How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment?

I will be moving into a new apartment soon, and I was wondering: How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment? I have experienced living in an apartment building that was infested with mice. I had to eventually get a cat, and the problem was solved. They were gone in the same week. The cat even killed a couple of them. But I have a daughter with asthma, and I have a 8-month old baby, and I can't afford to get a cat. I want to prevent the problem before it happens. Any suggestions or tricks that doesn't involve getting a cat, or dealing with traps (I have to pick them up) or poisons (my daughter found a dead one under my bed).How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment?
You should look for holes around your sinks, pipes and windows. Patch them up with hardware supplies (like spackle and new drywall/wood). You can also get spray that smells like fox urine that may deter the mice from entering.





There are also electronic mouse repllers that you can plug into an electrical socket to emit a sound that drives them away. Some cost around $50.





Also if you move your refridgerator, stove dresser, etc. out to clean behind on a regular basis, it will discourage mice from nesting. They do not like their living quarters to be disrupted.





Only eat meals in one room (not a bedroom), and vaccum/sweep up every night.








It worked for me. Especially the patching up holes.How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment?
Most if not all states landlord tenant law requires your landlord to pay for an exterminator as long as you didn't cause the infestation to begin with.


Check your states landlord tenant act.


Mice are just looking for food so as long as you keep everything put away and the garbage is taken out regularly then they shouldn't be attracted to your home. They may check it out, but if they find nothing they should just leave on their own.
For a mouse to get in, there has to be an opening. Do a very complete search and locate any opening to your apartment. Packing the openings with steel wool will stop most rodents. Even if it doesn't stop them, it will show you the entrance point. Look carefully around plumbing. That is a common entry point.
I just moved into a older house in the country and am dealing with the same issue. I haven't seen any mice, but know they are here. I can hear things under or in the walls, I think. I don't want to kill them or pick them up in trap a live. I can't get a cat b/c of my territorial dog. I can't use the electronic things b/c of my guinea pigs.


So... I spent today plugging up holes and cracks with steel wool. I have NO food in the cabinets or dirty dishes in the sink. I vaccum daily and keep the pet food stored properly. Hopefully, they will find that there is nothing for them here, and leave.
You can hire a company to set up the traps and remove the mice./rats. Bait traps work well and your baby can't get into it. It's like a box with rat poison in it. It's too small for your baby to reach the poisoned food. They also have sticky traps, and live traps where they go inside and can't get out.


But you can just seal up the holes and keep you door always closed. and don't leave food out.
The best thing to do is just leave a couple of traps down all the time and check them every couple of days. The will prevent any mice that are getting in having the chance to breed and make the problem escalate. Poison is just cruel + you have no idea where the mouse will die. Maybe under your floorboards and rot for the next 3 years? yucky!!





Hope this helps :)
Sorry to say, but you can't stop mice from getting in. All you can do is deal with them after the fact. Cats do solve the problem, as you know from personal experience. But if your kid is allergic, that's no longer an option. Unfortunately, you ruled out the only other possible solutions, traps and poison. I don't know what else you could do.
Well if there is no food then there will be no mice. Just make sure you put all your food in sealed plastic containers. Never leave food siting out for longer than a couple of hours. That includes dirty dishes with food still on them. Buy a nice sturdy plastic garbage can with a lid on it.





If there is a huge gap under your door attach door draft stopper to it. Also make sure you caulk any holes that you may have in your apartment. Caulk any holes in and around pipes sticking in through the walls. You can talk to your land lord and I believe they have to either do this themselves or pay you for the time you spent doing this.





I had this problem in my apartment and we did all this and were fine. Our neighbors complained about mice but never did anything but put traps down. Our landlord paid us for the supplies and time. He just took it off our next rent check.





Good Luck!
LURE THE MOUSE OUT OF APARTMENT BY TRAPS.





POISON CAN BE DANGEROUS OR OTHER ANIMALS AND SMALL KIDS.





KEEP A CAT WHICH SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN FOR FOOD AN THEN SHE MUST GO OUT





WE DO THE SAME IN Saudi, BUT I DONT KNOW IN WHAT PART OF THE WORLD YOU ARE. IF ITS A COLD COUNTRY THE CAT CANNOT SURVIVE OUTSIDE DURING WINTERS.





THEN THE BEST MEDICINE IS A CAREFUL HANDLING OF POISON FOR RATS.





HAD IT BEEN EAST AFRICA OR FAR EAST, THE RAT WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD DISH