Mice · Traps & Baits
11 min read
Best Mouse Traps: Every Type Compared
A plain wooden snap trap, about $1 each, is the best mouse trap for most homes. How electronic, live, bucket and glue traps compare, and which to skip.
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Kitchen
Guides for pests in the kitchen: protecting food, cleaning up safely and keeping them out of cabinets.
Pantry beetles & weevils · Get Rid of Pests
8 min read
How to Get Rid of Drugstore Beetles in Your Pantry
To get rid of drugstore beetles, find the infested food (often spices, pet food or old flour), throw it out or freeze it at 0°F for 4 days, vacuum and wash the shelves, and keep dry food in sealed jars. Sprays aren’t recommended.
Cockroaches · Get Rid of Pests
12 min read
How to Get Rid of German Roaches: A Bait-Rotation Plan
Bait, don’t spray: many pea-sized dabs of gel where German roaches hide, sticky traps to count them, and a new active ingredient when counts stall. Supplies run about $54; shared quotes for a full pro treatment run $450–$1,500.
Cockroaches · Identify
9 min read
Baby Cockroach: What Nymphs Look Like and What to Do
A baby cockroach is a wingless nymph, 1/8 to 9/16 inch, usually dark with a pale stripe down its back. It usually means roaches are breeding indoors. Confirm with $10–20 of sticky traps, then bait.
Mice · Traps & Baits
6 min read
The 5-Day Mouse Rule: Is It Real?
There is no official 5-day mouse rule. The CDC says the rodents are gone when a full week passes with no catches and no new signs, and to keep checking traps for at least 15 days.
Mice · Traps & Baits
9 min read
Where to Put Mouse Traps: The Best Spots, Room by Room
Put mouse traps against the wall, bait end touching it, where you’ve found fresh droppings: behind the fridge and stove, under the sink, along garage and attic walls. Set them in pairs, no more than 10 feet apart.
Mice & rats · Identify
9 min read
Are Mice Nocturnal? When Mice and Rats Are Most Active
Mostly, yes: house mice peak after dusk and again before dawn, and rats come out at dusk. Set traps before dark and check them each morning. What a daytime sighting means.
Cockroaches · Identify
9 min read
Cockroach Poop: What Roach Droppings Look Like
Cockroach poop is pepper-like specks from small roaches or ¼-inch dark pellets with flat ends and ridges from big ones. Wipe it up with hot soapy water, then set sticky traps to see if roaches are still active.
Cockroaches · Get Rid of Pests
11 min read
Do Roach Bombs Work? Why Foggers Fail on Cockroaches
No. In an NC State study, roach bombs didn’t reduce cockroaches at all, while similarly priced gel bait did. Skip the fogger; about $54 of bait, sticky traps and caulk does the job.
Cockroaches · Get Rid of Pests
10 min read
Does Baking Soda Kill Roaches? What the Evidence Shows
Not well enough to end an infestation. One small study found baking soda and sugar killed more roaches stuck in jar traps, but extension experts say it does little. A $9 tube of gel bait works better.
Mice & rats · Traps & Baits
10 min read
Glue Traps for Mice: Do They Work, and Are They Cruel?
Glue traps catch mostly young mice, rats often pull free, and the CDC advises against them. A dozen snap traps costs about $14 and works better.
Mice & rats · Safety & Cleanup
9 min read
How to Clean Mouse Droppings Safely (Don’t Vacuum)
Don’t sweep or vacuum. Air the room 30 minutes, glove up, soak droppings with 1.5 cups of bleach per gallon of water, wait 5 minutes, wipe, bag. About $15 in supplies.