Non-Chemical Mouse Control in North Georgia

A mouse inside a wall void on insulation in the wall viewed from above by the pest control technician.

It's been said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door, and there's a lot of history to back up that saying.

Mice have been pests of humankind for all of recorded history, and mouse control is one of the most in-demand services provided by exterminators throughout the world. People have been trying to keep mice out of their homes and businesses pretty much forever.

In North Georgia (and in most places), mouse control in urban areas is most in demand in the fall and early winter, when mice and rats start looking for warm, cozy places to spend the cooler months. In more rural areas of North Georgia, mouse control is less seasonal. Keeping mice out of stables, barns, silos, and other agricultural buildings is more of a year-round challenge than mouse control in cities.

The Common House Mouse

The adult house mouse, Mus musculus, averages about three inches in length (not including the tail) and is usually gray or brown in color, with white or light-colored bellies. They have relatively large and prominent ears, and their tails are roughly the same length as their bodies. Their bodies are fur-covered except for their ears and tails, which have very little hair.

Gap over baseboard in a living room in Atlanta

Mice can squeeze through very small gaps: a hole the size of a dime, or a crack the thickness of a pencil.

The house mouse's skeletal system allows mice to squeeze through very narrow openings. An adult house mouse can squeeze through a crack about the width of the thickness of a pencil, or through a hole about the size of a dime. Once they get inside, they can travel throughout a home inside the walls and ceilings. That's why mice can be found anywhere in a house from the attic down to the basement or crawl space. Given a choice, however, mice usually settle down very near to their food sources.

Part of the reason mice like to stay close to home is that they have relatively poor vision and navigate mainly by smell and touch. They feel their way along walls and other vertical surfaces and are uncomfortable in open spaces where they are more vulnerable to predators.

Paradoxically, however, mice are also very curious creatures who readily explore new objects in their environments, including mousetraps. In fact, professional mouse exterminators often use no bait at all on certain types of mouse traps, relying on the mouse's natural curiosity instead.

Health Risks Associated with Mice

Mouse in cupboard eating breakfast cereal

Mice can spread serious diseases when they get into stored foods.

Mice pose a much more serious risk to personal and public health than most people realize.

Mice are directly involved in the transmission of several serious diseases including Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and dysentery. They're also hosts to parasites such as ticks and fleas, which in turn are involved in the transmission of serious diseases including Lyme disease, murine typhus, and even plague.

In addition, because of their small size and inquisitive nature, mice come into closer contact with humans than do their larger cousins, the rats. Mice often get into kitchen cupboards, for example, where they gnaw through food packages to get at the goodies inside, contaminating the food with their saliva, hair, and bodily wastes in the process, and spreading germs everywhere they go.

Mice also get into drawers, closets, and other storage spaces more easily, where they damage and contaminate clothing, utensils, and other stored items. Mice are gnawers and nibblers, and it's common for them to gnaw little pieces out of every garment in a drawer, while also contaminating and staining the clothing with their droppings and urine.

Our Non-Chemical Approach to Mouse Control

Chewed insulation at mouse control job in Monroe, Georgia

Mice chewed through insulation at this Monroe, Georgia mouse control job.

Most mouse exterminators rely primarily on poisons to control mice. They place bait trays or boxes in strategic areas throughout your home, and then comes back on a regular basis (usually weekly or monthly, depending on how bad the mouse infestation is) to refill the bait stations.

They do this pretty much forever in most cases. That's because you can't permanently solve a mouse problem using poisons. Yes, the mice die after they eat the rodenticide. But unless they're sealed out of the hose, "new" mice will quickly move in to replace the "old" mice. Mouse control done without mouse exclusion is nothing more than an endless cycle of swapping old mice for new mice.

That's pretty good for the exterminator's job security, but not so much for the homeowner. They're paying someone -- forever -- to not solve their mouse problem.

Fortunately, that's not how we do mouse control. Consistent with our emphasis on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Rid-A-Critter uses non-chemical mouse control that doesn't rely on poison. We trap the mice, remove them from your home, and use exclusion techniques to keep mice out of your house.

Our non-chemical mouse control program emphasizes habitat modification, trapping, and exclusion as the primary mouse control tools. By preventing mice from getting into your home in the first place, we provide a more permanent mouse-control solution.

Our non-chemical, "green" approach to mouse control is also more environmentally responsible than using poisons because eliminating the need for pesticides also eliminates the risk of accidental poisoning of pets or non-target animals. It also eliminates the possibility of secondary poisoning, which is when a larger animal such as a hawk, fox, or pet dog or cat eats a mouse that has been poisoned. Finally, non-chemical mouse control eliminates the possibility of a poisoned mouse dying in your home and stinking up the place.

In the long run, our IPM approach to mouse control is also more economical because it's a more permanent mouse control solution. With good mouse-proofing, there's no need for a technician to return every month to fill bait stations. The mice are sealed out of your house.

North Georgia Mouse Control Gallery

Here are a few randomly-selected pictures of mouse extermination jobs we've done. (Stay tuned -- more on the way!)

Lifting a shingle reveals a gap of about half an inch between the roof sheathing and fascia that allowed mice to get from the rain gutter into the attic of a house in LaGrange, Georgia. — Mouse gap into the attic of a LaGrange home

A gap of about an inch on the bottom edge of the bottom row of wooden siding that allowed mice into a house in Jasper, Georgia. — Mouse gap under the siding into a house in Jasper

A gap less than a fingertip wide between the wooden door trim and the concrete wall that allowed mice to get into a house in Gainesville, Georgia. — Mouse gap into a house in Gainseville

A gap of about a quarter inch between the top of a wooden crawl space door and its frame that allowed mice into a house in Rome, Georgia. — Mouse gap over a crawl space door in Rome

Mouse droppings on the concrete basement floor and the bottom of the exposed wooden framing are evidence that a house in Buchanan, Georgia needed mouse control. — Evidence of mice in a basement in Buchanan

Tough metal screen installed over a foundation vent as part of a non chemical mouse control at an Alpharetta, Georgia home. — Non-chemical mouse control at an Alpharetta home

Metal screening installed over a foundation vent as part of a non chemical mouse control job at a Hiram, Georgia home. — Mouse-proof foundation vent at a house in Hiram

Gaps around the insulated air conditioning lines where they pass vertically through holes in the soffit panel allowed mice to climb up the lines and into the attic of a house in Woodstock, Georgia. — Mouse gaps into the soffit of a Woodstock home

Gaps in sections of overlapping aluminum trim caused by a sloppy job of siding the house that allowed mice into a Flowery Branch, Georgia home. — Mouse gaps in the trim of a Flowery Branch home

Mice gnawed a thumb sized hole through the insulating foam that a handyman applied to a gap in the foundation in his attempt at non-chemical mouse control at a Canton, Georgia home. — Handyman\'s attempt at mouse control in Canton

A gap of about three eighths of an inch around a pipe passing through a brick foundation wall that will have to be sealed to achieve non chemical mouse control at a Rome, Georgia home. — Mouse gap around a pipe into a crawl space in Rome

A gap of about a quarter inch between the wooden crawl space door and the brick wall that allowed mice into a house in Bent Tree, Georgia. — Mouse gap into the crawl space of a Bent Tree home

A gap of about a quarter inch between the garage door frame and the brick that will have to be sealed to non chemically eradicate a mouse problem at an Alpharetta, Georgia home. — Mouse gap in the garage door frame in Alpharetta

Mice gnawed a hole about the diameter of a penny through the foam around some pipes where they pass through a brick wall to get into a house in Blue Ridge, Georgia. — Mice gnawed through the foam at a Blue Ridge home

Mice gnawed a hole about the size of a thumb print through the screen behind a heat register to get into the living room of a house in Big Canoe, Georgia. — Mouse hole through a screen in Big Canoe

Pest mice gnawed a thumb sized hole through a rusty foundation vent screen to get into the crawl space of a house in Snellville, Georgia. — Mice gnawed through a vent screen in Snellville

A handyman installed a screen over the foundation vent in a shoddy manner, which caused the screen to detach from the vent cover and allowed mice into a house in Acworth, Georgia. — Handyman mouse-proofing attempt at an Acworth home

A handyman left a gap around a hose passing through a screen over a foundation vent in his unsuccessful attempt to mouse proof a house in Big Canoe, Georgia. — Handyman\'s mouse-proofing attempt in Big Canoe

A metal screen has been installed over the lattice of a rectangular gable vent to non chemically seal mice out of a house in Cumming, Georgia. — Non-chemical mouse control at a Cumming home

A gap about five eighths of an inch high between the top of the wooden crawl space door and its frame that allowed mice to get into a house in Canton, Georgia. — Mouse gap atop a crawl space door in Canton

A homeowner tried using insulating foam to keep mice out of their Carrollton, Georgia home, but the mice gnawed a one inch gap through the foam to get back into the house. — Homeowner mouse-proofing attempt in Carrollton

A fingertip-wide gap in the shingles and roof sheathing at a roof junction point that allowed mice to squeeze into the attic of a house in Ellijay, Georgia. — Mouse gap into the attic of a house in Ellijay

A gap and a knot hole in the edge of the wooden roof sheathing, right behind the metal rain gutter, that allowed mice into the attic of a house in Buford, Georgia — How mice got into the attic of this Buford home

Lifting the shingle reveals a gap of about a quarter inch between the roof sheathing and the rain gutter that allowed mice into the attic of a house in Suches, Georgia. — Mouse gap into the attic of a house in Suches

A fingertip high gap formed by water rot to the bottom edge of the wooden trim where it meets the shingles at a roof junction that allowed mice into the attic of a Suwanee, Georgia home. — Mouse gap due to water rot in Suwanee

The caulking to seal a three inch gap around air conditioning pipes where they pass through the brick wall sagged before it set, which created holes that allowed mice into a Norcross, Georgia home. — Mouse hole in the caulking at a house in Norcross

The screen behind the metal lattice of the foundation vent is rotting away, which allowed mice to get into the crawl space of a house in Young Harris, Georgia. — Why this house in Young Harris needs mouse control

A poor job of caulking where a bundle of pipes and wires pass through a metal plate and through the wall left a fingertip-sized gap that allowed mice into a house in Loganville, Georgia. — Mouse gap around pipes and wires in Loganville

A gap of about half an inch between the soffit and the brick wall that allowed mice to climb up the wall and through the gap into the attic of a house in Hiawassee, Georgia. — Mouse gap between the soffit and wall in Hiawassee

The foundation vent had crept away from the brick wall, creating a gap of about five eighths of an inch between the top flange and the brick wall that allowed mice into a Blue Ridge, Georgia home. — Mouse gap behind a vent flange in Blue Ridge

A thumb sized gap around an insulated air conditioning line where it passes through a hole in the cinder block foundation that allowed mice into a house in Young Harris, Georgia. — Mouse gap through a cinder block in Young Harris

The screen behind a foundation vent cover is mostly rotted away, which allowed mice into the crawl space of a house in Big Canoe, Georgia. — Rotted screen allowed mice into a Big Canoe home

A wooden crawl space door has a fingertip sized gap along the hinge side because the hinges were installed improperly, which allowed mice into crawl space of a house in Rome, Georgia. — Mouse gap in a crawl space door at a house in Rome

The screen behind the metal foundation vent is pretty much rotted away, and that allowed mice to get into the crawl space of a house in Toccoa, Georgia. — Why this house in Toccoa has a mouse probolem

The screen behind the top left corner of the lattice of a metal foundation vent is corroded away, and the gap allowed mice into a house in Snellville, Georgia. — Mouse hole through a vent screen in Snellville

The steel screen behind the lattice of a metal foundation vent cover is pretty much rusted away and allowed mice into a house in Hiram, Georgia. — Rusted screen that allowed mice into a Hiram home

A gap in the concrete roughly an inch square under the siding near the garage door frame that allowed mice into a house in Sharpsburg, Georgia. — Mouse hole into a house in Sharpsburg

The space to the left of a rusty steel gas pipe where it passes through a hole about twice its diameter wide in the vinyl siding that allowed mice into a house in Hiawassee, Georgia. — Mouse hole through the siding in Hiawassee

Fingertip sized gap around pipes and wires passing through a stucco wall between two electrical boxes that allowed mice into a house in Jasper, Georgia. — Mouse gap through a stucco wall in Jasper

A metal screen installed over a foundation vent as part of a mouse control job in Blue Ridge, Georgia. — Mouse-proofed foundation vent at a Blue Ridge home

Droppings and urine stains in the insulation between the joists are evidence of a mouse infestation in the attic of a house in Buford, Georgia. — Evidence of mice in the attic of a Buford home

A gap about a fingertip high between the wooden roof trim and the shingles at a junction point that allowed mice to squeeze their way into the attic of a house in Cumming, Georgia. — Mouse gap into the attic of a Cumming home

Mice gnawed through the corroded screen behind a metal foundation vent to get into the crawl space of a house in Temple, Georgia. — Mice gnawed through a vent screen in Temple

The screen behind the lattice of a metal foundation vent has completely rusted away, which allowed mice to easily get into a brick house in Oxford, Georgia. — Missing vent screen at an Oxford mouse control job

A gap a little less than an inch high between the bottom of the wooden door trim and the concrete walkway that allowed mice into a house in Snellville, Georgia. — Mouse gap under the door frame in Snellville

Rid-A-Critter is Georgia's largest and most well-established non-chemical mouse control company. We have technicians living and working throughout our North Georgia service area. If you're ready to try a new, more environmentally responsible, and more permanent way to keep mice out of your house, please contact us for a prompt inspection by one of our local experts.

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Lifting a shingle revealed a gap of about half an inch between the roof sheathing and fascia that allowed mice to get from the rain gutter into the attic of a house in LaGrange, Georgia. We have a mouse control crew covering the gap with a metal rodent pest barrier that will keep mice and rats out of the attic.

by Webmaster
Sep 13, 2023 10:41:37 am.

A gap of about an inch on the bottom edge of the bottom row of wooden siding allowed mice into a house in Jasper, Georgia. A non-chemical mouse control crew from our North Georgia office is on the scene sealing all the gaps to mouse-proof the house and prevent future rodent infestations.

by Webmaster
Sep 13, 2023 09:49:20 am.

Spending this Sunday resting up for a big week ahead.

by Chad W.
Sep 10, 2023 08:32:59 am.

A gap less than a fingertip wide between the wooden door trim and the concrete wall was all the space mice needed to get into a house in Gainesville, Georgia. Our crew of rodent pest control experts is sealing the gap to mouse-proof the house and eliminate the mouse infestation without using poisons.

by Webmaster
Sep 07, 2023 10:08:38 am.

A gap of about a quarter inch between the top of a wooden crawl space door and its frame allowed mice into a house in Rome, Georgia. Our mouse control experts are installing a metal lip on the door that will close the gap and make it rodent-proof. The mice that already got into the house will be trapped and removed without using rodenticides.

by Webmaster
Sep 07, 2023 09:23:18 am.

The droppings on the concrete basement floor and the bottom of the exposed wooden framing were proof positive that a house in Buchanan, Georgia needed mouse control. One of our rodent pest control crews is non-chemically trapping and removing the mice and sealing the house to prevent future infestations.

by Webmaster
Sep 06, 2023 08:59:20 am.

Installing tough metal screens over the foundation vents is the most-important part of a non-chemical mouse control job our rodent pest control crew is doing at an Alpharetta, Georgia home. It's impossible to achieve permanent mouse control without rodent-proofing the house.

by Webmaster
Sep 05, 2023 08:18:22 am.

Headed to do an exclusion in Bethlehem Ga this morning. They have a mice infestation. Happy Friday everyone

by Chad W.
Sep 01, 2023 05:53:40 am.

One of our rodent pest control crews is screening all the foundation vents as part of a non-chemical mouse control job at a Hiram, Georgia home. Mouse-proofing the house is the only way to permanently eliminate a mouse problem.

by Webmaster
Aug 31, 2023 07:42:00 am.

The gaps around the insulated air-conditioning lines where they pass vertically through the soffit panel allowed mice to climb up the lines and into the attic of a house in Woodstock, Georgia. Non-chemical mouse control at this house will begin with sealing all the gaps to mouse-proof the home.

by Webmaster
Aug 31, 2023 07:39:30 am.

Gaps in the aluminum trim left by a sloppy job of siding the house allowed mice into a Flowery Branch, Georgia home. The mouse control crew is busy sealing all those gaps to mouse-proof the house. The mice that already got in will be non-chemically trapped and removed without using any poisons.

by Webmaster
Aug 29, 2023 09:10:30 am.

Finished up an exclusion before it for too hot outside. Perks of getting up early and getting started.

by Chad W.
Aug 26, 2023 11:03:43 am.

It’s a hot one today. Headed to Jasper Ga to look for a dead animal under a house

by Chad W.
Aug 24, 2023 01:11:32 pm.

Mice gnawed a thumb-sized hole through the insulating foam that a handyman applied to a gap in the foundation in an attempt at non-chemical mouse control at a Canton, Georgia home. The myth that you can seal mice out of a house using dollar store foam insulation just refuses to go away, no matter how many times the mice prove it to be nonsense.

by Webmaster
Aug 24, 2023 09:03:28 am.

The reason we have a rodent pest control crew in a crawl space in Rome doing mouse control has to do with a gap of about three eighths of an inch around a pipe passing through the brick foundation wall, which allowed the mice into the crawl space. You can never achieve non-chemical control of a mouse problem until you rodent-proof the house.

by Webmaster
Aug 24, 2023 08:36:45 am.

A gap of about a quarter inch between the wooden crawl space door and the brick wall is why we have a rodent pest control crew doing mouse control at a house in Bent Tree, Georgia today. Mice can get into homes through gaps about the size of a pencil's diameter.

by Webmaster
Aug 23, 2023 08:07:51 am.

Resting up for another full week of critter ridding.

by Chad W.
Aug 20, 2023 06:11:58 pm.

There is nothing like waking up and looking forward to going to going to work. I love my job and am blessed to be in the position I’m in.

by Chad W.
Aug 19, 2023 07:28:21 am.

We’re in Hiawassee, Ga on this beautiful Friday doing a Rodent Exclusion! Everyone have a blessed weekend!

by Brandon C.
Aug 18, 2023 10:15:38 am.

Headed to Birmingham to do a raccoon quote. Got another raccoon quote in irondale. Squirrels will be active soon. Call Ridacritter for your free exclusion quote.

by Chris Scott
Aug 18, 2023 09:57:39 am.

A dentist office in Stone Mountain has a dead animal smell that needs checked out this morning

by Chad W.
Aug 16, 2023 07:11:34 am.

Sun’s out in Marietta. Getting hot

by Chad W.
Aug 14, 2023 02:51:31 pm.

Sun’s out in Marietta. Getting hot

by Chad W.
Aug 14, 2023 10:59:56 am.

The reason our rodent pest control experts are doing mouse control at an Alpharetta home is because a gap of about a quarter inch between the garage door frame and the brick wall allowed the mice into the house. It will have to be sealed to non-chemically eradicate the mouse problem.

by Webmaster
Aug 14, 2023 08:40:01 am.

Headed to Birmingham to seal a bottom transition that snake are entering through. We have a big bat exclusion in sylacauga today.

by Chris Scott
Aug 11, 2023 09:45:07 am.

Installed some crawlspace vent covers in Cartersville then checked out some gutters in Big Canoe

by Chad W.
Aug 09, 2023 02:13:17 pm.

Mice gnawed a hole about the diameter of a penny through the foam around some pipes where they pass through a brick wall to get into a house in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Our rodent pest control team in on-site sealing all the gaps with a tough sealant that will make the house mouse-proof.

by Webmaster
Aug 09, 2023 09:43:22 am.

Villa Rica to get some materials, Cartersville to screen some crawlspace vents, then Big Canoe to clean out a gutter for a customer. Busy day

by Chad W.
Aug 09, 2023 06:04:59 am.

Mice gnawed a hole about the size of a thumb print through the screen behind a heat register to get into the living room of a house in Big Canoe, Georgia. Most likely they were looking for food crumbs left by people snacking while watching television. We have a mouse control crew at the house non-chemically treating the problem and rodent-proofing the home.

by Webmaster
Aug 08, 2023 10:27:05 am.

Mice gnawed a thumb-sized hole through a rusty foundation vent screen to get into the crawl space of a house in Snellville, Georgia. Our mouse control crew is re-screening all the vents from the outside to rodent-proof the house and non-chemically treat the mouse infestation.

by Webmaster
Aug 07, 2023 09:14:26 am.

Started with bats I Talbotton Ga, Bats in the attic in Manchester Ga. Now to Tyrone Ga for rodents in a home.

by Jason Arruda
Aug 01, 2023 12:52:34 pm.

Taking this Sunday to rest up for a big week. Gonna be a hot one

by Chad W.
Jul 30, 2023 08:20:46 am.