What To Do When You See A Mouse + How To Chat With Your Landlord
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We've all been conditioned to believe anyone who loves themselves and their home would never allow themselves to have a mouse. That is a super damaging mindset to those of us dealing with the little critters.
So much so that it makes it hard to find information on how to fix the problem. Even though it's embarrassing AF to admit these kinds of things, but it's only fair to show the not-so-glamourous side of apartment living, especially when y'all are there to support me when I'm being featured on The Washington Post or launching a wallpaper collection! So, let's get into these remedies.
Before the mouse...
I lived here for months without any knowledge of the rodents, but because I moved in during the summer months, I did have a few ants around the kitchen. No big deal. Even so, I wasn't trying to live amongst those little devils, so I whipped up a natural pest remedy made of peppermint oil, water, and dish soap in a spray bottle. I use it to wipe down my countertops and spritz around the window seals. And the ants never showed their faces around here again.
This mixture is toxic to dogs and cats; spay at your own risk
As it turns out, peppermint oil is a deterrent for mice, so in trying to fix one problem, I slowed down another. You'll notice a key ingredient in most rodent repellants is peppermint oil, so skip the $16 sprays and just buy a big bottle of 100% pure peppermint oil. So, it's a much cheaper way to repel rodents.
For years, a friend who lived on a country farm loved placing peppermint tea bags in the back of her kitchen cabinets. She swore by this method as hers was the only house among the neighbors that was mouse-free. #whataflex
During the Infestation
Once you notice a mousey little problem, call your landlord or property manager immediately! While mice are normal, if you don't address the problem, it will worsen, so immediately request they send an exterminator to assess the situation and lay glue traps.
My old apartment had exterminators visit 2x a year, which was great, but smaller (less organized) buildings might need a different service, and you'll need to chat with them. The landlord's first action should be to lay glue traps. If you have on-site management, this can be done within hours of a day, but if maintenance is off-site, this could take much longer, so it’s best to keep a few traps on site. I swear, the biggest downside of my apartment is not having on-site maintenance, but I have south-facing windows, which feels like a fair trade.
Laying out cheap glue (or snap) traps is the best way to catch mice... period! Skip the fancy traps that come with no-show cages and humane blah blah blah...
They do not work. I spent over $100 on those traps, and they didn't catch anything. You can skip the fancy bait as well. Good 'ole Jiffy works just fine.
Be careful with whatever you buy. Most products that are toxic to rodents can also harm your dog or cat, and we wouldn't want any accidents.
If one mouse made it into your house, best believe three more are right behind him, so you'll need to find the source of the problem. For me, it was a 2ft. long gash behind my kitchen sink, dishwasher, and stove and a larger than normal gap where the pipe for my radiator comes up from the floor.
Cut off their access by closing up any holes - adding drywall, filling a hole with steel wool, or using foam sprays. Whatever you can do to close the gap, do it! Around the radiator, I used Mouse Foam Sealant and placed split flanges around the gaps. It's been about a week since the wall was closed up, and I added the flanges. So far, NO MICE ~ YAY!
Talk To Your Landlord
Figuring out how maintenance works in your apartment is an important question to ask BEFORE moving and signing a lease. You don't want to see a mouse at 2 AM and not know who you should call. There are a lot of questions you need to ask of a potential landlord - it's hard to keep them all straight, so here's a list of 16 of the most important questions to ask during an apartment search.
After You've Taken Your House Back
Only time will tell if they come back, but either way, I will do whatever it takes to live a mouse-free life. The kitchen renovation is still in progress - you can get into the design plans, but just know there are a few things you can do to encourage the mice to never return.
First, keep all your food in air-tight containers. I'm partial to the OXO Pop Containers, the 10-piece set is currently on sale btw.
Next, take your trash out regularly. I don't cook often and the special Simplehuman trashbags are expensive, so I'd only take the garbage out when it was full, which could take a week or more -don't judge me, Homies. Now, I'm taking the trash out every 2-3 days no matter what!
As I've gotten older, it feels like I spend every waking moment of my life cleaning or preparing to clean my apartment. It sucks, but that's life. And with these tips + a little luck, hopefully I’ll never see a mouse ever again.
xoxo, Imani
