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My house is on a farm with many trees. In 2016, when this infestation occurred, we had more than 51 in. of snow. I found the entry hole to their nest in a rotted doorframe to my walkout basement, where snow builds up against it. I filled the hole with steel wool, then sprayed foam on both sides. Luckily, water doesn’t normally seep in because the landscape drains it away.
The door leads to an unused bedroom and my office. Both have 4×4 glider egress windows at ground level. The house is more than 1,600 sq. ft. each level, so the mice have many hiding places. They were feasting on clothes, towels, shoes — and once they found the kitchen, on food labels.
I’d been using mouse-sized glue traps and catching some, but there were a couple of smart ones in the mix. Evidently, they were getting used to the smaller traps and were able to jump over them. I’d never encountered that before. I switched to rat-sized glue boards, and was able to catch those last two mice, to my great relief.
Laubsch is a retired pest management professional in Pierce, Neb. He can be reached at elaubsch@telebeep.com.