Rodent-proof Your House

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• Put out lots of traps all at once. More mice will be trapped the first night than at any other time. Use this rule of thumb: Put out twice as many traps as you think you have mice, placed in groups of two or three at irregular intervals.

• Keep a record of where you put traps so you can go back and get them.

• Trap for three days, gather up all the traps, and then do another mass trapping a week later.

• To find where to place traps, sprinkle talcum powder in likely places and check for footprints, or follow trails of droppings. Mice produce an average of 50 fecal pellets a day. You also can use an ultraviolet lamp to look for traces of rodent urine, which is fluorescent in UV light. There may be a lot, because mice do not have bladders. Their urine runs down their legs and leaves a trail wherever they go.

• To nab a rat in cold weather, attract it to the warmth of a cardboard box outfitted with a shop light. Cut an entry hole in the box, and place a baited snap trap inside. Check daily, but don’t move the trap until the rat is caught.

— Courtesy McCloud Services, a 100-year-old, Chicago-based pest control company.

Careful Cleanup

• Spray the rodent and the trap with a mixture of 1½-cups bleach mixed in a gallon of water.

• Wear rubber gloves, and quickly drop the rodent into a plastic bag. Double-bag the day’s catch before disposing of it in the garbage.

• Use the same bleach solution to wet down areas strewn with rodent droppings before wiping everything clean with paper towels while wearing rubber gloves. It will kill a lot of the bacteria present, which rodents spread via both fur and feces, and will also reduce the likelihood that hantavirus will become airborne. Although it is extremely rare, hanta is a respiratory disease carried by rodents that can be deadly to humans. It can be inhaled if you sweep or vacuum areas where rodents have been active.

• In dusty barns, where rodent activity is high, it’s wise to wear a dust mask, just to stay on the safe side.

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