Find out how to choose the right rodent products for your problem and use them effectively.

6 Keys to Rodent Control Success

Find out how to choose the right rodent products for your problem and use them effectively. Get tips to help make your home rodent-free.

Do you want to speed up the process of rodent elimination? These six, time-tested principles from the experts at Tomcat will help you maximize your efforts.

Quick Guide to Rodent Control

Choose the right traps or bait stations.
Place them where mice or rats travel.
Use the right number of bait stations or traps for the size of your problem.
Read the product label and follow all directions!
When using a bait station, be sure to secure bait safely.
Make your home less welcoming to mice and rats.

1. Choose the right products for the job.

Your choice of rodent control product depends upon several factors, including:

Whether you're experiencing mouse or rat problems
The severity of the problem - Is it a serious or minor infestation?
Environmental conditions - Is it indoors or outdoors, are there children and dogs, and do you live in a home or an apartment?
Control preferences - How comfortable you are using a particular method of control?

Different types of products offer different benefits.

2. Place products where rodents travel.

An inspection of your home will reveal the problem areas and the species involved. (see How to Identify Rodents for tips on identifying your pest). Place bait stations or traps wherever rats or mice travel - usually next to walls or anywhere you've seen droppings, nesting materials, gnaw marks, or other signs of rodents. Plus, rodents are climbers and may be scurrying along pipes, beams, or false ceilings. Glue traps can be helpful in tracking rodent activity. Set them in a wide variety of areas to help in confirming where the mice are traveling on a regular basis.

3. Place enough products to do the job.

A common mistake in controlling rats and mice is underestimating their numbers and not putting out enough bait or traps. Place enough bait stations or traps to get rid of all of them. Otherwise, they will reproduce and the problem will start all over again.

Bait station and trap placement around your home depends on which rodent you are dealing with. Below are basic guidelines, but place bait stations and traps closer together for severe problems.

For mice, space placements at 8-12 foot intervals depending on the severity of the problem.
For rats, space placements at 15-30 foot intervals depending on the severity of the infestation.

Replace bait that is dried out and crumbled and continue to reset traps until rodents are gone. Move devices if you're not getting results.

4. Read the product label before using product.

When using bait, the label is the law. Before using any product, read the instructions carefully. The label instructions give useful information on bait or trap placement.

5. Always secure bait safely in bait stations.

Tomcat bait blocks are always sold in, or with, a bait station. This is done to help ensure that children, dogs, and other wildlife won't come into contact with the bait. Bait stations are available in different sizes targeted to both rats, like the Tomcat® Rat and Mouse Killer Child and Dog Resistant, Refillable Station, and mice, like the Tomcat® Mouse Killer Child & Dog Resistant, Refillable Station which kills up to 12 mice* with one bait block.

Since rodents feel secure in these bait stations, they're enticed to find and eat the bait. And don't forget to place bait stations in areas where you've seen signs of rodent activity so you can achieve the best results.

Tomcat offers stations that have been tested and proven tamper-resistant to kids and kids & dogs in both disposable and refillable options. However, it is still safest to place all rodent control products in areas where they're not accessible to children and dogs.Tomcat® Rat and Mouse Killer Child and Dog Resistant, Refillable Station,

6. Get rid of the rodents' food, water and home, wherever possible.

You can reduce the chances of having a severe or persistent rodent problem by performing rodent-proofing measures - such as plugging holes where mice or rats are entering your home. Also, remove the rodent's access to food and water; store food and pet food in containers, and get rid of clutter in the trouble spots. Ultimately, disrupting the rodent's environment causes them stress and may send them scurrying. See Rodent Proofing Your Home for more detail.

*1-oz block, based on no choice laboratory testing