Musophobia, the fear of mice or rats, is one of the most common phobias in North America. Aside from the irrational fear of rodents, there is also legitimate concern over the effects that mice can have on a home. Mice and rats can spread disease to homeowners by contaminating food with their urine, droppings, shed hair, and by biting. They can also spread murine typhus and plague via fleas that feed off the rats and then bite people.

If mice get into a person’s food or water supply, he or she can be infected with Salmonella, develop tapeworms, contract infectious jaundice or Lymphocytic choriomeningitis. Mites found on mice can also cause problems such as house mouse mite dermatitis, or Rickettsial pox.

The notion of mice running across the kitchen counter or getting into cereal boxes and leaving behind hair, urine and feces is unpleasant to say the least. It’s also dangerous to people’s health, and must be stopped quickly.

Mice can also cause extensive damage to homes through their habitual gnawing. Because rodent’s front teeth never stop growing, they must gnaw on items to keep their length manageable. Mice will gnaw on things like cardboard, wood, electrical wiring, and insulation. Rats are even able to gnaw through tough materials such as lead and aluminum sheeting. The damages to property, in addition to the costs of throwing out contaminated food, can add up to be a very expensive—and gross—problem.

How can you tell if you have a mouse problem? For starters, you’ll probably notice droppings in corners, under furniture, and in other protected spots. You may also find remnants of gnawed materials like shredded cardboard or paper. If the mice have been in the house for a while, there’ll be an odor in the home. If you’re still unsure whether you have a mouse, you can try using a black light. Rodent urine has a fluorescent glow, so a black light can be used to spot their ‘trail’.

If you do have mice, you must get rid of any food products that may have been tampered with. Open cereal boxes, potatoes left on the counter, etc. may have been contaminated, and should be thrown out. You must then put all of your dry goods in sealed glass containers (or heavy-duty plastic) in order to prevent mice from getting into it. Just closing the cupboard doors is not enough because rodents have an exceptional ability to squeeze into small openings. You should also seal any pet food or bird seed that you have in the home.

Removing the food supply is the most important step to take in preventing future rodent problems. It’s also critical however, to block all openings to the house. This is a daunting task considering how small of an area they can get into. A rat for instance, can enter openings as small as 13mm.

Place screens on all windows and exterior doors, and fill any cracks or holes in the foundation. Check interior spaces for openings, especially around pipes and cupboards, and use steel wool to fill in gaps.

Now you’ve eliminated their entry points and their motivation for staying. If the mice don’t leave of their own accord, you’ll need to consider ways to remove them from the home. One way to repel mice is to place cotton balls doused with peppermint essential oil in places where the mice are believed to frequent. The scent is too overpowering for them, and will cause them to avoid those areas.

In addition to using scent to get rid of mice, you may also have to use a trapping device to make sure you get your mouse. There are the old-fashioned snap traps, as well as glue traps, poison, and live traps to choose from. Poisons and glue traps are considered by many to be terribly inhumane, as they cause slow, painful deaths. Snap traps can kill quickly, though it’s important to purchase the right sized trap. If you have large rats, you’re likely to just injure them with a mousetrap, and dealing with an injured rat can be traumatic for both predator and prey.

To entice the mouse to your trap, place sticky bait like peanut butter or melted chocolate on the trap, or else fasten hard baits like cheese or cotton balls to the trap so that it can’t be removed. You may want to put fresh bait on the trap for a few days so that the mice get used to this free lunch program. Then, when you feel you’ve gained their trust, set the trap to go off.

If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of killing a mouse (and many people are), there are live traps you can purchase. They’re intended to capture mice that you’ll later release at a distant location. There’s no blood, no bodies, and no guilty conscience, but these traps require patience and persistence. It’s important to check your live traps every day, or you could end up with a mouse stuck in the trap, dying from dehydration and starvation. You also need to take the mouse VERY far away from your home to ensure that it doesn’t return. Rodents have incredible homing abilities, so drop them off several miles away.

One thing to note is that many house mice cannot survive out in the wild. This means that when you release your mice outside, they still face almost certain death. This is why some experts suggest that snap traps are the most humane option when it comes to rodent removal, as their deaths are quick. On the other hand, you may sleep better knowing you gave the mouse a chance by using a live trap.

Maintaining a garden in an ocean front location is not all blooming hibiscus and scented plumeria. Extreme conditions such as high winds and drought can play havoc on the sturdiest landscape. When planning your ocean front garden, you need to do you homework. Here are some flowers that love to bloom in the toughest of environments.

Rugosa Rose: This Siberian native knows all about tough climates. the Rosa rugosa endures extreme temperature shifts, drought, wind and salt spray. Expect scented blooms from string to fall accompanied by colorful rose hips that will attract the birds.

Lavender: A hearty plant in most climates, and tolerates sandy soil well. Position the plant in front of your roses for a fragrant walkway. The bushy shrub also hides the bare rose stems.

South American Verbena: This is a nice complement to your lavender with its showy lavender/purple blooms on stems that can extend up to 6 feet tall. Butterflies love this plant.

Daylily: These do well in most climates and have a variety of colors and patterns to choose from. When not in bloom, their grassy foliage makes a nice border.

Hydrangeas: This delicate looking plant is actually a pretty tough cookie and doesn’t mind wind and salt. It’s wise to plant it in a partially shaded area where it will get the morning sun and afternoon shade. Set up an irrigation drip for this one, hydrangeas don’t tolerate drought very well. To keep it blooming, trim off the old flowers as soon as they start to fade.

Ever wonder why some hydrangeas have bright blue blooms and others are pink? It all has to do with the amount of  acidity in the soil – the more acid, the bluer the flower, the less acid, or more alkaline, and the pinker the bloom. Use aluminum sulfate to increase acidity and dolomitic lime to decrease it.

Juniper: This is a hearty evergreen that adds color and texture to your garden year round. Choose from blue, green or gold foliage, and tall or creeping styles of plant. The low growing selections work well in sandy rock gardens or for erosion control on hilly areas.

Wintercreeper: This is a hearty groundcover that still looks great in the winter with its variegated leaf.

Portulaca: This is a popular plant commonly found along walkways at the beach. You can forget to water it, expose it to wind and sea spray and it will respond with colorful blooms. Its trailing flowers make a nice accent in an ocean facing window box. Although it is an annual, it will generally self seed.

Yarrow: Also considered a herb for its medicinal qualities, yarrow will endure, sun, rain, cold, drought and wind. It comes in a variety of colors such as yellow, orange, pink and white. Plant it in a spot where you can keep an eye on it, yarrow loves to spread its roots and wander.

Gaillardia: This colorful flower blooms from summer to early winter, resists drought and doesn’t balk at sandy soil. It’s brightly colored blooms attract butterflies and make perfect cut flowers.

Cuphea: This is the new kid on the block and what an interesting plant it is. It has bright red crinkly petals with purple middles that bloom non-stop in the hottest, dryest, salt and wind blown conditions. Keep it moist and fertilized, and you will be assured of constant color all season.

As eco-conscious habits become more and more part of our collective culture, many people are taking to making their own homes more environmentally friendly. One of the best places to start the eco-journey is in the kitchen.

One of the biggest ways you can change the eco-friendliness of your kitchen is by being more aware of what you bring into it on a weekly basis in the form of groceries. Most North Americans buy a lot of pre-made, overly packaged foods every week; the majority of product packaging ends up dumped in landfills after each garbage day.

One of the best things that you can do for yourself and for the environment is to buy food that’s as close to its natural state as you can. This isn’t to say that you should buy raw wheat grains and grind them yourself, but you should buy uncooked, unseasoned meats and raw fruits and vegetables and cook them yourself. Not only will there be less in the way of packaging, but there will be less salt and preservatives going into YOU. Make sure to compost your uncooked, non-meat food scraps as well!

What you use to carry your groceries home makes an impact as well. Many grocery stores across the continent are not offering plastic bags to patrons any longer, instead actively encouraging them to purchase inexpensive reusable bags, bring recycled bags, or offering a biodegradable alternative. If you like a higher quality of reusable bag, check out your local shops or look online; some companies even offer a reusable produce bag for your fruits and veggies.

Another great way to green up your kitchen is by buying only really good quality cooking tools that will last a long time. A few good quality stainless steel pots and pans, a good cast iron frying pan, and some sturdy wooden utensils can last you a lifetime if you take care of them. Avoid Teflon coated pans as they have a limited life-time and there are some health concerns over the use of Teflon. Quality, energy-efficient appliances will help make your kitchen more eco-friendly as well.

The finishing touch on any green kitchen is, of course, in the cleaning; make sure that you don’t use harsh corrosive chemicals when you’re cleaning your eco-kitchen.

Once you’ve greened up your kitchen, it’s easy to move into greening the rest of your home, one room at a time!

Everything you need to know about Santa Cruz real estate is right here at MySantaCruzRealEstate.com. Lauren Spencer, Coldwell Banker Realtor will be glad to answer your questions about New Brighton in Aptos CA.

As eco-conscious habits become more and more part of our collective culture, many people are taking to making their own homes more environmentally friendly. One of the best places to start the eco-journey is in the kitchen.

One of the biggest ways you can change the eco-friendliness of your kitchen is by being more aware of what you bring into it on a weekly basis in the form of groceries. Most North Americans buy a lot of pre-made, overly packaged foods every week; the majority of product packaging ends up dumped in landfills after each garbage day.

One of the best things that you can do for yourself and for the environment is to buy food that’s as close to its natural state as you can. This isn’t to say that you should buy raw wheat grains and grind them yourself, but you should buy uncooked, unseasoned meats and raw fruits and vegetables and cook them yourself. Not only will there be less in the way of packaging, but there will be less salt and preservatives going into YOU. Make sure to compost your uncooked, non-meat food scraps as well!

What you use to carry your groceries home makes an impact as well. Many grocery stores across the continent are not offering plastic bags to patrons any longer, instead actively encouraging them to purchase inexpensive reusable bags, bring recycled bags, or offering a biodegradable alternative. If you like a higher quality of reusable bag, check out your local shops or look online; some companies even offer a reusable produce bag for your fruits and veggies.

Another great way to green up your kitchen is by buying only really good quality cooking tools that will last a long time. A few good quality stainless steel pots and pans, a good cast iron frying pan, and some sturdy wooden utensils can last you a lifetime if you take care of them. Avoid Teflon coated pans as they have a limited life-time and there are some health concerns over the use of Teflon. Quality, energy-efficient appliances will help make your kitchen more eco-friendly as well.

The finishing touch on any green kitchen is, of course, in the cleaning; make sure that you don’t use harsh corrosive chemicals when you’re cleaning your eco-kitchen.

Once you’ve greened up your kitchen, it’s easy to move into greening the rest of your home, one room at a time!

Everything you need to know about Santa Cruz real estate is right here at MySantaCruzRealEstate.com. Lauren Spencer, Coldwell Banker Realtor will be glad to answer your questions about New Brighton in Aptos CA.