Protecting your home from mice this winter

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) — As temperatures drop during the winter, animals seek warmth and shelter. Unfortunately, this includes mice.

"Mice are really bad because they carry diseases that can be fatal to human beings … if you breathe in particles of feces or somehow ingest it and you don't realize it, it can end up being fatal," said Karla Griesbaum, an Illinois Extension educator in Nnatural resources, environment, and energy

The first step is to block any entryway into the home.

"See if there are any cracks on the inside and on the outside of the house. And then to fill them. You want to use something like steel wool," explained Griesbaum. "And then you want to use something like caulk to seal it up."

Securing food comes next.

"Try to seal up any food you have out — something like this that has a locking lid works really well. Make sure your pantry, your cabinets are sealed really well so that mice can't get in there."

For people who are struggling with mice, there are many options. Griesbaum said the most humane solution is an insta-kill mouse trap.

"When a mouse is in a house and you have poison, it will go back outside, and those predators — those hawks and snakes — will then also ingest that poison. And so it's really bad for the wildlife in our communities," said Griesbaum.

Once you've captured the culprit, it's important to dispose of the mouse properly, as well as sanitize the area.

"You want you wipe it with a paper towel. Spray it with a solution of bleach — which is one part bleach to nine parts water — let it sit for five minutes, and then wipe away with a paper towel," said Griesbaum. "Throw it away. Wear gloves while you're doing this to avoid transfer to yourself."

And never use a vacuum to clean up their droppings.

"The vacuum will aerate some of those particles from the feces, and you have the potential to breathe it in."