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Variety Of New Traps Can Help Rid Your Home Of Mice

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - As the weather turns colder, mice and other small animals will be looking for places to keep warm.

You don't want that place to be your home, but if it is, there are humane ways to get rid of the rodents.

They are small and sneaky and they find some interesting ways to break right into your home.

"Any little hole that's in your foundation, around the windowsill, around a crack, anything, they're going to be able to get through. They just shrink their body down and they slide through the hole and that's it," Evey True Value Hardware's Andy Amrhein said.

Amrhein said more mice and other rodents move inside in November than any other month.

He always has a solid supply of traps and there are a lot of options. Some are more humane than others.

"You have to decide whether you want to repel them, you want to trap them, or kill them," Amrhein said.

If you want to repel them, Amrhein recommends an electronic repellent that puts out a high pitched sound. You can't hear it, but the mice can and they hate it.

Mouse Magic is another way to go. It's been on the market for a few years and Amrhein said it works.

"It's spearmint and peppermint oils in a granular form. So, it's in little bags and you put them where you want them," Amrhein said.

The attic and under the refrigerator are good places to start.

If you want to kill the rodents, there are plenty of traps out there.

You can go with the typical snap trap, or something a little more advanced.

There are two newer types of traps on the market. One actually electrocutes the animal, while the second is a guillotine.

"You have to bait it. It will come into it, and it's a lever that drops right down on its neck, right down on its head," Amrhein said.

Amrhein said the most inhumane trap is the glue trap. Once a mouse gets stuck, it can end up living for two to three days before dying of starvation.

"This trap just catches them. It will not kill them and if you're going to use a trap, use a trap that kills them at least," Amrhein said.

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