A barn with spilled feed, a shop with a wall cavity, a grain bin, a tractor cab or a parked RV can all shelter mice through the winter.
This guide covers the three parts of a fall rodent plan: shutting off food and entry, choosing between traps and bait stations, and cleaning up safely afterward. Everything below about the products follows the manufacturer's label. Always read and follow the label on the package you buy.
1. Cut off food and entry first
Health Canada says "Prevention is key in controlling rats and mice problems in your home."
- Store feed, pet food, bird seed and grass seed in lidded metal or heavy plastic bins rather than open bags.
- Sweep up spilled grain and feed daily during the fall move-in period.
- Walk the outside of each building at ground level. Health Canada says "Mice can squeeze through cracks as small as a dime, while rats can enter through a quarter-sized hole." Stuff steel wool or copper mesh into gaps around pipes, wiring and door sills, then seal with caulk or sheet metal.
- Keep grass and weeds trimmed back from foundations and move lumber and pallet piles away from walls.
2. Traps or bait stations?
Both have a place. The decision usually comes down to whether children, pets or livestock can reach the location, and whether you need to find the carcass.
Snap traps and wood traps
Snap and wood traps use no poison. Health Canada's general guidelines: "Most traps without covers should be set at right angles to the wall, with the baited end of the trap closest to the wall." and "Set 1 trap per metre (yard) along walls, or 5 to 10 traps per visible mouse hole." It adds: "It is important to check all types of traps daily." Our guide Mouse and Rat Traps in Canada: Snap, Wood, Glue or Live-Catch? covers bait, the pre-baiting period and clean-up.
- Tomcat Mouse Snap Traps, 2-pack
- Tomcat Mouse Wood Traps, 4-pack
- Tomcat Rat Snap Trap for the larger footprints and droppings that mean rats rather than mice.
Live-catch and glue traps
Health Canada says "Live traps have trap doors that are triggered when rats or mice walk over them." and "Glue traps are also available and can be used with or without bait." Both need to be checked at least daily.
Bait stations
The Tomcat bait stations we list are Health Canada-registered rodenticides, and each label sets its own rules. The refillable mouse station (PCP 31500) and refillable rat station (PCP 32034) hold diphacinone 0.005% blocks; the disposable Advanced Formula mouse station (PCP 34875) and rat station (PCP 34876) hold bromethalin 0.01% blocks. Health Canada's pest-control page says poisoned baits "must be used with a tamper-proof bait station in areas accessible to children and pets." and "Read the product label and follow the label directions and safety precautions closely." Where each station may be placed and how its bait is replaced are set out label by label in Tomcat bait stations: mouse vs rat, refillable vs disposable, what the label says and Mouse and Rat Bait in Canada: Domestic vs Commercial Class, and What Each Label Allows.
- Tomcat Mouse Killer Disposable Bait Station, 28 g (single) or the 4-pack
- Tomcat Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station with 8 refills or 16 refills
- Tomcat Rat Killer Disposable Bait Station, 113 g
- Tomcat Mouse and Rat Attractant Gel to dab on trap triggers when mice are ignoring them.
3. How many, and where
Health Canada's general guideline for traps is "Set 1 trap per metre (yard) along walls, or 5 to 10 traps per visible mouse hole." It also says "Move traps to different locations if the bait does not disappear regularly." For bait stations, follow the placement directions on the station's own label.
4. Clean up safely: deer mice and hantavirus
Deer mice are common across rural Alberta and can carry hantavirus, which is spread when dried droppings, urine or nesting material are stirred into the air. Alberta Health's cleanup advice for mouse-contaminated areas is simple and worth following every time:
- Open doors and windows and stay out of the space for at least 30 minutes before you start.
- Never sweep or vacuum droppings, nests or dead mice dry.
- Wear rubber gloves. Soak droppings, nests and carcasses with a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water (or a household disinfectant) and let it sit for five minutes.
- Mop up or pick up with paper towels, bag it, seal the bag and put it in a garbage can with a tight lid.
- Wash gloves before taking them off, then wash your hands.
For a heavy infestation in a building you need to work in, Alberta's Health Link (811) can advise on extra precautions.
Fall checklist
- Lidded bins for all feed and seed.
- Walk the perimeter and seal pencil-width gaps.
- Traps along walls in living and tack areas; sealed bait stations in shops, bins and outbuildings out of reach of animals.
- Check daily, keep bait available 7 days, move what is not working.
- Gloves, bleach solution, no dry sweeping.
Everything in this guide is stocked at our store in Millet and ships across Alberta. Browse the full Tomcat range or the Pest Control category, or call (403) 679-5334 if you want a hand sizing a plan for your buildings.
Sources: Tomcat Canada product label information for Tomcat Mouse Killer Disposable Bait Station (Scotts Canada); Health Canada, Use restrictions for commercial class rodenticides in agricultural settings; Alberta.ca, Reducing the risk of hantavirus.