how to stop a mouse from jumping around?

computer mouse
red light for the 'mouse ball'
no dust in the light path that I can see, but it's been like this from nearly day one.  I even got it a mouse pad so it would find it easier to not jump around.  It improved it slightly.  It jumps around if I'm holding it or not, so it's something in how the path of the red light ball is working.  

Most of the time I don't notice it (or possibly it's not jumping all the time), but it's really bad for precision work like editing videos where a 2 mm jump of the mouse (on-screen distance) will make a big change in the thing.  

Is there a way to get this to work better or failing that, what do I need to look for in a mouse?  Is it time to stop buying cheap mice but do the expensive ones really last more than 2 years and make that much difference?  

Have you tried different pads or surfaces?  If that doesn't do it, and there's no lint in it's eyeball, I'd say you need a better mouse.

My initial response when I saw the subject of your thread was to recommend a mouse trap.  That usually slows them down quite a bit...

Another thing to try is to adjust the mouse sensitivity in Settings. You can adjust between "just a twitch moves you halfway across the screen" to "move your mouse all the way across your actual desktop to cross the screen".
Turned way down, it might be a workaround? at least for the editing task, or make it easier to notice a cause (other than faulty equipment).

I also find that my mouse misbehaves if the slidy bits on the bottom are dirty, or the desk is dirty, or the battery is low (on a wireless mouse). My trackball always get gummed up at the tiny bearing points for the ball.
For a wired mouse, maybe check that you aren't accidentally tugging on the connections (USB plug or strain relief into mouse) and check USB connection for gunk and plug/unplug a few times to make sure it's seated properly.