Rats, mice, ants, roaches, spiders, and bed bugs are all types of pests. Pests are sometimes relatively harmless –just irritating. They can also be detrimental to homes (termites), agriculture (codling moth) or livestock (ticks, mosquitos).

While I have little experience with the majority of pests, I have dealt with them on a smaller scale. Pests have destroyed plants in my garden – ate them down to the ground – and mice have been in my home. This year, we were able to keep our garden relatively free of invasive species and bugs, but my vermin problem doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

Each year, around this time, as the weather cools, I know it won’t be long before we find more mice in our garage. It is almost like clockwork; it gets colder, we set the traps, catch 5-10, they are gone for a few weeks, and come back again.

It is an irritating and disturbing process, but it is something that we are used to. We have tested out a few ways to control mice. And after many tests of different mouse traps (kill, no kill, trap, snap, etc.) We found the traps with the little plastic cheese is the best!

I should mention, we don’t put out poison because of our very curious dog, but mice killing poison might be a good option for some households. The mice eat the poison and die within a set time frame, usually no longer than a couple of days. This is nice for those who don’t want to see the dead mice. Since poison isn’t an option, and we have been using traps for years, I have learned many tips and tricks for setting mouse traps to help rid our home of mice, quicker.

My Tips For Killing Mice in Traps:

- Be Proactive. To keep the mice-count low, be proactive. Set traps before you know they are there. This way they will have less time to breed and multiply. Plus, you never know if a mouse has been around for a week or a month. Just to be safe, set the traps in advance—before seeing a mouse or mouse evidence (bite marks, poop, scratches)

- Choose Peanut Butter – When using the old fashion wooden trap, I found that the sticky peanut butter is much better at attracting mice than cheese. Whether is is creamy or chunky, the mice love it. Works every time.

- Paper Towel Dimension – Take a tiny piece of ripped paper towel and lightly press it into the peanut butter. Make sure the towel sticks to the peanut butter and set the trap. I discovered this trick after the sneaky mice licked the traps clean over and over again. Adding the paper towel makes them have to take it off before they lick, which traps them.

- The Right Placement – Where you set down the mouse traps is crucial for catching them. Mice like to run next to walls. Often times they come in through the walls or under doors. Its best to set the trap as close to the wall as possible, near where you think they are entering. The traps should be parallel to the wall, since mice run along the outer surfaces of rooms.

It’s hard not to feel grossed out and guilty about having a mice problem. But don’t feel guilty. It is normal to have a mouse (or two) in your home or garage. You can have the fanciest of fancy homes and you might still have mice! Mice come in for food, warmth and shelter, so don’t feel like you’re not clean enough or are doing something wrong. Just follow the above steps for catching the mice and hopefully they will eventually find a new hang out.

If you found these tips helpful, or have additional tips, I would love to hear them in the comments below!

Purchase: You can find the mouse traps that I prefer, the Victor Mouse Trap M325 Pro Holdfast in a number of different quantities on www.domyownpestcontrol.com

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Disclosure: No compensation was given for this review. I did receive a sample product from the sponsor for the purpose of this honest review. This did not affect the outcome of this review. All opinions are 100% my own. For full disclosure click here.