How To Humanely & Permanently Banish Rodents From Your Home or Office

Discovering mice in your home can be unsettling, but you don’t have to resort to cruel methods to solve the problem. Kicking them out with a little compassion is ethical and environmentally friendly.

Forget the cruel snap and glue traps and skip the exterminator; steel wool is a 'once & done' solution for keeping rodents out of your home. 

Why Steel Wool?

Your home has lots of things pests can chew through to make entry, including plastic, wood, vinyl, rubber, fiberglass, foam, fabric, wires, low gauge aluminum, and water pipes. 

However, rodents cannot chew through steel wool, making it the perfect (and most permanent) solution for blocking holes and cracks to keep them out!

Before you start

If you think you already have mice, get one or two humane live traps (about $20 apiece), and as you catch them, simply release them outside. Once you know a room is empty, seal it off!

3-Step Plan To Pest Proof Your Home or Office From Rodents

Step 1:

Inspect your room/house/office for points-of-entry. Mark every hole or crack you see, so you remember them later. Almost all structures are susceptible to pests-especially old buildings. Rats and mice can squeeze through the smallest of openings (the size of a dime for mice, and a quarter for rats), so look for entry ways such as:

➔ small cracks in the foundation

➔ small openings in walls (such as cable and utility lines), Floor and dryer vents

➔ under doors

➔ through open eaves in the attic

➔ under sinks (where water pipes enter into your cupboards)

➔ behind appliances

You will have to plug any openings larger than one-quarter inch (that’s about 0.6 centimeters wide), so don’t overlook even the smallest of holes during this process.

Step 2:

Purchase standard steel wool, (some brands are the XCluder Rodent, Barrier DIY Kit, Red Devil Steel Wool Extra Fine, or PestPlug Steel Wool DIY Kit), and caulking to secure it in place. Place steel wool into cracks (use caulk to seal it into place if necessary).