Mice and rats love warm places with a steady food supply and protection from the elements; hence, their decision to make a home in your house. Rodents like these carry potential diseases, and even if they didn’t you likely don’t want them in you home.
It can be terrifying to wake up night and find a mouse in the bed with you. Luckily there are four steps you can take to minimize the chances of that happening to you ever again!
Four Steps on How To Keep Mice Away From Your Bed
The four steps to keep a mouse out of your bed are:
- Move Your Bed
- Use Fresh Cab
- Use Safe Mouse Traps
- Clean Your Room
Let’s look at each of these steps in more detail below.
Move Your Bed
Mice and rats have horrible eyesight and navigate inside your home by rubbing against the walls. Take a look at the baseboards in your home and you will probably see greasy streaks that the mice are leaving behind.
Move your bed so it is at LEAST six inches away from the walls to keep it out of the mouse’s natural path.
Use Fresh Cab
Fresh Cab is one of the only mouse repellents that actually work. The active ingredient in Fresh Cab is Balsam Pine Fir Oil which the EPA has registered as a pesticide that repels mice.
Place at LEAST one pouch of Fresh Cab by every bedpost. You will also want to place a few pouches against both sides of the wall approaching your bed.
The scent of the pouches wears out after a few weeks so you will need to replace them regularly.
Do not bother using ultrasonic repellents as they do not work on mice. They can also have unpleasant side effects.
Use Safe Mouse Traps
If mice have been coming around then you need to put out some safe, easy to use traps to catch them and get them out of your house. Don’t worry, this is easier than you think and there are some great non-lethal options if you don’t want to hurt the mice.
The important thing is to avoid the standard snap traps and use something safer. The last thing you want to do is groggily get out of bed and step on a snap trap that you forgot about.
My favorite traps for this situation are Mice Cubes. These are basically clear plastic rectangular containers that have a one way door. I like these traps because they are effective and incredibly cheap. You can bait a dozen of these, place them against the walls where the mouse are travelling and have a high degree of success in catching those little rodents!
The one thing you need to be aware of when you use a Mice Cube is that it only traps the mouse, it doesn’t kill it. Some people love that the trap is non-lethal so they can release the mouse outside. Some people hate that it is non-lethal because they are terrified of the mouse and are afraid to release it.
If you would prefer to use a lethal trap then your best bet is going to be an electric mouse zapper. A mouse zapper is a plastic box that houses a couple of metal electrode pads. When a mouse steps on the pads it is instantly electrocuted. While that might sound gruesome it has been scientifically determined that this is one of the most humane traps available since it kills instantly.
If you would like to look at other options, including snap traps, read The Best Mouse Traps.
Clean Your Room
Mice are attracted to food sources. Make sure that you are not encouraging them to come in by leaving a feast for them to enjoy.
If your room looks anything my my son’s room then there are dirty dishes lying around and half eaten bags of snacks stuffed under the bed. take some time to clean up your room and remove all possible food sources.
If you are in the habit of eating in your bed then change your linens and stop using your bed as a snack zone. Regardless of how neat you think you are you end up leaving crumbs in your bed when you eat there.
If All Else Fails Then Call A Professional
If you have a mouse infestation that is too severe, you need to call an exterminator. He can use specialized equipment to get rid of them. This should be your last resort.
As long as you follow the advice we’ve given and purchased a set of humane mouse traps, you should soon have fewer of them coming into your house. Mice eat food, leave droppings and carry diseases that you don’t want in your home.
