tube of DeTour for Rodents a repellent packaged in a caulk tube. DeTour contains white pepper and other minerals and oils in a waterproof gel. It is designed to caulk around access points to prevent rodents and even, squirrels, raccoon and opossum from entering an area. A very simple process, I received a call three days later to be informed that “Mickey had packed his bags and must have left for Disney World!”