Whether rats and mice make you squeal in delight or terror, nobody wants to give the little critters free reign to roam around in their home. Before you run to the store for a giant bag of rat poison and an enormous mousetrap, let’s look at a couple of humane and eco-friendly ways to run the little marauders off for good.

Re-nest suggests soaking cotton balls in peppermint oil and jamming them into the tiny holes where the little pests are getting in. Of course, once you figure out where all the entry points are, plug them up. Mice can squirm their way through holes as little as 1/4′ wide.

Many home improvement and retail box stores sell humane mouse traps that snare rodents without injuring them. Don’t just dump your catch out the back door, though – he’ll just make his way back in the next night. If you can stomach a small passenger in the car, drive it to a nearby field or forest to turn it loose. At the very least, you can probably find a local neighborhood boy willing to walk it down the street a ways before releasing it.

If you encounter a four-footed friend during your midnight stroll to the kitchen for a drink of water, don’t drive all the way to the store to buy a trap – improvise. Grab the cardboard tubing from a roll of toilet paper and crush one side so it lays flat on the table. Put a dab of peanut butter or bread at one end, balance it on the edge of a table or kitchen counter, then position a trash can underneath. The mouse will camper into the tube to grab the bait and – BAM – the whole contraption will fall into the trash, taking Feivel along with it.

Of course, the best way to prevent critters from taking up residence in your home is to keep all your food sealed and off the floor. Plant mint around the perimeter of your house to keep mice and rats and bay, and store outdoor garbage cans away from the building.

Have some great tips for dispatching mice, rats, and other unwelcome four-legged tiny creatures? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Image by ArtBrom

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Looks like Britain is experiencing an explosion in their rat population. In fact, according pest control company Rentokil, there are probably more rats living in Britain than humans.

There are various theories floating around as to why this is. Some experts are blaming a shift from weekly to bi-weekly trash collection. Others are saying it’s all tied into the fact that many households have “poorly secured household waste” lying around, a problem that could become more prevalent as the recession takes hold and more properties are deserted and remain empty.

But one enterprising pest-control company, HomeServe, issued a press release this week placing the blaming solely on “the trend for urbanites to live a greener, organic lifestyle unwittingly attracts rodent visitors to the plentiful sources of food and shelter.” Apparently influenced by celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey, there are up to 1.2 million households in Britain who -¦admit to keeping chickens whilst 8.8 million admit to having a garden compost heap. 19.5 million households say they leave out food for birds and animals. All this is likely to have contributed to the 6.5 million Brits who’ve reported rats in their gardens.”

Image: asplosh

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