Mice in the house: safe first steps for your household

Put the broom away. Start with safe cleanup, food storage and entry points.

The answer in 2 lines. Secure food and garbage, inspect for entry holes and use mouse-sized snap traps where children and pets cannot reach them. Seal gaps while trapping rodents already inside. Do not sweep or vacuum droppings: wet them thoroughly with an appropriate disinfectant before wiping them up. Poison bait is for persistent infestations, with strict label precautions. Get professional help for inaccessible nesting areas, extensive contamination or activity that continues despite control measures. Rental repair duties and pesticide requirements vary by state and locality.

Start with food, entry points and traps

Document the signs. Photograph droppings, gnawed packages and possible entry holes without disturbing contaminated material.
Secure supplies. Put food and pet food in sturdy, tight containers; remove leftovers and close garbage containers.
Inspect and seal. Check around pipes, cabinets, doors and the foundation. Repair openings using rodent-resistant materials suitable for the location.
Set snap traps safely. Use traps intended for mice, follow their instructions and check them daily.

Stop: danger

Possible bait poisoning: call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 immediately for a person exposed to rodenticide. Keep the package available. Call 911 for unconsciousness, trouble breathing or convulsions. Follow the official pesticide emergency instructions. For an exposed pet, contact a veterinarian immediately.
Extensive contamination or inaccessible nests: stop routine household cleanup and arrange professional assessment, particularly where rodents have entered ventilation systems.

Close the routes into your home

Look behind cabinets and appliances, around utility penetrations and at doors. Inspect outside too: a repaired kitchen gap will not solve an opening elsewhere in the building.

The CDC sealing guide lists inspection locations and suitable materials. Use its checklist room by room. Small holes can be packed with steel wool held in place with caulk; larger openings need durable material such as metal or cement. Do not block required ventilation or alter utility connections. Ask a qualified professional about openings near equipment or wiring.

What not to do

Sweeping, vacuuming or dry-dusting rodent waste.
Using glue boards or live-capture traps: CDC advises against them because frightened rodents may urinate and increase exposure.
Leaving poison or traps accessible to children, pets or wildlife.
Assuming a closed bedroom door or a tidy kitchen means mice cannot reach other rooms.

Trap and clean up safely

Place snap traps against walls near signs of activity, with the baited end facing the wall. Keep them inaccessible to children and pets. Consult the placement illustrations in the CDC trapping guide before setting them.

For droppings, put on rubber or plastic gloves. Wet the material thoroughly with an EPA-registered disinfectant. CDC's 2024 instructions say to let it soak for 5 minutes or according to the disinfectant label, then wipe it up with paper towels and disinfect the surface. Never mix cleaning products.

Use the CDC cleanup instructions for the affected surface and for dead rodents. Wet-disinfect a dead rodent before handling, double-bag it and place it in a covered garbage container, subject to local disposal requirements. Wash gloved hands before removing gloves, then wash bare hands.

Poison, professional help and rental homes

Consider poison only if the infestation persists. Household bait stations have different protections and permitted locations. Read the EPA bait-station guide, then check the product label for the target rodent, placement and child or pet protection. A station reduces access to poison; it does not remove the hazard.

If activity continues, request an inspection, exclusion plan and cleanup assessment from a licensed pest management professional. The EPA hiring checklist supplies questions about credentials, treatment and pesticide labels.

Renters should notify the landlord or manager in writing, including photographs and suspected entry points. Who must arrange and pay for treatment depends on applicable rules and the facts. Use USAGov's tenant-rights page to find state guidance before taking action in a dispute.

Good to know

Rodents can spread disease through waste. If you become ill after exposure, tell your healthcare provider about the rodent contact.
Food removal, sealing and trapping work together. Catching a mouse does not close the route that brought it inside.
Keep an activity log after cleanup so new droppings or gnawing can be distinguished from old signs.

Illustrative example: Dana finds droppings under a sink. She keeps her child away, photographs the area and follows wet-cleanup instructions. She reports a pipe opening to her landlord, secures food and places mouse traps in an inaccessible location. The repair and follow-up checks become part of the same control plan.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on November 5, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for sealing, snap-trap precautions and wet cleanup; medium for assessing infestation severity without an inspection. Numerical sealing and cleanup guidance comes from CDC publications dated 2024. State and local requirements need individual verification.