Catching mice

Preventing mouse infestations is a significant challenge, both in urban and rural areas. Mice can cause significant damage to homes, warehouses and farms and often transmit diseases. Our goal at DEUFA is to provide effective products to solve your rodent problem that are safe for the environment as well as for the inhabitants of homes and rural areas

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House mouse

Appearance: brown to gray/black fur, often gray on the belly
Size: 15 to 20 cm including almost hairless tail, tail about as long as body
Droppings: dark, up to 8 mm long

Dangers: Transmission of a variety of pathogens that can be transmitted to humans (rickettsial pox, rat typhus, leptospirosis and a severe form of hantavirus) through contact with rodent feces, urine, saliva and hair. They also carry fleas, ticks and mites.

Occurrence: To avoid their natural enemies, they are nocturnal (highest activity level at dusk). They like to live in family groups in nests near food sources.

Generally: attics, garages, cellars, kitchens, storerooms, greenhouses
They like to be found in: blocked corners, behind facade panels, under cupboards, shelves, in upholstery and other cavities (full or empty boxes etc.)

Food:

In nature mainly spiders and insects
Indoors: Omnivorous - primarily cereals and cereal products; moisture absorption via food, therefore also able to survive in dry environments without access to water

Reproduction: They reproduce in buildings up to 10 times a year with up to 8 animals. Within 3 months, a moulting flock can quickly comprise up to 60 animals.

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Wood mouse

Appearance: beige/brown to gray/black fur, often light on the belly with white feet
Size: up to 22 cm incl. almost hairless tail, tail shorter than body
Droppings: dark, up to 10 mm long

Dangers: Wood mice can transmit toxoplasmosis and intestinal viruses through contact with excrement.

Occurrence: Outdoors, they can be found in hedges, gardens, ditches and deciduous and mixed forests. Close to humans, they are often found in garden sheds or greenhouses, huts, barns or woodpiles. In buildings, they often live together with house mice.

Food: Fruit (nuts, acorns, cherry stones, berries etc.) depending on the season, insects, small animals of all kinds. The food is also stored in the nests/caves.

Reproduction: Wood mice reproduce much more slowly than house mice and primarily in the summer months.

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Yellow-necked mouse

Appearance: reddish-brown back, white belly, yellowish in the neck area
Size: Body approx. 10 cm
Droppings: smaller than in house mice and wood mice, dark

Dangers: On contact with excrement, wood mice can transmit tick-borne encephalitis, toxoplasmosis and intestinal viruses or even the Dobrava virus. They also carry fleas, ticks and mites.

Occurance: Yellow-necked mice are often found in deciduous forests and approach buildings primarily in the winter months. Unlike the wood mouse, the yellow-necked mouse tends to climb high trees. In the wild, yellow-necked mice live in tree hollows, nests or underground burrows. Close to humans, they are often found in garden sheds or greenhouses, huts, barns or woodpiles. In buildings, they often live together with house mice.

Food: Fruit (nuts, acorns, beechnuts, etc.) depending on the season, insects, small animals of all kinds. The food is also stored in the nests/caves.

Reproduction: Yellow-necked mice reproduce more slowly than house mice and primarily in the summer months.

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Shrew

Appearance: brown/grey to black, lighter on the belly
Size: Body up to 8 cm long, hairy black significantly shorter than body
Droppings: Significantly larger than house mouse droppings, easy to crumble

Note: Shrews are small vertebrates or mammals and occur in nature as beneficial predators that eat plant pests such as snails and grubs. They are therefore not considered pests in the wild. In addition, there is no evidence of disease transmission to humans. Nevertheless, they carry ticks, fleas and mites.

Species conservation: In some countries of the European Union, shrews are a protected species - so please observe regional and national laws and regulations!

Occurance: During the warmer months, shrews live outdoors in meadows, fields, hedgerows, heaps, often at the edge of forests or in gardens (beds, compost heaps). They approach buildings to hibernate.

Food: Insects, spiders, worms, snails, woodlice. Plants and nuts are eaten in small quantities. In buildings they also eat human food.

Reproduction: Shrews reproduce slowly in the spring and fall months.

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Red-backed vole

Appearance: reddish brown, beige on the belly and legs
Size: Body up to 13 cm long, hairy black about half as long as the body
Droppings: 3-5 mm long and rather thick, dark to black with round ends

Dangers: Contact with the excretions of bank voles can transmit a number of pathogens that are very dangerous for humans. These include the Puumala variant of the Hanta virus, which can lead to a severe flu-like illness with acute kidney failure in humans. Dust stirred up in the spaces between piles of wood can also lead to infection in rooms where people are present. Transmission of fox tapeworms to humans via pets is also rare. Therefore, wear a respirator (filter class FFP3) and gloves when trapping red-backed voles and removing their tracks indoors and outdoors!

Occurance: Red-backed voles are active during the day and at night. They build their nests in the wild, protected underground close to the surface. The burrows have many entrances and exits.

Food: Herbs, acorns, beechnuts, seeds, nuts and, depending on the season, insects and small animals of all kinds. Tree bark is also eaten in winter. The food is often stored in the nests/caves.

Reproduction: Plague-like multiplication in the summer months

How do you usually notice your mouse infestation?

In buildings/garages/shelters (close to people):

Gnaw marks in the form of destroyed packaging, cables, pipes, food containers, insulation and insulating materials, wooden and plastic parts
Droppings: Mouse droppings, black, 3-8 mm long
Noises: scratching, gnawing and running noises, especially at dusk and at night
Rarely and only with severe infestation: urine odor

In nature (especially red-backed vole):

Mouse holes in the ground as access to buildings
Nests in bushes, hedges and shrubs
Bark damage to young trees

Pest control with mouse traps

The method of poison-free pest control for mice is the use of mouse traps. These can be divided into snap traps and live traps. A corresponding overview of DEUFA products for each type of trap can be found in the article “overview and advantages of DEUFA traps”.

Steps before setting up the mouse traps:

In general, you should wear gloves and pay attention to hygiene when cleaning the infested rooms and areas and when handling the animal traps. This is not to avoid the human odor on the traps (mice are not driven away or warned off by this) but mainly to avoid injuries and to maintain hygiene. When cleaning the affected areas, you may come into contact with rodent excrement, whereby gloves prevent the transmission of disease and reduce risks.
You can rarely solve a mouse infestation with just one trap. It is advisable to set up several traps in the affected area.
Remove all traces of urine and feces in infested areas - this allows you to determine how activity changes during the control measure.
Remove all food sources - this draws the mice's attention to the bait placed in the trap and thus increases the success of the catch.
Functional and completeness check of the latches used - ensure that the latch used is functioning correctly and is complete and check the impact force. It is particularly important that you check that the spring and the latch bar or closing mechanism of the latch are free of damage.

Installation and setting up the trap:

To set the mousetrap, please follow the steps in the respective instructions. We recommend using peanut butter, chocolate cream, bacon or cereal as bait for mice.
Then place the baited and tensioned traps in the areas with high rodent activity (areas where a lot of droppings or damage has occurred) along the walkways (under/behind cupboards, on the wall, on holes) with the rocker facing the wall.
Make sure that the traps are standing firmly and straight on the ground. On the one hand, this allows the trap to function properly. On the other hand, mice are irritated by wobbling traps. Above all, however, a secure stand ensures successful trapping and avoids painful false catches.
The areas with set traps must be marked and cordoned off for bystanders and children. If pets have access to the set traps, these must be covered with trap tunnels or e.g. boxes/buckets with an access hole. To completely rule out injuries here, we recommend the use of live traps without a striking mechanism!
Check the traps daily (live traps at least every 4-6 hours). Remove the trapped rodents from the traps immediately. The traps can then be used again.

Essential to know:

The bait attracts mice over a range of approx. 1 m. If rodents ignore baited traps and are not caught, changing the bait material can help. Also check that you have removed all food sources in the area of the traps.
After catching a mouse, you can clean the traps with water without detergent. The smell of the killed mouse does not deter mice from reusing the trap.