It is not easy to get mice out of a house. In fact, DIY mouse control usually ends with more problems than there were in the beginning. There are a lot of horror stories on the internet about DIY mouse control gone bad. The worst stories usually have the words, "smell of dead rodents," in them. It's okay. You can say it. "Yuck." Here are some things you should know about DIY mouse control.

5 Ways DIY Mouse Control Can Go Wrong

• There are a lot of products that can kill mice. None of them are usually effective enough to kill all of the mice in a home because mice instinctively know how to avoid danger. What poisons are good for is causing mice to die inside the wall voids of a home. This leads to nasty rotting smells coming from the walls, and an increase of pest activity in the home. When something is dead or rotting, you can bet that bugs are going to come to feed on it.

• When chemicals are used to kill rodents, it can backfire. Pets can get into them and get sick. And, mice can brush through the chemicals and carry them on their fur into kitchens and pantries.

• Snap traps are a good way to kill mice and remove them from a home. But, snap traps do not ensure that all the mice are gone. Sometimes, flu-like symptoms go through a home like a tidal wave, and a family doesn't even know that it is mouse related. They think their traps are solving their mouse problem and that they just have the flu.

• When DIY seems to be working, mice continue to do what mice do: eat holes in wood and chew through wires. This can lead to frustrating repair costs and even a house fire. The worst part is, no one will realize the house fire was connected to the mouse infestation.

• Catching mice with traps is hard. Mice are notorious for eating all of the bait off traps without setting them off. But, even if you master the art of catching mice with traps, they'll keep coming, if they are not properly sealed out of the home with a proper pest protocol.

If you want to know those mice are gone, and that they are sealed out, get a pest specialist to take care of the issue. Getting mice out of a home, and keeping them out requires education in wildlife behaviors and habitats as well as knowledge of nationally established pest control practices.

Don't trust your mouse control to DIY guides. There are just too many ways those mice will make you regret it.