| How to Get Rid of Mice Posted: 07 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST Finding a mouse in your home can be worrying since there may be more hiding nearby. Mice can get into your food and belongings and spread disease, so try to get them out of your home as soon as possible. Set traps or place bait to get rid of them fast, and then clean and seal any areas where mice may enter. Once you take preventative measures, you can say goodbye to mice for good! [Edit]Looking for Signs of Mice - Look for droppings. Check for mouse droppings near common problem areas, such as kitchen cabinets or in your pantry. Inspect the area for dark droppings that look like grains of rice and are about long. Droppings that are wet and black are fresh while older ones are dry and have a lighter gray color.[1]
- The presence of droppings can also indicate that there's a crack or hole in the room through which mice can enter.
- Listen for scratching or squeaking near sunrise and sunset. Mice are the most active 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise since they're nocturnal. Listen for light scratching or scampering sounds near your walls or in areas where you suspect mice. If you hear multiple squeaks or noises, you may have more than 1 mouse in your home.[2]
- Common areas where you may hear mice include basements, attics, and kitchens.
- Look for dime-sized holes in your walls near the floor. If mice are living in your walls, they may have chewed through the drywall to get into your home. Inspect corners in your home or underneath cabinets to see if you there small holes with smooth edges. If you notice any holes, then mice can easily get in and out of your home.[3]
- Don't forget to inspect outside your home as well since mice may be coming in from the wild.
- Watch along interior walls or ledges for mouse pathways. Mice usually follow the same pathways while they run through your home, so you may be able to see common problem areas. Usually, the runs are along interior walls or on ledges surrounding your home. Look for oily rub marks on the wall to see if mice have been in the area.[4]
- You may also notice droppings or urine stains along the pathways as well.
- Look for any small, sudden movements you notice in your home since they could be mice.
- Look for signs of a nest in attics or basements. Mice will build nests when they breed so they have a comfortable space for their young. Check for round nests made of cardboard, fabric, and other scrap materials in your attic, basement, and underneath your cabinets. If you find a nest, contact a professional exterminator immediately so they can get rid of it properly.[5]
- Mice chew through cardboard boxes and items of clothing to use as materials for their nests. Look for tiny holes in the pile of clothes you've left sitting in the back of your closet.
- A musty smell might also indicate the presence of a mouse nest.
[Edit]Catching Mice - Get live traps if you want to catch mice humanely. Put the traps along any mouse pathways you found in your home or near problem areas along the wall. Place a bit of peanut butter or cheese inside the trap so mice are drawn to the scent. Each live trap is different, but you'll be able to visually see if the trap is set or if it's empty just by looking at it. Once a mouse has been caught, take the trap to a field about away so it doesn't return to your home.[6]
- Wear gloves when baiting or handling traps so the mice can't detect your scent.
- Some live traps only catch 1 mouse while others can catch multiple mice. Choose the type of trap that works best for you.
- Experiment with different types of bait, like marshmallows and jelly, to see if the mice like a different flavor.
- Use snap traps to kill the mice immediately. Set the snap trap in an area along the wall or on a pathway you've found earlier. Place a bit of bait, such as peanut butter or jam, on the bait pad. Pull the U-shaped wire piece back and hold it down with one hand. Use your other hand to set the metal bar onto the latch with the bait. When the mouse steps on the trap to eat the bait, the wire will snap down on the mouse and kill it.[7]
- Make sure to throw out snap traps as soon as mice are caught, and sanitize the area afterward.
- Be careful while setting the trap since the U-shaped piece is spring-loaded and will close quickly.
- Don't keep snap traps in areas where pets or small children could reach them since they could get hurt.
- Move your traps every 2-3 days. Check your traps twice a day to see if you've captured any mice. If you haven't caught any mice in the traps within a few days, move them to a different area of your home where you suspect mice have been. Since mice often use the same paths, they're more likely to return to the area.[8]
- Mice travel from their nest every night. If you've found a nest in your home, keep the traps close by.
- Use a baited poison as a last resort. Look for poisonous bait traps in the pest control section of your local store. Place the traps in areas where you notice activity, such as behind a cabinet or in your basement. When a mouse eats the bait, they will slowly die as the poison digests.[9]
- Some poison bait traps also capture the mice so they can't run away after they eat it.
- Keep poison traps away from pets or small children since they could get extremely sick if they eat it.
- Don't keep the poison near any food items since they could cross-contaminate one another.
[Edit]Keeping Mice out of Your Home - Clean your house frequently. After you eat or prepare a meal, be sure to do your dishes immediately and clean up after yourself. Don't leave any food scraps out overnight since mice may try to find food on your countertops. Go through your house daily to sweep or vacuum any dirty areas to help deter mice from coming in.[10]
- Cleaning your house won't stop mice entirely, but it eliminates any food sources they may have had.
- Declutter your home since mice are usually attracted to dark, unused spaces.
- Keep any loose food in airtight containers. Make sure all grains, nuts, and other dry goods are stored in tightly sealed containers. If the container isn't sealable, use plastic wrap to cover it instead. This will help block the scent so mice can't smell it as well and protects your food.[11]
- Transfer open food from boxes or bags into a different container so mice can't smell them.
- Don't leave bread or fruit sitting out on the counter for more than a day or two. Either put them in a container or in your refrigerator.
- Clean your pantry and cabinets often. Make sure crumbs, dried juice, and other stray bits of food don't sit on your kitchen floor. Remain vigilant and observe any signs of pantry raiding by the pesky critter, then provision to eliminate the opportunity for the mouse family to dine.
- Seal any entryways into your home so mice can't get in. Look for holes inside and outside your home where mice may enter from. Cover any cracks or holes you find in your walls with mesh so mice can't get through it. Make sure entrances from your chimney or pipes leading outside are also covered with the mesh. You can also stuff any holes you find with steel wool since mice can't chew through it.[12]
- Make sure the gap under your door isn't providing a convenient entrance for mice.
- Spray entrances and problem areas with peppermint oil to deter the mice. Mix of peppermint oil and of water in a spray bottle. Spray along the pathways and areas where you've noticed mice actively going. The strong scent of the peppermint will deter the mice away from the area. Reapply the spray every few days so it stays fresh.[13]
- You can also leave cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil along common mouse pathways for 1 week at a time.
- Bring a cat in your home to scare the mice away. Cats are natural predators of mice, and just having one in your home can scare mice away. Let your house cat spend time in the room where mice are present so it can spread its scent. Mice will be able to sense a predator and avoid the area from now on.[14]
- You can borrow a friend's cat for a few days to help scare the mice away.
- Mice may still hide in areas where the cat can't reach, such as an attic.
[Edit]Warnings - Don't place mousetraps or poison anywhere where children or pets could easily access it.
- Always wear gloves while handling a trap to prevent the spread of bacteria.
- If you've tried preventative measures and you still have mice in your home, contact an exterminator to get them professionally removed.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Catching Mice - Live traps
- Snap traps
- Mouse bait
[Edit]Keeping Mice out of Your Home - Cleaning supplies
- Sealable plastic containers
- Wire mesh
- Peppermint oil
- Spray bottle
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Draw Posted: 07 Dec 2019 12:00 AM PST Learning how to draw can seem daunting, especially when you look at masterpieces by your favorite artists. However, it's important to remember that even the great masters were beginners once. Start by practicing some basic drawing techniques, then move on to more complex drawings to capture people, landscapes, animals, and more. If you keep at it, you'll likely be surprised at how quickly your drawing skills improve! [Edit]Practicing General Drawing Techniques - Start by drawing basic lines and curves. If you're just learning to draw, start by carefully drawing the pencil over the page in a straight line. Practice holding your hand at different angles to see what gives you the most control over the pencil, along with what feels most comfortable. Once you feel comfortable drawing a straight line, practice rotating your wrist as you draw, which should create a curve. Try making a series of big loops on the paper, then draw tiny swirls below that. This will help you build up your hand-eye coordination so you can create the effects you want on the page.[1]
- Practice drawing lines of different lengths, thicknesses, and textures. Try to produce wavy lines, zig-zag lines, and tangled, scribbly lines.
- After you get comfortable with lines and curves, try drawing shapes. For instance, you might try filling a page with two-dimensional shapes such as circles, squares, or triangles.
- For more information on drawing a straight line, check out How to Draw Neat Lines.
- Create a sense of depth by shading in a shape. Draw a simple shape, such as a circle, and add an imaginary light source to your page. Use a pencil to lightly shade in the areas farthest from your light source, while leaving the area closest to the light source unshaded. Keep building up the shading until you have a gentle fade you have a gradient from the darkest values at the parts of the object farthest from the light source to the lightest at the area closest to the light source.[2]
- For instance, you might imagine that there's a lamp shining down from the top left corner of the page. In that case, the top-left area of your shape wouldn't have any shading. Just below that area, add light shading then progress to very dark shadows in the bottom right corner of your page.
- Try blending your shadows with your finger, an eraser, or a cloth to soften them.
- To learn more about shading, check out How to Shade Drawings. You can also read about more advanced shading techniques in How to Cross-Hatch and How to Stipple.
- Make an object seem grounded in reality by adding cast shadows. Picture your light source, then draw a shadow on the opposite side of the object from the light. The shadow should be the same shape as the object, although it may be longer or shorter than the object itself, depending on how far away the light source is and the angle of the light.[3]
- For instance, if you have a bowl of fruit on a table, the table will cast a shadow on the floor, the bowl will cast a shadow on the table, and the fruit will cast a shadow inside the bowl.
- Use your finger or an eraser to blur the edges of the shadow so it looks more realistic.
- Check out How to Draw a Shadow to learn more!
- Draw a grid on the paper if you need help with proportions. If you're drawing something from a source image, draw several evenly-spaced vertical and horizontal lines on your paper to make a grid. Then, draw the same lines on your source image. Look at each individual square on the source image and copy it into the corresponding square on your paper. Your finished picture should be proportionate with the original![4]
- For instance, you might draw 3 vertical lines and 2 horizontal lines to make a 4x3 grid.
- It's okay if the squares aren't the same size on your source image as they are on your paper. You'll naturally adjust the size as you copy the picture you see in each grid. In fact, this technique is often used to resize a drawing.
- Show an object's dimension by learning perspective. To start practicing perspective, draw a horizontal line across your paper to represent the horizon. Make a small dot on the line. This will be your vanishing point. Next, draw two angled lines that meet at the vanishing point and stretch down toward the bottom of your paper. This can represent a road, a stream, railroad tracks, or any other pathway. The widest part of the path, near the bottom of the page, will seem closest to you, while the vanishing point will seem to be very far away.
- Perspective means that objects that are up close seem to be larger than objects that are far away. Simple perspective drawings only have one vanishing point, although more complex drawings might have two or even three.
- Understanding perspective will also help your shading and cast shadows look more realistic.
- Learn more by checking out How to Draw Perspective. You can also read How to Draw a 3D Box for another way to study the concept of perspective.
- Build an object out of different shapes. When you've mastered the art of drawing and shading basic shapes, you can draw much more complex objects by breaking them up into simpler shapes. Look at something you'd like to draw—such as a human figure, a car, or your hand—and try sketching out the basic shapes that make it up.[5]
- You can practice by taking an image—such as a photograph from a magazine or newspaper—and outlining the different shapes directly on the image. For example, take a picture of a car and outline the rectangular shape of the windshield, the circular shapes of the tires, and so on.[6]
- Once you've sketched out the shapes that make up your image, shade them in to create depth.
- To create a more finished drawing, connect the different shapes together with lines to build a coherent whole. You can then erase the outlines of the individual shapes that you sketched in.
- Try a contour drawing. Contour drawing is an exercise that helps you learn to create complex, realistic outlines. Pick an object to draw and follow the outlines of the image with your eye while drawing them at the same time. Try to keep your eye on the object you're drawing as much as possible, instead of concentrating on the hand that's doing the drawing. Don't worry if the drawing isn't perfect—just try to get the basic shape of whatever you're looking at onto the paper.[7]
- Make a game of it by trying a continuous contour drawing—try to connect all the outlines of what you see without lifting your hand from the page or going back over what you've already drawn.
- Outline your sketch first, then add details to keep your drawing proportionate. When you're taking a drawing from sketch to finished work, don't worry about the small details right away. Start by filling in basic shapes and values, then clean up your drawing and add details as you go. If you focus on intricate details too soon, you might make one part of your drawing too big or too small, and the work will feel out of balance when you're finished.
- For instance, if you're drawing a flower, you might start by sketching out the lines of the petals and stem. Once you've done that, you might start adding details like the center of the flower and the curves of the leaves and petals. Finally, you would add shading and any intricate details that are left.
[Edit]Drawing People and Faces - Sketch a large oval shape and a cross to draw a person's face up close. Draw an upside-down egg shape that's slightly narrower on the bottom and wider on the top. Then, lightly sketch a vertical and a horizontal line going through the oval.
- These lines will help you balance the proportions of the person's face. Draw them lightly, since you don't want them to show in the finished drawing.
- If you'd like to learn more, read How to Draw a Face.
- Use the lines to sketch the person's facial features. Draw the person's eyes along the horizontal line and place the nose about halfway between the eyes and the bottom of the chin. Sketch eyebrows above the eyes, then add the ears so that the bottoms of the ears line up with the bottom of the nose, and the tops of the ears line up with the eyebrows.
- Imagine a line halfway between the bottom of the nose and the chin, then place the mouth on top of this line.
- From here, you can fill in details like the person's eyelashes, pupils, and hair, along with shading and other details.
- Erase the vertical and horizontal lines when you're finished.
- Draw a circle on top of a trapezoid to make the silhouette of a head. If you're drawing a person from a little further away, the picture will look more realistic if you create the shape of a skull. To do this, draw a circle, then draw a narrow horizontal line a little below the circle. Create the jawline by sketching angled lines coming from the sides of the circle down to where they meet the horizontal line.
- Females tend to have a narrower chin, while males often have a wider jawline.
- You can still use the crossed directional lines from a close-up drawing to help you keep the proportion as you fill in the features of the person's face.
- Draw these lines lightly so they don't show in your finished drawing later.
- Draw a rounded rectangle and an oval to create the person's core. Just below the head, draw a long rectangle, which will be the person's torso. Make the rectangle very narrow for a slender person, or wider if the person is large. Then, sketch a horizontal oval overlapping the bottom of the rectangle. This will be the person's hips.
- If the person's neck will show in the picture, draw a narrow rectangle reaching from the person's head to their core.
- If the person is standing still, the rectangle should be perfectly up and down. If they're leaning slightly, tilt the rectangle a little, or tilt the rectangle dramatically to show that a person is bent over or in motion, like someone who's sprinting.
- Use straight lines and circles to sketch out the person's limbs. Use a straight line to represent each segment of the person's limbs, like their upper and lower arms and legs. Then, draw small circles anywhere that the person bends, such as their shoulders, knees, elbows, and wrists.
- Draw the lines and circles lightly since they're just meant to help you visualize the person's form. You'll erase them after you add detail to the drawing.
- Fill in clothing and other details once the person's body is sketched out. After you've drawn the person's figure, it's time to add detail. If you haven't already drawn the details of their face, you can do that now, along with features like their hair, clothing, and hands.
- Try gesture drawings to capture the essence of poses and actions. A gesture drawing is a basic sketch that captures both form and a sense of movement. Start by doing some very quick sketches (e.g., 30-60 seconds) with just a few simple lines to capture the shapes and movements that you see. Keep your lines loose, sketchy, and curved. The idea is to create something that looks dynamic and natural, not tidy and polished. [8]
- If you're drawing a human figure, try drawing a line through the center of the figure, going from the top of the head to the weight-bearing foot. Build the rest of the figure around it, sketching in other lines to indicate the angles of the hips and shoulders.[9]
- Keep your hand moving, and don't worry about details or accuracy.
[Edit]Capturing Landscapes - Use a reference photo or your own personal view. Find a photograph of a natural scene that you like, or look out the window and draw what you see. When you're drawing a landscape, it's often helpful to have some sort of reference to help you get your proportions right, especially when you're first starting out. [10]
- Draw a horizontal line across your page for the horizon. The line that divides the ground and sky in a landscape picture is called the horizon line. Lightly sketch this line wherever you want your horizon to fall. Keep in mind that if your horizon features mountains, treetops, buildings, or other raised elements, it may not be a perfectly straight line.[11]
- According to the Rule of Thirds, your picture will be more visually interesting if you place the horizon line a third of the way up from the bottom or a third of the way down from the top of the page.[12]
- If you draw your horizon further up the page, the viewer will see more of the ground, and if you draw it further down, they'll see more of the sky.
- In a typical landscape picture, the paper is turned so it is wide, rather than tall.
- Add a focal point in your picture. To make your landscape drawing seem interesting, add some eye-catching object for the viewer to look at. This might be a tree, a building, some interesting rocks alongside a stream, a barn, a waterfall, a bench, a person, or anything else you can think of. Typically, the focal point is the largest element in a painting, although it may also be an object that stands out because of its color or contrast.[13]
- For instance, a small patch of bright yellow flowers at the base of a stream would likely catch the viewers' eye if the rest of the colors in the painting are more sedate.
- A large shrub in the foreground of a painting could act as a focal point, as could a towering mountain in the background.
- It's helpful to try to find a reference photo or a natural angle with a focal point already included. However, you may need to select just a portion of a larger picture to make it interesting. For instance, you might focus your drawing on an area with an old tree, rather than trying to capture a whole park.
- Use perspective to maintain your proportions. When you're creating your drawing, imagine a vanishing point along your horizon line. Any lines in the picture should point back to this spot. This will mean that you draw elements in the foreground so they appear larger, while elements in the distance should be smaller.[14]
- For instance, if you're drawing trees, the tops and bottoms of the trees in the foreground can stretch up to the edges of the paper, if you like. However, as trees recede into the background, the tops and bottoms should line up with an imaginary diagonal that angles in toward the vanishing point.
- Simplify the details in your drawing. When you're drawing a landscape, don't try to draw every leaf on a tree, every blade of grass, or every brick on a paved road. Instead, draw out the overall shape of an object, then add details to small sections to give the viewer the suggestion of texture and movement.[15]
- For example, you might draw a few wispy lines to indicate that a fir tree is covered with needles.
- Some detail is okay, and this will vary depending on your style of drawing. If you're drawing a stony pathway, for instance, you might fill in the details of the rocks in the foreground of the picture, then gradually start spacing them out until you're only using a few circular shapes spaced along the path.
- If you are practicing a hyper-realistic drawing style, you may choose to include as many details as you can, and that's fine too. However, that's a more advanced drawing technique, so if you're just starting out, you might want to include just the details on your focal point, and let the rest of the picture be more simple.
[Edit]Trying Other Basic Drawings - Sketch a simple object from life. Once you have an idea of how to control your lines and create different values of light and dark, try drawing a real object or group of objects. Pick something relatively simple to start with, like a bowl of fruit, a flower, or a vase. Use a lamp to create a strong light source. Sketch in the outlines of what you see, then fill in the shadows and interior details.[16]
- Try to really draw what you see rather than what you think the objects should look like. This is harder than it sounds! To do it, try outlining the negative spaces around and between the objects rather than the outlines of the objects themselves.
- These are called still-life drawings, and they are commonly used in art classes for practicing technique.
- Try your hand at drawing cartoons if you have a playful style. Cartoon drawings tend to be more simple than realistic drawings, but they also open the door for you to be more creative. You might draw yourself as a superhero, for instance, or you could draw a cartoon animal who goes on adventures. You could even practice drawing a character that already exists, like your favorite anime or comic-book hero.[17]
- Focus on your main character first, then create different backgrounds, supporting characters, and props for your cartoon to interact with.
- Also, play with your character's facial expressions and pose to convey different emotions and actions.
- You can also create realistic-looking fantasy drawings from your own imagination. For instance, if you have a clear idea in your head of what a dragon would look like, you could try drawing that!
- For more tips, check out How to Draw Cartoon Characters or How to Draw Cartoon Animals.
- Draw a picture of your favorite animal to practice detail. Find a reference photo of an animal you really like and study its features before you start to draw. Then, start by sketching the outline of the animal. Once you've done that, fill in any major features, like its face, wings, or fins. Then, gradually add detail and shading until you're happy with the picture.
- Don't be discouraged if you can't get your ideas down on paper right away. Drawing takes a lot of practice, so keep at it!
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
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