How to get rid of mice in an apartment forever - an overview of ways to deal with rodents

Hello! For some reason, many people think that mice can only be wound up in a private house, and apartments lack such a drawback.

But my niece, who used to live in a rented apartment and at night listened to the squeak of small rodents, would fundamentally disagree with this point of view.

The long weeks of struggle with them nevertheless ended in victory. But enough nerves and energy were spent. Want to know how to get rid of mice in your apartment forever? What methods have proven themselves best? Read the details in the article below.

6 ways to get rid of mice once and for all

Mice and rats are constant companions of man throughout his entire history of existence. Few people enjoy the constant presence of rodents, and for many, the appearance of these reptiles causes panic and a desire to escape.

Therefore, the question "how to get rid of mice in the house" for many becomes extremely important.

When the fight begins

Peak activity time of mice is from the beginning to the end of autumn. It is at this time that the real fight with mice begins in the house or in the country. In mid-September, there was no longer enough food left in the fields, the crop was harvested, it was cool outside and crowds of mice rushed to villages and towns to settle in warm dwellings.

Typically, rodents give trouble to residents of private houses, but in apartments they can bring trouble. They can get through the chute, through the ventilation shafts and sometimes through the sewer. And if you live on the first floor with a wooden floor, then the direct path to your home is through the basement.

It is known that rodents get into the apartment through the sewer or through the garbage chute. Sometimes a rat can enter the home through the toilet. The rules are simple: put all food in the refrigerator, do not leave the dishes in the sink for a long time, and control the order in your home. An excellent order in the house is the key to a successful fight against rodents.

It will not be superfluous to inspect the premises for holes in the floor or in the ceiling. Noticed a hole - close it to prevent further penetration of rodents into the house. Remember that the fight with mice in the apartment begins first of all with the cleanliness of your home.

Method number 1: mousetraps

An old, reliable way to get rid of mice in a house is to set a mousetrap. Usually, you won’t achieve anything with a single mousetrap, so install a few (2-3) in the places where the mouse or its droppings were noticed. Do not forget to place the bait with a bright smell. Sausage, lard, bread are perfect in toasted form (they will emit a brighter smell).

Method number 2: ultrasonic repellers

In recent years, ultrasonic repellers of rodents (rats, mice) are gaining more and more popularity. The principle of operation of such devices is simple: ultrasound fills the entire room, all the cracks and does not allow rodents to live normally.

Having left the premises, they will not return anymore - they have a good memory and are unlikely to want to return to the place where they were unpleasant.

With regard to specific devices, repellers of the GRAD A-550UZ, GRAD A-1000 Pro series (for large rooms), as well as Pest Ridgekt or ElectroKOT, proved to be quite good. Pay attention to the area of ​​action, but remember that the manufacturer indicates the maximum area of ​​impact, and from the real one it will differ somewhere by 15-20%.

On average, 6-7 days of operation of the device are enough for rodents to completely leave the occupied territory.

Method number 3: glue

Getting on a special glue that is applied to the cardboard, the mouse tightly sticks and can do nothing else. The advantage of this method can be called the fact that not one but several mice can fall into such a trap. The disadvantages include squeak, which will be emitted by a mouse caught in a mousetrap.

Method number 4: chemicals

Remember that mice easily adapt to the environment, so change the poison every 3-4 months. Mix the product with sugar and grain, and then pour in sunflower oil.

Place the poison along the walls and in places where you notice the appearance of mice. We saw a lot of mouse droppings - be sure to sprinkle poison there.

Usually in such places, rodents arrange something like a “dining room” and bring goodies there, where they gobble them up.

Method number 5: cat

Domestic cats are usually lazy and not adapted to catch mice. If you have a mouse in your apartment, your pet cat is not coping with her duties, then ask friends who live in a private house to lend you their pet for a couple of days. The “yard” cats have not yet forgotten the instinct of a predator and they will deal with 1-2 mice in one night.

Method number 6: professional disinfection of the room

If you have an extra thousand or two in your pocket, and you do not want to bother with mice and rats for a long time, then feel free to call the experts on disinfestation. They can perform 2 types of deratization: prevention and destruction. Prevention is used in cases where rodents have not yet been spotted.

Apparently, there are enough ways to get rid of rodents in the house. Do not limit yourself to only one method, try different options and your perseverance will be fully appreciated. Mice and rats will leave your home sooner or later.

How to get rid of mice in an apartment

Mice are not such harmless and cute animals that often become heroes of children's cartoons and touching stories - they are often carriers of various dangerous human diseases.

Over time, they get used to one kind of poison, and it ceases to influence them, which steadily leads to the multiplication of rodents in your home. Study this information carefully to, as they say, know the enemy in person and have an idea of ​​how to get rid of mice in the house now and in the future.

Before active “fighting” actions, think: why did the mice suddenly curl in your house? These animals love the sewage and the accumulation of crumbs and other food debris in easily accessible places - maybe you haven’t cleaned your house for a long time or you have rolled up some foods behind a sofa or chest of drawers (nuts, sweets, cookies)?

Sweep out all the corners in the kitchen, wash the floors - in general, remove everything that attracts rodents to your apartment. Place food in containers with lids. Well, if mice appeared in the house - how to get rid of them quickly and preferably safely for all family members - you need to think.

Ways to fight

Using a mousetrap. The method is not new, but cheap and simple. You can get rid of mice with it, but if there are very few of them. In order to catch a dozen rodents or more - not suitable. Place the mousetraps at once in a few pieces, laying out the bait in them - a piece of lard, bacon or cookies.

If someone thinks a mousetrap is not a very humane way to get rid of rodents in the house, then you can get rid of mice in the apartment with the help of a mousetrap, which simply closes the door behind the mouse that entered without killing it. Release the caught rodent away from your home.

The use of industrial poisons and poisons. The method is effective, but not safe for human health. The mouse can drag particles of poison on its legs, bring them into the water, food. Therefore, use extreme caution when using poison to get rid of rats and mice in your home.

Take away from the apartment children and all pets for a while until you solve the problem with rodents. Write down the places where the baits with poison were laid out, so that after the extermination of mice, get rid of the remnants of the poison.

Friendship with a cat. The method is not reliable, since many modern cats, eating excellent dry food and cat canned food, absolutely do not react to the presence of rodents - it would seem their sworn enemies. Therefore, if you do not have a cat, then just because of the appearance of mice it is not worth it to start.

It’s better to take a fluffy girlfriend from your neighbors or friends for a couple of days. Be patient, determined to exterminate the rodents with a cat, since it is unlikely to succeed in quickly getting rid of mice with this method. But there is hope that the mice, smelling a cat's smell, will not just linger for a while with a neighbor, but will decide to leave your house forever.

Popular methods of elimination

If you want to get rid of mice in the country, in the cellar, shed, apartment or private house, then you can try folk methods to solve this problem.

Mice do not like pungent odors - the aroma of mint, ammonia, bay leaf, vinegar essence. Use this natural feature of them for your own purposes - lay out bay leaves on cabinets and shelves with products in the house, soak cotton pieces in vinegar, ammonia and spread them in the corners throughout the apartment. You can plant mint plantings near the house so that the rodents do not dare to penetrate your house anymore.

Do not forget to place a plate with water next to this “delicacy”. And when the mice eat gypsum mixed with flour - they will begin to thirst. They get drunk and the gypsum freezes. This method allows you to not use poisonous drugs that can randomly get into your food.

When the mice disappear, their smell and excrement remain, through which, by the way, you can become infected with hemorrhagic fever and other diseases. Clean floors with protective gloves only.

Having defeated rodents, you still suffer from the question of how to get rid of the smell of mice? In this regard, modern industry has many solutions. Get a disinfectant and odor killing agent in any veterinary pharmacy - and the problem will be solved instantly.

Overview of ways to control rodents in the house

It is important to know about rodents in order to choose the right means of control:

Predators - Natural Pest Fighters

The main fighter with rodents, of course, is a cat. She is a solo hunter. Studies have shown that both cats living in the house and stray cats were covered, on average, one cat catches 57 small animals within one year. Cats are still considered a good means of fighting rodents.

However, it should be noted that it is a common misconception that cats hunt rats. Gray rats are large, aggressive and agile, which is why most cats are afraid of them. But dogs can hunt rats.

Due to their small size, in most cases, cats are not dangerous for humans, except for allergies or infections that come through scratched skin or with saliva when they bite. Of the infections dangerous to humans, is toxoplasmosis, which a cat can catch from mice and rats.

Allergies to enzymes found in cat saliva are the most common reason people cannot keep cats. To reduce the effect of exposure to cat saliva, veterinarians recommend combing the cat daily and bathe once every six weeks. Frequent house cleaning and the installation of an air purifier also help.

Traps: mouse traps and rat traps

The traditional spring trap (mousetrap, trap) as a way of fighting was invented by Hiram Maxim, who also invented the Maxim machine gun. This is a simple device with a spring lever.

For catching rats in houses, rat traps are used - mouse traps of an increased size, with a powerful spring and with teeth on the base. Rats have more intelligence and quick wits than mice, when the springs are triggered, they often manage to bounce off the trap and then calmly eat the bait. It is recommended that the equipped rat-trap be placed on the bottom of an empty bucket.

There are designs of mousetraps, which are a wire cage with a slamming door. The mouse, as a rule, remains alive and unharmed.

Glue traps have spread. The bait is placed in the center, and the mouse, approaching it, simply sticks to the surface. The disadvantage is that the mouse can escape and run away (the image shows that the mouse was caught, but managed to escape).

Since the beginning of the last century, the so-called mink mousetrap has been used in beekeeping. The principle of its action is as follows. The mouse, feeling the bait, crawls into the hole where the thread blocks its path. The mouse gnaws the thread, and the spring is released, under the action of which the stranglehold draws the mouse to the top of the trap hole.

Electric mousetraps. Principle of work: rats instantly die from a high-voltage discharge.

Cons of mousetraps and rat traps: piece extermination of mice and rats at home, and, recall, the number of one colony can reach 150 individuals. At the same time, you need to constantly monitor whether the "prey" has come across and, if you have, the trap must be freed to catch the next one, and so on to infinity.

If we take into account the birth rate, we can say that this is an ineffective remedy at home. Also, pets, small children, and even you, may fall into the trap, forgetting about the established mousetrap.

Toxic substances

The next way to fight is poisons. All poison from mice and rats act on the same principle: the rodent must eat the chemical, and then die. In hardware stores there is a huge amount of poison.

Deratization stations are special companies that eliminate rodents, most often with the help of special chemicals.The cost of services for each disinfestation is from several thousand (for an apartment) to hundreds of thousands of rubles (in warehouses), depending on the area of ​​the room.

For several months, rats and mice will not be visible, but after some time they will return and a new and new treatment of the premises will be required. That is why most of the discontinuities conclude an annual contract and carry out sanitation with a certain frequency.

Cons of toxic substances: you need to be careful in the spread of poison. To get rid of rats and mice should be placed in inaccessible places for pets and small children.

A dead mouse will rot, an unpleasant odor may appear, which will be difficult to get rid of. Also, the poison will need to be regularly "updated."

Folk remedies for rodent control

One of the good means is to get rid of mice with ash: you need to take wood ash and finely chop it, and then fill it with dry floors of the subfloor and cellar at the rate of one bucket per 5-10 m².

The ash contains alkali, which corrodes the legs of rodents. They lick it, and this causes further irritation of the oral cavity and stomach. Therefore, rats and mice are forced to move to another place.

Also one of the most effective folk methods of fighting rodents is small broken glass scattered in their places of residence. The paws of mice are very tender and cuts from glass fragments are very painful for them.

Ultrasonic repellers for mice and rats

As we said at the very beginning, rodents communicate at ultrasonic frequencies from 30 to 110 kHz.

Today it is the most effective and long-term way to fight rodents. A one-time investment in preserving your property and peace of mind (the cost of one device is from 1300 to 2100 rubles).

The effectiveness of ultrasonic repellers is shown by experiments conducted in research institutes.

Quality devices of this type are harmless to humans and pets, ask for certificates of conformity, hygiene and safety.

Pros of ultrasonic repellers:

• Unpleasant for rodents, the ultrasonic waves are heard by the entire mouse and rat family, so they leave the entire colony with their habitat.
• Animals do not die, so there will be no unpleasant odors, as is the case with poisons.
• Devices do not need to be checked periodically (unlike the mousetrap), they work constantly.
• Devices consume very little power. The most powerful is not more than 10 watts, for comparison, an electric kettle - 1500-2500 watts.
• The service life of one device is up to 10 years.

Cons of ultrasonic repellers:

Ultrasonic Repeller Reviews There are many reviews on the Internet that talk about the inefficiency of ultrasonic repellers. In each case, such an opinion must be dealt with individually. I know the main reasons why the device is considered ineffective and useless:

1. The device does not work continuously. People turn it on for several hours a day, which is not the right use. Repellers must work constantly, they are designed for this. The ultrasound that they emit is safe for humans, because it’s just sound, only at frequencies that people don’t hear or perceive, but for rodents it’s a kind of siren that “buzzes” very loudly in their place of residence. There is no "siren" - there is no inconvenience.
2. The device is installed in a cabinet (behind the sofa) so that it is not visible. Ultrasound does not pass through the walls, including through the walls of the cabinet, especially in the cabinet there are clothes (fleecy surfaces) that absorb sound waves.
3. Indoors, there is plenty of food available for rats and mice. Rodent access to food should be restricted. Yes, the "siren" is unpleasant and even painful for them, but the feeling of hunger is stronger.
4. Low-quality devices of unknown firms are used. I think it’s not necessary to talk a lot about the fact that only quality and time-tested companies are effective in using.

How to get rid of mice in an apartment?

For a long time there are a huge number of ways and methods of how to get rid of mice and they are all effective in their own way. How will you act, how to get rid of mice?

Firstly, you should be patient, because none of the existing ones in our time can help you get rid of mice in 1-2 days! On average, fighting with mice lasts from one to three weeks, regardless of which method of fighting with mice you have chosen.

Mousetraps the most common way to fight mice, which is quite effective if the number of mice is not large or if you need to take it off to fight not urgently. However, this article is about how to deal with mice in an apartment and this problem cannot be urgent.

The advantage of fighting mice using mousetraps is its simplicity and accessibility - after all, it’s enough to buy several mousetraps and place them in the places where mice are most often, besides, the cost of mousetraps is very small, and everyone can afford to buy several mousetraps.

Perhaps this is all the pros, but there are many more minuses. The first and most important drawback is that using mousetraps you can never get rid of all the mice in the apartment, because for this you need to buy a lot of mousetraps and you need mice to constantly fall into these mousetraps, which is unlikely.

The third drawback is the fragility of the mousetraps, since with frequent use their mechanism wears out and does not guarantee such efficiency as that of the one just bought. Therefore, we conclude that mousetraps are an inexpensive and, in principle, effective way to combat mice, but it does not completely solve the problem and has more minuses than pluses.

Poisons and Poisons - No less popular way to get rid of mice, and much more effective than the previous one, but at the same time affordable for money. Using poisons and poisons, you can quickly get rid of mice in the apartment. But is it safe?

Many manufacturers assure that their poisons are non-toxic and even safe for humans, but whether they are safe for children or pets, which, unlike adults, can climb where you spilled poison or laid out poison baits.

Glue from mice - A more modern way to get rid of mice, which appeared relatively recently, but is starting to become popular. The essence of its use is as follows - you need to put glue on the cardboard around the perimeter and put the bait in the center.

Mice will try to get to the bait and stick to the glue forever. The indisputable advantage of this method of combating mice is the fact that almost the entire mouse family can fall on one such cardboard. This is perhaps the only plus of this method of getting rid of mice in the apartment.

The minus is the fact that the mouse family may not be alone and most likely all the mice will not fall and it will be necessary to set such traps again and again, and the glue has the property of drying out, which makes its effectiveness drop.

Ultrasonic and electromagnetic mouse repellers - This is currently the most effective way to quickly, quietly and safely get rid of mice in the apartment. The principle of its operation is quite simple and reliable.

Ultrasonic mouse repellers work on the principle of emitting an ultrasonic signal of a certain frequency, which is completely invisible to humans or other domestic animals, but in mice and other rodents it causes terrible pain in the ears, panic and stress.

Having got into the radiation zone of an ultrasonic repeller, mice and other rodents can neither eat, nor reproduce, nor just find, so the effect on their nervous system is so great that it forces absolutely all rodents to leave the territory within the range of the device.

Thus, using an ultrasonic rodent repeller, you will need only two to three weeks to completely get rid of all the mice in the apartment without harming your health and the health of your loved ones.

The only thing worth paying attention to is the fact that dogs can also be sensitive to some repeller models. Therefore, if you have pets in the apartment, let our manager know about it and he will pick up a mouse device for you that will be safe for your pet.

So, choosing as the means of fighting mice in the apartment, it is the ultrasonic repeller of mice that you are guaranteed to get rid of them in less than a month, and also do not harm your health and the health of your loved ones.

Proven Pest Remedies

These little gray rodents are very different from their decorative counterparts, which can be picked up without disgust. A wild animal, eating incomprehensibly where, incomprehensibly and unclear what products of freshness, is a real danger to humans. The mouse is a real carrier of infections. Of course, not as dangerous as, say, his elder relative - a rat.

Mice in city apartments

In the city there is such a utility service as “sanitation”. Sanitation workers are engaged in procedures for the destruction of objectionable pests for us, unwanted neighbors.

The reason is the "crooked hands" of builders who blinded high-rise buildings in violation of all norms and standards, and the mice got whole labyrinths of passages between loosely fastened plates and the underground and the presence of poorly cleaned garbage chutes. What we have, we have.

There are many ways. The human brain is inventive. I will share the options that I know, and you already choose those options that will be most convenient to implement.

Tom and Jerry

The classic option is to have a cat, and preferably a cat. Often cats are very lazy to catch mice. Cats on the contrary are very active. Some people advise tricolor cats to catch mice. But this method is not a panacea, and indeed it has a number of contraindications (like a medicine). The most significant - an allergy to fluff from the owner of the apartment.

Poison

Poison involves the use of rat poison or otherwise for rodents. Today, one of the most effective can be considered "Rat Death."

Another recipe. You can "poison" without resorting to poison. To do this, you need to prepare a mixture of sugar, flour and gypsum in the proportions of 5/3/2. Add water and you get a delicious dish for gray guests. The main plus is that the mixture is not dangerous for small children. Well, mice will get deadly constipation.

Trap

Mousetraps are considered a very effective tool, but I managed to catch a mouse in the apartment only once. The rest managed to eat around the bait. Even the thread with which I wrapped the cheese did not help. Now on the collective farm markets and in the shops "garden and vegetable garden" you can find on sale Chinese plastic mousetraps. Kill on the spot. Many are very praised.

Another original trap is a special adhesive tape, Velcro for catching flies.

Repellers

We live in an era of high technology and today tools such as rodent repellents have already been developed and are actively used. They can be attributed to the most humane in comparison with the above. The principle of the repeller is the emission of ultrasonic waves that are not captured by the human ear.

The only negative of this method (for some it can become decisive) is the same inactive effect on domestic rodents: guinea pigs, decorative mice, hamsters, rats. Owners of dogs, cats and rabbits can not be afraid for their pets.

Historical fact

Everyone has heard of rats on ships. So, in the old days, sailors, I don’t know for fun, from boredom or for any other reason, got rid of rats in the following tricky way. They put two rats caught in a barrel and left them there until one of them, a cannibal rat, survived in a deadly battle. Then this "mutant" was introduced by the insider into the camp to "his" and gradually interrupted the whole tribe.

Ways to get rid of mice in an apartment

Mice are a numerous species of rodents, only in Russia there are 13 species. Most are not synanthropic species, that is, animals whose life is closely connected with humans.

However, a house mouse and some types of rats depend on the person and his habitation. Thanks to humans, house mice have become the largest mammalian species on Earth.

In total there are approximately 130 subspecies of house mice, all of them are divided into four groups.Mus musculus musculus is a variety of house mice that is common in Eastern Europe and most of Russia.

Most people encounter mice in the fall. With the onset of cold weather and harvesting, they lack food, so rodents move to people for food and warmth, sometimes moving 3 to 5 kilometers from their summer homes.

In areas with a warm climate, house mice do not tend to get into human housing and live in their usual places all year round. In this case, the center of their “universe” is not the house of people, but a reservoir. Fear of mice is a common phobia, but fear is not the main misfortune that mice become a source of.

These are carriers of parasites and infections that are dangerous to humans and pets. Rodents are pests for agriculture and forestry, in houses they damage property and can even cause a short circuit in the wiring if they bite the wires.

Mice appear not only on the first floor, but also on the upper floors, moving from apartment to apartment through ventilation, the chute, and even through the sewer. Mice are able to wade through narrow enough holes, so the absence of holes in the walls does not guarantee their absence.

The number of rodents that are not synanthropes depends on the amount of food, weather conditions and many other natural conditions that regulate their numbers.

House mice have access to unlimited food supplies, they have the ability to multiply uncontrollably, therefore they pose a serious problem for a person who will inevitably begin to look for a way to get rid of mice in an apartment.

Ways to fight rodents

Mice in an apartment are not always evil, especially if you bought them at a pet store. Sometimes mice are bred as food for other pets.

But to encounter mice that you didn’t buy and have no idea where they came from - such an experience can be an unpleasant surprise and cause only one desire - to bring out uninvited guests forever.

Before using poisons and mousetraps or looking for any other radical way to get rid of mice in an apartment, try to naturally remove rodents.

In a private house, the best way to fight mice is with a cat, and even better with a cat. Apartment cats, as a rule, lack the instinct to get food on their own, sometimes they are even afraid of mice, which is why you should not rely on them.

Stop serving as a food source for rodents. Do a spring cleaning in the apartment where the mouse is wound up, tightly close everything that is edible in banks and other containers, do not leave food on the table and immediately wash the dishes. Noticing the holes from where the mice can enter the apartment, carefully close them.

Mousetraps are an old and proven way. It is advisable to have several pieces and place them in places where you saw the mouse itself or its droppings. The bait must have a pronounced smell, which can be enhanced by frying a delicacy - bread, lard or sausage.

Traditional mouse mousetraps are killed using a special spring mechanism or, in the modern version, electricity. When placing such mousetraps around the house, it is important to foresee and exclude the likelihood that the fight against rodents can result in trauma to households or pets.

Especially for people who need to ensure that the fight against mice does not turn into a bloody vendetta, there are mouse traps, which, by the way, can be done with your own hands.

When releasing mice to freedom, do not forget that they have a well-developed instinct at home, so the animal can return if the distance is small.

In sticky mousetraps, mice slowly die from stress and dehydration by sticking to the surface. Perhaps people using such funds are unlikely to believe in karma ...

A few more methods

Poisoning substances (poisons) are usually mixed with sugar or cereal, watered with sunflower oil on top and the mixture is placed along the baseboards or the places where the violators are supposed to enter the apartment. But it’s best to do this in the place where the droppings are found - the mice love to drag food to one place and feast on it.

The advantage of this tool is that all mice can be bred. The limitation is that rodents have an amazing adaptability, so the poison that you have successfully bred mice today may not work after 3-4 months - you need to change it regularly. The second limitation is that it’s best not to use poisons in a house with children.

You can turn to specialists involved in the deratization (rodent control) professionally. As a rule, this guarantees the absence of pests in the house for the whole year, only in isolated cases, repeated processing is required during the year.

It is unlikely that someone will call specialists to get rid of the mice in a small apartment (unless processing the basement of an apartment building where rodents are divorced is necessary), but in private houses and, especially, on farms, such a service can be very popular.

One of the most humane and modern ways of fighting rodents is a repeller that uses ultrasound. A week of work of such a device is enough for the mice to leave your home, and it is unlikely that they will want to return soon.

It is important to calculate the number of devices for your living space, and you need to do this by subtracting 15 - 20% of the range indicated on the package, since the manufacturer indicates the maximum range, which usually differs from the real one.

The easiest way to catch a bat

How to catch a mouse in an apartment if it has wings? If you like to sleep in the summer with the windows wide open, then an uninvited guest can fly into the apartment. This can become a stress for the owners, because it is not so often necessary to interact with this species of mammals, it is no wonder confused and do not know what to do.

First of all, it is important to understand that an animal is not dangerous for you if you do not attack it, stick your fingers to its face and perform other threatening actions.

Believe me, for an animal to be in your apartment is no less stress than for yourself. Try to treat this event as a new experience and a news occasion for friends. Moreover, there is a simple way to send an animal home without harm to you and to him.

Turn on the light - the eyes of the bat are not adapted to it, so it will not actively move and will remain on the wall. Take any box (perfect for shoes), as well as a pre-prepared sheet of cardboard.

Now cover the mouse on the wall with a box, carefully slide the cardboard under it and, when the animal is inside, carefully release it into the street.If you find a bat in the balcony, attic, basement or anywhere else in the winter - in no case do not wake her!

In the absence of food, the animal’s body is too weak to hibernate again, causing the awakened bat to almost certainly die.