Travel & Lifestyle: Why You Panic Or Get Scared When You See A Mouse In Your House

You walk into your kitchen to make an energizing breakfast, rubbing your eyes as you continue waking up. But right before you get to the pantry, you see something small and furry on the floor. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, as much as you wish they were: There’s a mouse in your house.

Suddenly, you might find yourself screaming, saying choice words or frantically running around. You don’t need that coffee anymore, am I right?

In some settings — like at a pet store, in a hamster ball or in an animated movie — rodents can be cute. (Keyword: “can.”) But seeing one in your home? That’s a different story. And to be clear, this can happen to any of us, regardless of where we live.

Let’s discuss why we freak out and how to handle the situation, all with therapists’ insights.

The cause for your anxiety is, in some ways, simple and obvious — and it can also be more complicated or deeply embedded than you realize. Experts explain various reasons:

Whether you’re a science and history buff or not, you probably know that seeing a random mouse in your indoor living space is not in a human’s best interest.

“Mice have historically carried a lot of diseases, and if one came into your home, you or your family members were more likely to catch that disease,” said Hannah Yang, a licensed psychologist and the founder and CEO of Balanced Awakening. “Over time, the strong negative reaction to mice would have served as a self-protective mechanism from disease and death.”

So, your freakout may be partially subconscious.

Perhaps a more obvious reason is that mice can gross people out, and research connects disgust and fear.

People may view rodents as “gross” for various reasons, like the fact that they’re considered dirty carriers of disease.

And those beliefs can be hard to beat, especially when they’re repeated in your mind time and time again, or you have an unpleasant experience, such as this one.

“If people don’t have an opportunity to have positive interactions with rodents, or really any animal, it can be extremely difficult to change perceptions,” said Gabrielle Wanchek, a licensed therapist at Mindpath Health.

It’s natural to feel concerned when something comes into your house uninvited, even when it’s not necessarily or immediately threatening.

“Having a mouse invade your home may bring out a deeper sense of insecurity or lack of protection in your home,” Yang said. “You might subconsciously wonder what else can come into your home if a mouse can. Or a sense of ‘What else is lurking around the corner?’” (Bugs? More rats? A burglar?)

After seeing a mouse in your house, the next step is to get it out, right? How, though, is the tricky part — especially if you care about animals or value animal ethics. You may feel uncomfortable killing something, or unsure if that’s in your nature.

“This dilemma often brings up a lot of distress and questions about what it means to kill a living being,” Yang said.

And if you do kill it, how do you do that without, uh, making a mess?

So your roommate or spouse isn’t home, and running the other way isn’t an option. You have to figure out how to remove the mouse.

Yang has a comforting suggestion: “The key is to take action that feels best to you,” she said. That could be calling an exterminator, setting mouse traps or googling no-kill alternatives.

“If you are unable to trap it, calling a professional would be a smart move,” Wanchek said. “Professional companies can also inspect your property and make suggestions for repairs to prevent more individuals from utilizing existing pathways.”

After removing the mouse, the Centers for Disease Control has suggestions on how to clean the area, such as using disinfectant and gloves.

As for dealing with your emotions around a mouse in your house? First and foremost, know you’re not alone in feeling super uncomfortable. As explained above, there are many reasons why many of us would freak the F out seeing a mouse in the house.

“If fear is what comes up for you, talk yourself through why you have that fear in the first place (likely an evolutionary attempt to stay alive!), normalize that and remind yourself that your reaction is likely out of proportion to the current risk at hand,” Yang said. “Sometimes, we can use our rational mind like this to help our emotional mind feel more calm.”

Breathing exercises are a research-backed way to calm yourself down and reduce stress. They can help you not only mentally, but physiologically, too.

“Take a few deep breaths to help your body come out of its fight-or-flight state to help you think more clearly,” Wanchek said. “From there, you can take a measured, mindful approach to see what you may need to do or how to take logical action to have a safe resolution for everyone.”

If you end up killing or harming the mouse in some way and feel sad about it, that’s normal and OK, too. Once again, self-talk can help.

Once you’ve handled the situation and feel calmer, you can address your emotions (currently and for your future self). For example, you might want to look for the spot where the mouse entered and fix it.

Yang added.“Emotionally, we have an easier time returning to stability when we know practically that the problem has been solved.”