by Crystal Leigh

Created on: August 29, 2009   Last Updated: August 30, 2009

It's Saturday, early morning, around 2:00 AM. You get up from your bed and head to your kitchen. There's a night light in the corner, so you don't turn any other lights on. You open the refrigerator, the light kicks on, and at that moment you feel something scurry across your feet. Just the thought runs chills down my spine.

What to do about these pests? You live in an apartment, so surely some of your neighbors must have these critters in their apartments, too.

One thing you could do, is ask the owner of the building to have an exterminator come in, and rid your building of those tiny terrors. If he doesn't want to spend the money, you could post a note above the mailboxes, and ask all the tenants to chip in on the exterminator cost.

If nobody seems to be interested in this plan, you can take steps to at least keep your own apartment rodent-free. There are a lot of different products on the market. The snap mouse traps that seem to snap on your fingers more than the mice - when you do get one, it can be messy. Nobody I know would want to deal with that!

Then there is D-Con. How this works is when the rodent eats it, they become very thirsty and find water where they can. They drink and drink, until the D-Con expands in their stomach, causing death. Yuck! This water could be anywhere in your apartment, like the bathtub or sink.

The method I've always used, is the glue trap. The mouse walks across the trap, gets stuck, and the more they struggle, the more they become attached to the trap. Easy cleanup - just pick up and throw in the trash. The only drawback is that the mice can still be alive when you find them in the traps. If this bothers you, you might want to try something else.

Or you could buy a cat. Probably an adopted adult cat would be the fastest option. They already have the hunting skills they need to catch those pesky mice. Then again, you will probably have a few mice dropped at your feet, and two tiny cat eyes looking up at you with pride, as if to say, "Look what I caught!" expecting praises galore. Cats are very good mousers and will hunt every last one down if the reward is something they crave, like some tuna.

The last method you could try is to use a baited box trap for rodents. This is the humane way to catch mice, but where do you go with the mouse once you catch it? If you just turn it loose outside, it is probable that the mouse will find its way back to you and could bring some family members along for the ride.

There you have several ideas on what to do if you have a mouse in your apartment. Only you can decide which method is best for you. Whatever you decide, I'm sure that mouse won't be there much longer.

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