Fear of mice or musophobia: causes, signs, treatment

The house mouse harms a person not only to his property, but also to his health. If there are too many of these “tenants”, they can contribute to the spread throughout the house, apartment, cottage, warehouse or grain storage. Their damage to various equipment, communications, plastic pipes, wires, plastic buckets, dishes and other items is also noted. In general, these species of small mammals eat almost everything, which causes a lot of trouble for people.

The problem of transmitting infectious diseases is that these rodents can have various bacteria and microbes on their paws, which end up on grain, food, dishes, things and other objects where these animals can walk. It has been recorded that they can serve as carriers of a number of human diseases. These are plague, dysentery, typhus, the formation of helminth eggs, worms, E. coli and other diseases. In addition, do not forget that various fleas or ticks live on the rodents themselves.

Where do mice come from?

These uninvited guests can appear in apartment buildings from the basements, from the side of the garbage chute or trash bin located not far from the building itself. Old ventilation ducts or elevator shafts also facilitate the movement of these animals. If there are cracks in the houses or the building consists of load-bearing walls, ceilings and partitions with hollow internal spaces, then these are the places where such “residents” can still appear in the apartments.

One of the main reasons may also be the elementary improper storage of food in a house or apartment. These animals have a very sensitive sense of smell, and therefore they can smell prey a mile away. They are very fond of nuts, seeds, grains, and therefore cereals. They are attracted to the smell of fried bread, popcorn and other human foodstuffs. Therefore, negligence in cleaning and making your home unsanitary are the most favorable conditions for mice to take up residence in your home.

Dampness and warmth are also favorite conditions for such small mammals. That is why these pests so often show their presence in a private home or in heated warehouses closer to winter. In the fall, it is better to check your house or corners in your apartment for holes, cracks or gaps through which animals can easily enter people's homes. Everything should be sealed, plastered with durable plaster and treated with repellent chemicals. In general, they will always look for where it is warmer and where there is food for them.

Where are household rodents most likely to appear?

Mice begin to enter the building through basements, cracks and holes in the foundation, and manage to gnaw their way through, thus making their way into dungeons, the floor, the ceiling through the attic and in the ceilings or even walls. We can identify several of the most basic areas of residential, office or warehouse space where the following pests usually begin to become active and appear:

baseboards;
corners of rooms;
waste storage areas;
in the kitchen;
in the bathroom (they especially like to hide under bathtubs);
near the joints of sewer or water pipes;
in ventilation ducts;
in stove passages in the summer;
under the floorboards in a private house;
at garbage chutes in multi-apartment buildings.

They have their broods and nests in places most hidden from human eyes. Therefore, they appear in the rooms where people live only to stock up on something edible. The cat, by the way, in these cases is an excellent watchman while you sleep. It is capable of catching rodents that have entered an apartment or house.

Preventive measures

Mice very easily chew through polyethylene, plastic, wood, plastic and even plaster. To fight them using the repelling method, you should immediately focus on strong and pungent odors, which are often perceived by mice as signals of danger. Among the folk remedies that every housewife always has at hand, there may be the following natural repellers of house rodents:

Bay leaf;
fresh mint;
ammonia;
vinegar;
copper sulfate in small quantities.

It is enough to place mint or bay leaves in those places where rodents often show themselves, and you will notice how effective it will be to reduce their activity in the house or apartment. You can spill a little bite or ammonia near the trash can if this is tolerable for the owners of the house. Not only smells will quickly scare away animals, but also other ways:

Ventilation openings must have durable grilles.
All cracks and holes can be sealed not only with plaster, but also with sealant. Only in this case it is advisable to put poison into the crack or hole or spray a chemical agent or repeller.
Products should be stored in containers that are inaccessible to pests. For example, it is better to store cereals and nuts in tightly sealed jars.
Regularly remove (take out) garbage from the house, do wet cleaning with disinfectants to prevent bacteria and germs brought into the house by mice from entering the body of a person or pet.

In cases where preventive methods have not helped, you should immediately call orderlies - specialists who could not only destroy the pests in one treatment, but also remove them from the territory of the house when they are already poisoned. Such professionals may ask home owners to first remove furniture and other obstacles to make work easier. But you will be able to get rid of the overpopulation of these rodents in your home in time, because they are very prolific.

For city dwellers, the appearance of a mouse in an apartment sometimes causes a real shock. However, this is not as unique a situation as it seems. Nimble, agile rodents are very mobile and often migrate over fairly long distances.

The article about mice in the apartment is divided into chapters:

As a means of communication, they were provided with a whole network of underground communications that enveloped our cities. Through basements, sewer and water supply systems, they penetrate into the most seemingly inaccessible and well-guarded apartments of people. They are attracted by warmth, curiosity, and most importantly, the smell of food. Small, crafty bodies, sharp teeth and claws help them overcome, often not the most reliable barriers erected by builders.

Symptoms of the disease

Like any nervous disorder, fear of mice can manifest itself differently in each individual. For some, meeting a mouse causes panic and forces them to run away, while for others fear literally paralyzes them, preventing them from moving. From the physiological side, the following manifestations are observed:

rapid breathing;
nausea, dizziness;
a feeling of inevitability of panic;
fear of dying from a rodent bite;
increased sweating;
convulsions, speech disorders;
inappropriate behavior.

Panic during musophobia

In its advanced stage, the disease provokes a breakdown in social ties. Musophobes are well aware that their behavior when they see a mouse is absurd, because the rodent is not going to attack, but they cannot do anything about their fear. There comes a fear of disgracing yourself in front of friends, which develops into long-term depression. Without treatment, neurosis will only progress, and the fear of rodents will acquire new fantasies.

With a severe form of the disease, a person no longer sees the line between fantasies in which mice are chasing him and reality.

Usually, in the house of such people, all the cracks and any other openings through which rodents can get into the house are blocked.

Signs of mice appearing in an apartment

Identifying unwanted guests in the form of rodents at an early stage of their move-in will help get rid of serious problems in the future. Loopholes found and blocked in time will prevent large-scale measures to remove the overgrown population. And it’s best to contact the pest control service without delay. In an untreated case, disposal and barrier protection services will cost less. SES specialists will even undertake to identify the source of infection if this cannot be done on their own.

Usually, the appearance of pests can be detected first by sounds coming from under the floors, from behind the walls and structures of the premises. This is a quiet, periodic grinding noise, especially noticeable at night. Not only against the backdrop of general silence, but also because of the predominantly nocturnal lifestyle of these animals. There are voids under the wooden floors in some apartments - a favorite place for mice to move. By tapping lightly on the floorboards, you can hear a commotion underneath.

The fact of the presence of rodents will, of course, be their waste in the form of grayish grains emitting a specific odor.

So, the main symptoms of mice appearing in an apartment:

slight rustling and grinding at night;
fussing under the floorboards and in the voids of the walls;
teeth marks on packaging and food products;
holes in the floor, corners, baseboards;
mouse excrement;
direct visual contact.

Treatment

Fear of mice and rats at an early stage can be easily cured with independent work. Try to transform the negative directed at the animal into positive. Watch funny cartoons and videos about mice. Try getting a pet mouse, by the way, they are very cute. This method will help overcome mild phobia not only for adults, but also for children.

If you cannot overcome your fear on your own, you should seek help from a psychologist. He will select a remedy to get rid of the phobia. When no method brings the expected result, hypnotherapy is used. With the help of hypnosis, the behavioral attitudes of the subject are modified, and the perception of the rodents will change. In general, medical therapy includes a set of measures.

Adaptation to a stressor.
Drug therapy to relieve symptoms of a nervous disorder.

Why do mice appear?

There are many reasons for the unexpected appearance of mice, but they all have two factors in common:

Stimulus
Opportunity

The motivation may be a lack of territory, and, accordingly, lack of food for a proliferating colony nearby, for example, in the basement of a house. The search for warm places with the onset of cold weather forces mice, despite genetic fear, to settle closer to human habitation. But how can you not succumb to temptation if you dig a small hole and you will have access to the bins of careless owners. Mice have an excellent sense of smell, and they can smell potential food from a great distance. In addition, they instinctively understand where a person is - there is food and warmth.

And their extraordinary agility, small size and flexibility of body, sharp claws and teeth help them get to apartments. If the apartment has the slightest flaws in the design, the smallest gaps in the ceilings and support systems (pipes, ventilation, electrical wiring), this gives a chance. No worse than moles, they dig holes and widen cracks to get to food. This is what mice live for, and this is what they devote almost all their time to.

A cluttered room, the smell of food and waste is an extraordinary incentive to take a risk. A clean apartment, where there is nothing to profit from at night from the table or from the trash can, is not of particular interest to mice, especially if getting there will cost incredible efforts. Rational thinking will tell the animal to look for places that are more nourishing and more accessible.

So, what attracts rodents:

warm;
availability.

You can minimize the risk of uninvited guests appearing in your apartment by keeping your home clean and careful in storing food. High-quality, reliable finishing of the apartment, excluding cracks and cracks, will be an obstacle to pests.

What is the fear of mice called?

Not only women, but also representatives of the stronger sex are afraid of rodents. Fear of mice and rats are different phobias. The same person can experience panic in front of rats and be absolutely calm about mice.

A phobia of rats is called zemmiphobia, while a fear of mice is called musophobia.

Zemmiphobia also includes fear of other large mammals: bats, moles. The listed species of animals are safe for people and many of the fears regarding them are unfounded. They are associated with watching television programs and horror films. Moles and bats do not threaten human health, but they can damage crops.

How to get rid of mice?

You need to start with a general cleaning of the entire home:

get rid of garbage, old trash;
remove carpets and clean;
carry out wet cleaning using products containing disinfectants, especially carefully rinsing hard-to-reach places.

Check the premises for the presence of burrows, and you need to closely inspect:

baseboards;
wardrobes and chests of drawers;
under the bath;
under the sink and washbasin;
behind the toilet.

Fill all discovered holes and cracks with polyurethane foam or seal with mortar. Now you can start getting rid of mice using the chosen method.

Mechanical methods of killing mice

If this is a mousetrap, then its location and the attractiveness of the bait will play a decisive role. It is better to use several devices, placing them in areas where mice are likely to visit food at night and near suspected burrows.

The bait may be the simplest, but fragrant. Cheese or sausage will do, but the goal is not to feed something tasty, but to catch it. Moreover, mice have slightly different tastes. They love seeds - you can soak a piece of bread in sunflower (unrefined) oil.

The disadvantages of such mousetraps are their one-time use. After each, even successful operation, you will have to charge again. In addition, this is a rather cruel method of murder, and burdensome with the need to get rid of the corpse. Nowadays, electric mousetraps are gaining popularity, killing rodents with an electric discharge and automatically storing them in a special closed compartment. All that remains is to take it out and shake it out like the dust collector of a vacuum cleaner. Adhesive tapes and adhesives are a more humane method, but do not exclude contact with a live rodent. Any animal stuck to tape or cardboard coated with glue must be disposed of somehow.

Remember:
Despite their size, mice can be very aggressive in a desperate situation, not afraid to attack larger animals.

Chemical methods of controlling mice

These are classic poisons that abound in the retail chain. They are produced in ready-made briquettes, and in powders, solutions, granules, which can be mixed with bait or water. Fast-acting poisons kill mice within a few hours. Special mummifying additives get rid of the smell of decomposition, drying out the corpse if the dead animal is not discovered in time.

There are a lot of devices and means for repelling rodents, such as ultrasonic repellers or concentrates of odorous plants. But if there are mice in the house, there is no more reliable method than professional pest control.

Mice in the house? What could be worse than cockroaches? Now they can be found not only in private houses, but also in city apartments. Being around these animals is not only unpleasant, but also dangerous due to the diseases they carry.

We hear them running around the apartment at night, smell them, see traces of their presence in bags of cereal chewed in the kitchen cabinet. In addition, holes appear in the floor and baseboards, and rapidly breeding animals walk through your apartment as if they were their own home.

What can I say, mice cause panic not only in women, but sometimes even cats are afraid of them. But we had certain hopes for our pets...

All that remains is to turn to professionals for the destruction of rodents, or maybe there are other options on how to get rid of the invasion of uninvited guests forever? We will try to answer this and other questions in our article.

Sections of the article

Slavs[edit]

An unclean animal, classified in the popular consciousness as “reptiles.” According to Serbian legend, mice, snakes, lizards and other “reptiles” came into the light of God from the belly of the snake monster challah, killed by St. Nestor

The legends also reflect the devilish nature of mice. Bulgarians have mice. originated from the devil, who burst in the church from the smell of incense; among the Serbs, from one of the mice that survived in the church, into which the devil turned into small fragments, hitting a closed window while trying to fly out of the church. In flood legends, mice or the devil gnaw a hole in Noah's Ark.

In the guise of mice, Belarusians represent the souls of the dead who feed on half-eaten bread at night. If a cat catches such a mouse, the family will face disaster for the death of an ancestor. In this regard, mice in omens portend death:

when they gnaw someone's clothes - among the Russians, Moravans;
rustling under the bed - among Belarusians;
breed in the home of the Serbs.

In popular belief, mice, like snakes and lizards, are characterized by the motifs of whistling and music. Thus, the Serbs believe that playing music at night lures mice into the house, and the ban on whistling in the house is explained by the fact that this causes mice to breed; in a Kashubian fairy tale, a mouse gives a man a magic pipe, etc. Cf. also a Polish belief about luring rats out of the house by whistling.

The damage caused by mice is metaphorically likened to the damage caused by theft. Among the Southern Slavs, a sign that someone in the household is stealing something in the house is clothing eaten by a mouse or their appearance in the house. The common idea that a pregnant woman should not be refused any request, otherwise the person responsible for the refusal will be chewed by mice on his clothes, is based on the ratio of profit and loss: the damage caused to the pregnant woman (refusal to give something) is compensated by the damage caused by the mice to the person responsible for such refusal.

Most often, to expel, exterminate mice and protect against them, consecrated objects are used and prohibitions on food are observed; among the southern Slavs there are prohibitions on working with sharp objects. To get rid of mice:

Poles walk around houses with blessed Easter food;
The Bulgarians put an oak branch in the closet;
Belarusians do not mention mice when eating;
Ukrainians don’t take clothes out of their chests at Christmas, don’t eat in the barn, and the bride goes to the wedding on an empty stomach.

To prevent mice from eating grain, the Poles

they leave the last bunch of unharvested ears of corn in the field;
they bring sheaves from the field at night when everyone is sleeping;
stones are thrown through the spokes of the wheels along the road;
the first loaded cart is tipped on its side;
leaving grains for the mice at the bottom of the cart.

Among the southern Slavs, special “mouse holidays” are dedicated to amulets against mice, of which the most common is St. Nestor’s Day, December 27th. On this day:

they do not cut bread with a knife, do not cut hair with scissors, do not chop wood, so that mice do not gnaw clothes and crops with their sharp teeth;
they also do not spin or knit;
do not pick up a needle;
don't knead bread;
do not open chests with clothes;
they do not take grain from barns;
do not pour milk and do not take cheese out of tubs
do not open closets where mice are found;
do not touch objects damaged by them;
no mention of mice.
They perform imitative magical acts to seal up or cover up the mice’s mouths and eyes: they smear manure on the hearth or floor in the cellar, and sew up the hem in front and behind.
A firebrand, a garlic shoot turned upside down, is stuck into a mouse hole.

The amulets against mice are also dedicated to:

for St. Catherine's Day, St. Andrew's Day - among the Bulgarians,
St. Jeremiah's Day - among the Bulgarians, Macedonians,
St. Martin's Day - among the Macedonians,
on Saturday of Maslenitsa (“mouse Saturday”) and on Saturday on the eve of Maslenitsa among the Serbs.

The Bulgarians performed the “mice wedding” ritual to expel mice from the village. Two women caught a pair of mice, dressed them up as newlyweds, put a veil on the mouse “bride,” tied them up and put them in a pumpkin or basket. The peasants portrayed the matchmakers, the priest, the wedding godfather and the godfather, walked around the village with the meshes, and behind the village they threw them from a high hill or left them in the forest thicket. At the same time, they wanted them to get married in another village and never return. Then they had a feast with songs and dances, just like at a real wedding. There are many signs associated with mice:

mice leaving the house - to a fire or trouble (for Russians),
a mouse crosses the road - to failure (among Bulgarians),
if a mouse gnaws on a girl’s dowry, she will marry a rich man (among the Bulgarians),
if mice spoil a merchant’s goods, it can be sold faster and more profitably (from the Russians), etc.

A number of beliefs and activities associated with the mouse as a rodent concern teeth. In folk medicine, methods of treating hernia using mice are widely known. A live mouse is given to eat for a person suffering from epilepsy or an incurable disease. Mouse infusion with vegetable oil is used to treat sore joints, ear pain, etc.

Such female characters as Baba Yaga, Holle, Mokosh, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa are also associated with mice (the Bulgarians associated the mouse holiday - “Misha’s Day”) with Saint Petka.

Where do mice get into the apartment?

When a mouse appears in an apartment on the ground floor, it does not cause surprise, because... basements often in the absence of regular treatments

are an excellent breeding ground for rodents. But mice can often be seen on higher floors. This is puzzling and indicates that no one is immune from their appearance.

Animals can get into small cracks under baseboards, climb the walls of houses and hanging wires, get into garbage chutes, into cracks near water supply and sewer pipes, and live in ventilation ducts.

Symptoms

Phobia of rats and mice can manifest itself in varying degrees. In a mild form of musophobia, it is an involuntary scream, a desire to run away. With greater severity, fear can be supplemented by somatic symptoms:

shortness of breath;
tachycardia;
dizziness;
dry mouth.

In clinical cases of phobia, obsessive fear does not leave the person all the time, derealization occurs, general anxiety is felt, increased sweating, any shadow on the floor seems like a mouse, even panic attacks occur.

Why is it dangerous to be around mice?

The damage caused by the pest concerns not only spoiled food, chewed baseboards, wiring, insulation and things. Each female can annually give birth to up to 20 mice, which begin to reproduce at the age of 3 months. Soon the apartment may be infested with rodents.

The material damage from their livelihoods can be enormous, but even more dangerous is the harm they can cause to health.

Mice are carriers of pathogens of a huge number of diseases: bubonic plague, bacterial infections, murine typhus, leptospirosis, tularemia, sodocosis, lymphocytic Venezuelan encephalomyelitis, tapeworms.

Therefore, dealing with them is a matter of health and safety

apartment inhabitants. Each of the methods described is effective and will help catch a rodent, but quick results can only be achieved if you use several methods simultaneously.

Signs and causes of rodents

An attentive owner will know about the appearance of mice in the house long before he finds one of them in the kitchen cabinet. First of all, uninvited residents are identified by quiet rustling and scratching

and other extraneous sounds that are easy to notice in the dark.

Upon careful inspection of the room, you can notice various traces of rodent activity: seed husks, nibbled pieces of food, excrement, pieces of paper and a mouse smell in places with poor ventilation (locked cabinets, under the sink or bathtub).

But the most obvious sign will be the discovery of holes in the baseboards.

Before tackling the question of how to catch a mouse in an apartment without a mousetrap, it is necessary to eliminate the reasons that attracted rodents to the home. Most of the reasons for the appearance of mice are related to unsanitary conditions:

food is regularly left in places accessible to mice (crumbs on the table and floor, food in open drawers and shelves),
garbage is not taken out regularly, and food remains remain in an open trash can for several days,
there are no grilles on the ventilation ducts,
holes in baseboards and around water supply and sewerage pipes,
availability of water that is accessible to rodents,
secluded, cluttered places that are not often cleaned.

Only after the reasons for the appearance of mice in the home have been eliminated, but the mice have not left the apartment, can you begin to catch them without killing the animals. For superstitious people, we recommend looking at signs about mice in the house.

Get rid of rodents using folk remedies

Will a cat solve the problem? Not always, and there are many reasons for this. Firstly, not all cats(cats) exhibit their innate hunter instinct. Secondly, the animal must be an adult, since there is practically no benefit from a kitten - “baby” mice will not be scared. And if you borrow it from friends for a while, then it’s not a fact that in someone else’s house it will quickly get used to it and start catching rodents.

A mousetrap is a more effective means. But it will not completely solve the problem. Firstly, a mouse rarely appears alone, and such a trap “eliminates” only one at a time. You’ll have to check it and install it again every morning, and it’s still unknown whether it worked at all, and if so, was it in vain? Such a “hunt,” given the speed of reproduction of the animals and their cunning and caution, can drag on endlessly.

After a mouse is caught, this trap needs to be “recharged”, including removing the rodent carcass. It’s good when the owners are not squeamish people. And if not?

Consider other options:

Ash.

To prevent the appearance of mice in the room, it needs to be scattered with a thin “thread” along the entire perimeter, along the baseboards. Ash is believed to cause allergies in rodents. And the point here is not the appearance or smell of this “powder”. Mice, when washing themselves, involuntarily lick it off their paws, and it disgusts them. This is what the calculation is based on. Perhaps the animals will leave the “unpleasant” room, but there is still no 100% guarantee.

Plants.

The smell of mint is good at repelling mice. In the same way - either lay leaves around the perimeter, or coat the baseboards with mint oil. But the effect will be short-lived, so you will have to constantly “update” such a product.

You can use black root seeds

, which are poured, for example, into small saucers placed throughout the house.

Pieces of food.

Such baits are scattered in different parts of the room. You can mix finely ground glass, gypsum, cement, and poisons into them.

It is clear that after eating such a “treat”, the mice die after a while. Although many consider this technique to be an act of sadism (and this is true). The “plus” is that in terms of its effectiveness it is a kind of “weapon of mass destruction” - it destroys all animals, and is guaranteed. But there are also significant disadvantages.

First, if there are pets in the house, and even more so children, then it is necessary to either take all possible precautions or choose another method.

Secondly, the rodents will die slowly, and where they will end up in “their last hour” is unknown. If, for example, it is under the floorboards, then the smell of decomposing carcasses will spread throughout the house, and it will linger for quite a long time. And nothing can be done about it.

Reasons for the development of the disease

There are quite a few reasons for the appearance of this nervous disorder:

children's fear;
bad experience of contact with rodents;
information from the media in which rodents are not shown in their best condition;
history: rodents are known as carriers of various diseases, from which many people have died;
harm caused by rats and mice to humans and livestock;
genetic predisposition.

The thing is that ancient people did not have to live in the best conditions, and rodents were their constant companions. Men were more often away from home: hunting, then at war or serving in the army; therefore, it was women who had to protect the house and their children from rodents. Musophobia is rarely identified in men, but most often occurs in women and children. Although it would be fundamentally wrong to consider it a purely female ailment: it is simply not customary for men to show their fear in public, much less to consult a psychiatrist about their fear of mice.

Genetically based fear was passed on from generation to generation, regardless of gender.

Women are often susceptible to musophobia

It was used not only by nature (the need to survive), but also by man. In ancient times, sadistic torture with rats or mice was popular. A container with rodents inside was attached to the condemned person, which, unable to get out, gnawed their way out through the human body. This is another reason why women were afraid of mice and felt fear at the mere thought of meeting them.

There is a category of people who, at the sight of mice or the thought of them, experience not horror, but wild disgust, even to the point of vomiting. On the one hand, this attitude is dictated by the protective function of the body, because meeting a carrier of the infection poses a real danger, but on the other hand, the pathological fear of becoming infected from a rodent does not allow one to live normally and visit places where, according to those suffering from a phobia, rodents may live .

Musophobia in animals is also common.

Technical means

They are also called electronic repellers.

. The advantage of such devices is that their operation is not associated with any hassle, does not affect people at all, and they are “invisible” and “inaudible” for us, since they emit ultrasound - the same devices are used to repel moles.

But mice react painfully to it, and will never appear in a house where such a device is installed. The range of such products is quite extensive, and the cost depends on the manufacturer and sales region. On average, the device will cost around 1,000 rubles.

Here are some models (RUB/piece): “Help” (480), “SKAT-43” (765), “EcoSniper” LS-989” (1,100), “Weitech” WK0180 (1840) and a number of others.

Types of phobias

In addition to mice, rats can cause disproportionate fear reactions in humans. Zemmiphobia (from ancient Greek σεμέλη - “earth”, σίφνεύς - “mole”) means fear of rats, “great digger” and other rodents. Often the terms musophobia and zemmiphobia are used as synonyms, although sometimes they are separated when a person has an obsessive fear of a particular animal, and not all rodents in general.

The word chiroptophobia has nothing to do with rodents; it means fear of bats. This phobia is also a common form of zoophobia. Its roots are connected with horror films and fairy tales about vampires.

Rodents are carriers of dangerous infections, so a wary attitude towards them is a normal reaction due to the instinct of self-preservation.

What to poison with?

All poisonous drugs can be divided into 2 groups: instant action and prolonged action. The former allow you to quickly get rid of pests and do not cause pain to the animal. The latter act gradually, while rodents are subjected to suffering and painful death.

Which one to choose is everyone’s business. However, the appearance of a poison with a prolonged action can be explained by some features of the rats and mice themselves.

These are quite smart animals that sense danger and, looking at the suffering of their relatives, will not eat poisoned food.

The gradual impact of toxic substances begins after some time, when most rodents have eaten their fill.

In addition, you can divide the funds according to the nature of the action:

Affecting the digestive organs.

The internal structure of the system does not allow the gag reflex to be triggered and the contents of the stomach to be cleared. The poison that gets inside begins to provoke pathological processes, and the animal cannot do anything about it. As a result, he dies from exhaustion. Most drugs work on this principle.

To the circulatory system.

The substance provokes blood thinning and internal bleeding. An example of such drugs is Warfarin.

Affecting bone tissue.

Not only the limbs suffer, but the entire body as a whole. After a certain time, only corpses will remain from rodents.

On the respiratory system and nervous system.

The poison blocks the flow of air, and the rodent simply suffocates from lack of oxygen. Zinc phosphide has these properties.

Arsenic affects the nervous system.

The animal's reaction is inhibited, a lack of fear appears, they simply go crazy and do not understand what they are doing in this life.

Separately, it should be said that most drugs are mummifying agents

. Rodents simply turn into mummies and the body does not decompose. This effect is necessary for the absence of odor. However, how long they will remain in this state is unknown. Therefore, you still have to remove them. You can clean a room with rat poison at home in 1–2 weeks.

Source: hloptarakan.ru

Treatment methods

How to stop being afraid of mice and rats?

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Many people suffer from phobias, and in advanced cases, fear can interfere with normal life. Treatment directly depends on the degree of manifestation of fear.

Psychotherapeutic assistance

In severe cases of phobia, you should consult a psychotherapist. It will help you understand the causes of fear and get rid of the symptoms. At first, appointments with a specialist will consist of conversations. He will try to find out how severe the phobia is. Specialists use psychotherapy or medications to get rid of the phobia.

Psychological methods:

Hypnotherapy. All human fears are in the subconscious. Hypnosis allows you to turn off fear. The method has proven itself to be the most effective treatment method. But many patients are afraid to trust a specialist.
Neuro-linguistic programming . The technique consists of convincing the patient that his attitude towards rodents is distorted.
Visualization. In the fight against the fear of mice, pictures of them are often used. Funny and cute images of rodents change attitudes towards them.

To combat fear, a specialist may prescribe sedatives, which are taken in a course. This is necessary in cases where fear becomes the cause of constant stress. You must take the medications in a course for three months. If the phobia has led to depression, antidepressants are prescribed.

In cases where a person suffers from panic attacks and confuses reality with fantasy, tranquilizers are prescribed.

Attention. Such drugs are addictive, so they should not be taken for a long period.

Self help

If the phobia is developed in a weak form, you can try to get rid of it on your own. It is worth understanding the psychosomatics of fear, because the basis of a phobia always lies in psychological reasons. You can get rid of fear yourself using self-hypnosis. You need to convince yourself that rodents do not pose any danger and do not lie in wait for you at every step.

To change your attitude towards rodents, it is recommended to watch films and cartoons in which rats and mice are presented in good roles. This method is especially effective for getting rid of phobias in children. You can also visit pet stores and observe domestic rats and mice there.

Important. For the first visits, you can take a friend with you as support.

For brave individuals, a radical method is suitable - getting a decorative rat or mouse. Close contact with a rodent will convince you that these animals are not scary at all. You will need to look after him and notice funny moments in his behavior.

We recommend that you read: What is the name and how to treat fear of dogs?

You can also do psychological work with yourself. First, acknowledge the fear. Next, you should think about the reasons for its occurrence. Find out what exactly you are afraid of. Next, imagine that the worst thing has happened, this will eliminate the fear of the unknown. Then imagine the source of your fear in a funny and kind situation. This technique is recommended to be used regularly.

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How not to be afraid of childbirth and overcome the fear of pregnancy.
Fear of holes and a large number of holes.

Calling specialists

Organizations specializing in rodent and cockroach control are quite effective. This is due to the experience of the employees and the availability of all necessary funds.

However, hiring professionals is not only a certain financial cost, but also additional hassle, which causes a lot of inconvenience for the owners.

If, when carrying out events on your own, you can complete all the work in stages, then the invited masters will not wait, so the ENTIRE home must be prepared in advance.

Several conditions will have to be met:

exclude the possibility of even accidental contact with food and dishes (kitchen utensils) of the chemicals used - take it out, put it in plastic bags, and so on;
clear the “working area” along all baseboards. To do this, all furniture and household appliances are moved away from the walls to the center of the room;
Family members and pets should not be in the room during work.

On average, it takes specialists no more than ¾ of an hour to process a “one-room apartment”; for a three-room apartment – up to one and a half hours

. But the cost of the work can only be indicated as an estimate, since it is calculated individually for each home, taking into account all its features and the “complexity of the situation.”

What can you do to reduce the likelihood of rodent infestations?

We can try the following options:

Install grilles on all ventilation openings in the house, and only metal ones.
Seal all cracks, crevices in floors and walls. Particular attention should be paid to the places where utility lines pass through walls. If they are simply sealed with tow, foam and the like, then this will not stop the mice.
Make it a rule to store all products in special containers (packaging). But it should not be wood, cardboard, or paper.
Keep the house clean. Experts say that mice have a sense of smell superior to that of dogs.

A constantly littered floor with crumbs on it is already a sufficient reason for rodents to appear in the house.

It is necessary to understand that choosing the optimal method of dealing with mice is fraught with some difficulties. Which one is better can only be determined practically. It is possible that results can be achieved using an integrated approach, when “both” and “both” are used. But if all efforts are in vain, then, willy-nilly, you will have to turn to professionals.

Experts do not recommend catching mice with cheese. A high-quality bait should have a natural smell - grain, fresh bread. Moreover, it is advisable to flavor such a “delicacy” with vegetable oil (sesame, sunflower). These smells are very attractive to rodents.

Although there is such an opinion - “modern” mice have adapted to new conditions and eat literally everything, even sweets. In general, fishing with various baits is an experimental matter.

Despite the fact that small rodents such as mice or rats evoke feelings of fear and sometimes disgust in people, sometimes you can be glad that there is a mouse in the house.

Since ancient times, people have taken mice in the house very seriously. People observed the behavior of mice, associated it with nearby events, and this is where signs about mice appeared.

There are many signs, beliefs, and superstitions regarding mice in the house.

Of course, most often mice appear in wooden private houses, mainly in towns and villages. But sometimes you may encounter a mouse in a house in a city apartment, especially on the ground floor.

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Mouse

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In traditional folk beliefs, the mouse plays a significant role. This is the oldest chthonic symbol. According to some mythological traditions, funeral rites, death, destruction, war, famine, disease, and poverty are associated with the mouse. In the form of mice they represent the souls of the dead, the souls of ancestors. In other cultures, it is associated with the cults of healing deities (Greek Apollo, Asclepius, Indian Shiva), with rites of deliverance from death. Thus, in the Hittite-Luwian ritual, a person is saved from death by tying a piece of tin (a symbol of death) to the tail of a mouse, which is sent to the other world. In some traditions, the mouse participates in cosmogonic myths or acts as a cultural hero.

At the everyday level, in home rituals, the mouse is most often mentioned in connection with pregnancy, childbirth and newborn children. Mice, as chthonic creatures, are associated with the pregnant woman due to her special status, close to the border of life and death.

In a number of beliefs, mice are characterized by the motifs of whistling and music. There are many legends in which the mouse is associated with playing musical instruments or whistling. It is believed that with the help of these effects you can lure mice out of your home; Of course, this must be a special melody, and it is usually performed by a sorcerer.

In many ancient Indo-European cultures , such as Hittite, Greek, Slavic, the mouse is associated with fortune-telling rituals.

For the people of Egypt , mice are the personification of evil. Depictions of mice in Egyptian art are rare. In some manuscripts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a mouse-headed goddess appears, personifying the underworld and death.

In ancient India, the mouse was considered the mount (vahana) of the god of wisdom Ganesha, depicted as a man with the head of an elephant.

In Greece, the cult of Apollo-Smintheus (from the Greek “mouse”), whose attribute was a mouse, was widespread. Apollo was not only the patron of mice, but also the savior from them. Sometimes Apollo was depicted standing on a mouse; it is possible that he himself was originally represented as a mouse. Being at first a chthonic god, the god of the underworld, he later becomes the god of the sun.

In ancient Greek dramas, mice are the personification of sensuality and lust. This was the reason why they were depicted on coins along with the goddess of love Aphrodite.

In Christian Europe , the mouse was a symbol of evil, destructive activity; it was believed that mice have a close connection with witches and sorcerers, one of whose properties is the ability to transform into creatures such as mice, bats, and cats.

Among the Eastern Slavs, the Milky Way, which was considered the path of the soul to the next world, was called the “mouse path.”

In fairy tales, the mouse is a mysterious character. She does not act as the main character, but often, appearing literally for a moment, she resolves the situation. This role, for example, is played by the mouse in the fairy tales “Turnip” and “Ryaba Hen”. One of the most common motifs in fairy tales: a mouse helps a hero in trouble. According to V.Ya. Proppa, the “magic helper” in the fairy tale, is associated with shamanism and ancestor worship, and the type of helper that appears to be a mouse represents the soul of a deceased ancestor.

So, in ancient Indo-European cultures , the mouse signifies a number of concepts related to each other in the human mind - the soul (the soul of an ancestor, the soul of an unborn baby), the other world, the fate of a person. Here, in one image, two mysterious worlds meet - death and birth - which always attract human attention.

Folk signs - a mouse in the house

There are both positive and negative aspects to having a mouse in the house.

First, let's look at the bad omens associated with this animal.

There is a general sign that a mouse in the house means illness, and perhaps even the death of someone in the family. The sign is especially effective when the mouse seems to start scratching into a room or door. In this way she wants to survive the person from the house.

There is a sign regarding whether a mouse has bitten you in the house. That person is expected to have a time of misfortune, illness, and some troubles will occur in his life. There is even a sign that a person bitten by a mouse can become illegally obedient, a criminal, or take the wrong path.

Signs and manifestations of musophobia

There are several degrees of musophobia, and they have different symptoms. Some people feel a sense of discomfort when they see a rodent, while others freeze in extreme horror, as if paralyzed.

The main physical signs include:

dryness and discomfort in the mouth;
a feeling of anxiety and impending disaster;
the desire to run as far as possible;
painful sensation in the epigastric region and severe shortness of breath;
excessive sweating;
trembling and involuntary movement of limbs;
inability to react rationally to what is happening.

In its advanced form, the disease can cause a breakdown in social ties. Musophobes realize that they behave absurdly at the sight of a rodent, because a mouse will not attack a person, but at the same time they cannot control themselves and their fear. Fear of mice leads to shame in public places, in front of friends, which later develops into prolonged depression.

If left untreated, the neurosis will not go away on its own, and will begin to progress, and the horror of mammals will begin to acquire ever larger, violent fantasies. A severe form of the disease carries with it a lot of consequences - a person ceases to see the line between reality and fantasy, there is a feeling that there are mice everywhere. Often in these people's houses all the cracks are clogged, the openings are blocked so that rodents do not get out and enter the house.

If there is a bat in the house?

Sometimes it happens like this and it turns out that a bat flew into the house. In this case, there are also several signs associated with a mouse in the house. Since ancient times, the bat has been associated with something black, frightening, and terrible.

But different cultures have different attitudes about when a bat flies into the house. For example, in Russian culture this is a bad omen. Symbol of misfortunes and troubles.

In Chinese culture, it is a symbol of wealth and money.

But here you can look from the other side. There is no need to immediately blame the bat for all troubles, believing in its dark powers. It is more likely that the bat accidentally entered your home rather than flying there on purpose. Their vision is poorly developed, especially during the day. Therefore, there is no need to get scared and kill the animal, but simply help her get out of the room. Perhaps the bat itself is just as scared as you are.

Relatives of flies

Since people moved into apartments, mice have stopped bothering them and the image of rodents has improved significantly (unlike rats). In figures of speech that exist in modern language, attention is mainly focused on the main characteristics of mice - small size and timidity, says Boris Orekhov, associate professor at the HSE School of Linguistics.

— Previously, mice and rats were not very different in language. Thus, in Vasily Zhukovsky’s translation of the ballad “God’s Judgment over the Bishop,” the word “mice” is found, although the original used “rats.” The speech emphasizes the semantics associated with the perception of these animals, for example the expression “Quiet as mice.” In addition, in our memory, mice are recorded together with the main predator that hunts them, the cat: “The cat is out of the house - the mice are dancing,” “Hush, mice, the cat is on the roof.” Quite often the expression “can’t catch mice” is used in relation to a lazy person. Initially, we were talking about cats that did not fulfill their direct function,” Boris Orekhov told Izvestia.

Photo: TASS/picture alliance/Braun, C.

Linguist o is not the historical name of the rodent, but a euphemism.

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— When they fought for the harvest, for food supplies, rodents were terrible enemies. This can be seen in the etymology of the word "mouse". We don’t even know the first name, and the word “mouse” is a typical euphemism. It was impossible to call scary creatures and animals by their proper names, because they could appear. That's why they came up with such a name for the mouse. In fact, it is related to the word “fly”; they have the same structure and, one might say, the same root,” explained Boris Orekhov.

As for the rat, in the language memory all expressions and statements have a negative connotation.

If mice get into the house, why?

There are also positive aspects and signs if a mouse appears in the house.

For example, if an animal constantly drags something into its hole from food, then this is a sign of wealth, luck, money.

There is a sign about a mouse squeaking. This means a quick wedding with one of the relatives. This sign has existed for a long time, since it was noticed that if a mouse squeaks often and a lot, then a girl from the family would soon get married. Thus, gray animals can bring joy to the house.

If there is a mouse in the apartment?

Nowadays there are many domesticated mice and rats; parents buy mice in cages for their children.

There are also several signs here, especially regarding the weather. For example, by the behavior of a mouse in a cage in an apartment or house, you can judge what the weather is expected to be like. If the mouse quickly and abruptly begins to run around the cage, for no reason, as if anxious, then, most likely, sudden changes in weather conditions are expected. For example, a storm.

In general, it is now believed that if a mouse appears in the house, then this is a wedding sign.

The principle of leaving and coming applies here; if a mouse comes into a house or apartment, it means someone must leave it. For example, a daughter gets married and leaves her parents' nest. And vice versa. If a mouse runs away from the apartment, it means that someone will soon come to your house. New family member. These are wedding signs, as well as signs for the birth of a child.

Medical assistants

Mice and rats have been considered the gold standard among laboratory animals for centuries and play an important role in preclinical research of drugs, Andrei Nedorubov, head of the Center for Preclinical Research at Sechenov University, told Izvestia.

— They are used in studies of the effectiveness and safety of drugs. Mice and rats are as close as possible to humans physiologically, in behavior and social interaction. A very large list of drugs is being tested on them, ranging from oncological drugs to psychostimulants,” the scientist said.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Andrey Ershtrem

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According to him, in the global practice of the pharmaceutical industry there have been more than once cases when a clinical trial was not conducted during the development of a drug. As a result of its use, thousands of children were born with physical deformities. And preclinical studies on mice and rats help to avoid so many negative consequences.

— In some studies, both mice and rats are used to obtain the most adequate results. If it were not for these animals, there would have been a large number of errors in the creation of medicines. But lately the number of laboratory animals has been decreasing, everything is moving towards a humane treatment of them,” explained Andrei Nedorubov.

It is worth noting that before the advent of tests for determining pregnancy and ultrasound diagnostics, the “mouse test” method was used. Its essence was that a small amount of urine from a pregnant woman was injected into the abdominal cavity of white laboratory rodents, and after two or three days the animal was killed and at autopsy the presence of pregnancy was determined by the increase in the size of the mouse’s ovaries.

Photo: TASS/Valery Sharifulin

Folklorist Varvara Dobrovolskaya said that mice were also used in folk medicine. From a modern point of view, these methods look exotic.

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— For an umbilical hernia, the mouse was placed on its stomach, and it ran along it. It was believed that in this way she would “gnaw” the hernia. The mouse was also doused with vegetable oil, and the resulting tincture was spread on the sore joints. It was also believed that if you drink this oil, you can get rid of alcohol addiction.