How to Prepare for a Mouse Exterminator: What to Do Before, During and After the Visit

TL;DR

• Make notes: write down every spot where you found droppings or chewed packaging, where you hear scratching, and at what time of day.
• Clear access along walls, where mice travel. Pull furniture and boxes a little away from the walls in active rooms, and clear the space under sinks.
• In the kitchen, put dry food in metal or glass containers and make room behind or beside the stove and refrigerator.
• Secure pets in a closed room or crate during the visit, and keep children and pets away from traps and bait stations.
• Don't sweep or vacuum dry droppings (Health Canada). Leave them in place as evidence, or take photos, then clean them with gloves and a bleach solution.

To prepare for a mouse exterminator, give the technician two things: clear access to the places mice use, and an accurate account of where you have seen them. You do not need to empty cupboards or scrub the house from top to bottom.

Many people do the opposite. They sweep up every dropping and set out store-bought bait the night before, which erases the trail the technician needs to read, and the US EPA warns that misused mouse poison can harm you, your children or your pets.

The most useful preparation takes a few minutes with a notepad, since the mice have already left a record of where they travel.

How Do You Prepare for a Mouse Exterminator?

Preparing for a mouse exterminator comes down to showing the technician where the mice are and clearing access to those spots. Most of the work happens in the kitchen, the storage areas and along walls, where mice travel. If you are still deciding whether you need a professional at all, read about when to call a mouse exterminator.

Mouse Activity Notes

Mouse activity notes are the most valuable thing you can hand the technician. Write down every spot where you found droppings or chewed packaging, where you hear scratching, and at what time of day. Pest control companies such as Terminix often ask customers for this list, since it can tell the technician where to inspect first and where to place traps.

Access Along Walls

Access along walls matters because mice run along walls rather than across open floors. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests placing traps against walls, behind the stove and refrigerator, and at the back of cabinets. Pull furniture and boxes a little away from the walls in active rooms, and clear the space under sinks.

Kitchen

The kitchen is where most mouse activity is found, so it needs the most attention.

• Put dry food such as cereal, flour, rice and snacks in metal or glass containers, as Health Canada recommends.
• Clear the cabinet under the sink and the floor of the pantry.
• Make room behind or beside the stove and refrigerator so the technician can look and place traps.
• Close the lid on the garbage and take out any overflowing bags.

Storage Areas

Storage areas such as the basement, the attic and the garage give mice shelter, and boxes stacked against walls hide their nests. Move stored items a little away from the walls, and make sure the technician can reach the attic hatch, the crawl space and the furnace room.

Outside the House

Outside the house, the technician checks the foundation, doors and the spots where pipes and cables enter. Unlock gates, and move items piled against the foundation. Health Canada recommends keeping woodpiles about 30 cm (1 ft) off the ground and cutting back tall grass and weeds, both of which can reduce cover near your walls.

Pets

Pets should be secured in a closed room or crate during the visit, away from the areas being treated. Put pet food away, and tell the technician what pets you have so traps and bait stations are placed where they cannot reach them. Health Canada says poison bait must go in tamper-proof stations wherever children or pets could get to it.

Children

Children need the same rule as pets: no access to traps or bait stations. Ask the technician to show you where each station and trap is placed, so you can keep children out of those spots.

Staying Home During the Visit

Staying home during a mouse visit is usually possible, since most mouse treatments rely on traps, locked bait stations and sealing rather than sprays. There is generally no official Canadian re-entry time for mouse treatments, so ask the company when you book, and follow any period the technician gives you for keeping children and pets out of treated areas.

Should You Clean Before the Mouse Exterminator Comes?

Cleaning before the mouse exterminator comes helps only if you clean the right way. Tidy surfaces and stored food help; sweeping up droppings and throwing out evidence does not.

Droppings

Droppings are evidence, and dry droppings are a health risk if handled the wrong way. Health Canada warns never to sweep or vacuum dry droppings, since the dust raised can make you sick, and deer mice are the most common carrier of hantavirus in Canada. Leave droppings in place for the technician to see, or clean them with gloves and a bleach solution after taking photos.

Food

Food left out can keep the mice fed and less interested in the bait. Store food in sealed metal or glass containers, wipe crumbs off counters and floors, and put fruit bowls away for the days of treatment. Any food that mice have chewed or soiled should go in the garbage.

Your Own Traps and Bait

Your own traps and bait should be mentioned to the technician, and store-bought poison is best left out of the picture before the visit. The Government of British Columbia says to use domestic-class rodenticides only in tamper-proof bait stations, and Health Canada says commercial-class products must be applied by a certified professional. UC IPM also notes that poisoned mice may die inside the building and cause odours, so the technician needs to know what is already out.

What to Expect From a Mouse Exterminator

A mouse exterminator visit usually follows the same pattern: an inspection, a treatment, then one or more follow-up visits. For the full detail of each step, see what a mouse exterminator does.

The Inspection

The inspection maps where mice get in, nest and feed, inside and outside the house. Canadian companies describe checking entry points, nesting sites and foraging areas, then building a treatment plan from what they find. Your activity notes speed up this step.

The Treatment

The treatment usually combines snap traps along walls, tamper-resistant bait stations and sealing of the gaps mice use. UC IPM calls exclusion, or sealing mice out, the most successful and permanent form of house mouse control, so ask whether sealing is part of the visit or a separate job.

Follow-Up Visits

Follow-up visits check the traps, remove captured mice and adjust the plan. Some companies report a major reduction within 1 to 2 weeks for many residential jobs, with timelines that vary; our guide on how long it takes to get rid of mice explains why.

What Questions Should You Ask the Mouse Exterminator?

Questions for the mouse exterminator should cover the licence, the products, the warranty and what you are expected to do. Ask them when you book, not after the treatment. For help comparing companies, see our guide to mouse pest control.

Licence

A licence shows the company is allowed to apply pesticides in your province. In Ontario, look for a pesticide exterminator licence (structural extermination class), which you can search on Access Environment. In Quebec, the Quebec government suggests choosing a company with a C5 or D5 permit whose employees hold a CD5 certificate.

Products

Products used inside your home should be named before the visit. Ask which traps and baits will be used, where bait stations will go, and whether the bait has a PCP number, which shows it is registered by Health Canada. Inside living areas, many professionals limit bait to locked stations or to voids people and pets cannot reach.

Warranty

Warranty terms vary from one company to the next. One Toronto company advertises free re-treatment within 100 days if mice return, while Orkin Canada's terms make refunds conditional on following its sanitation and structural recommendations and allowing all scheduled follow-ups. Ask for the terms in writing, and read why mice come back after extermination before you sign.

Your To-Do List

Your to-do list after the visit is part of the treatment. Ask the technician which gaps you need to seal, what to store differently and when to expect the next visit. Prices depend on the work included, so compare quotes using our mouse exterminator cost guide.

What Should You Do After the Mouse Exterminator Leaves?

After the mouse exterminator leaves, your job is to keep the treatment working: leave traps and stations in place, watch for signs and close the gaps.

Traps and Bait Stations

Traps and bait stations should stay exactly where the technician placed them. Moving them breaks the pattern the mice follow and can put bait within reach of children or pets. Keep children and pets away from treated areas for the period the technician gives you.

Signs to Report

Signs to report at the follow-up visit include fresh droppings, new gnaw marks, scratching at night and any trap catches. Note the date and place of each sign. The CDC considers rodents likely gone when nothing is caught for about a week and no new signs appear.

Entry Points

Entry points left open let new mice replace the ones removed. Health Canada says mice can squeeze through cracks as small as a dime, and UC IPM recommends sealing gaps larger than 1/4 inch (about 6 mm), for example with metal or concrete rather than foam or wood. Our guide to finding mouse entry points shows where to look.

Safe Cleanup

Safe cleanup after the treatment follows the same rules as before: no sweeping or vacuuming. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends wearing gloves, spraying droppings with 1 part bleach to 9 parts water and letting it soak for 10 minutes, and Health Canada also says to dampen them with bleach and water before wiping. See our guide to cleaning mouse droppings for each step.

For more on mice in Canadian homes, from identification to prevention, browse the mice hub.