Customer Login“Eek!” You said, as you saw a mouse scurry across the kitchen floor…
“How did a mouse get in here? Why my home?” You may be asking…
These are questions we get all the time, but the answer is always the same. Mice are relentless, adaptable little creatures that will let nothing stop them in pursuit of food, warmth and shelter. Can you blame them? If you’re asking yourself, “Why now?”, it could be the time of year. When it gets cold in the fall and winter, their needs become more dire and they will always find a way in (trust us). Mice will scale walls, walk across wires and even swim up through your toilet to get inside. But, why your home? And, what is attracting them inside?
What attracts mice indoors?
Besides warmth and shelter, mice are attracted to your home mainly because of the availability of food. Any open and easily accessible food items such as cereal, vegetables, rice, biscuits, bread, and other snacks are likely to draw their attention.
How do mice get inside?
The smallest of openings look like wide open doors to these little creatures. These include gaps in the basement and doorways, tiny holes around piping, damaged roofs, air vents, and drain pipes. Mice are capable of scaling 6.5-foot high walls, squeeze through holes the size of a dime, and can jump as high as 24cm!
Mice will search for a warm, isolated spot close to a food source when entering a home, such as behind kitchen appliances or inside the walls. They often use paper to build nests behind kitchen appliances, in cavity walls, under floorboards, near hot water tanks, and in the attic. At night, they will raid cupboards for snacks such as nuts, seeds, carbs, chocolates and peanut butter.
Does one mouse mean an infestation?
We would argue, yes. Mice are social creatures and tend to live in colonies. So, if you’ve seen one, chances are there are more – as they multiply faster than you can count.
What are the signs that I have mice?
If you suspect you may have a mouse problem, there are a few signs to be alert for. Be on the lookout for their droppings, which are around the size of a kernel of rice. (Any that are much bigger could be rats!) Pay attention to any dust or flour on your floor or counter, as you may be able to spot mouse footprints. Mice are known to chew on wood, electrical wires, food packaging, or paper, so be aware of any evidence of gnawing. Finally, if you listen carefully, usually around dawn or dusk, you may hear mice or rats moving around behind the walls, inside crawl spaces or in cabinets.
What are the signs of a mouse infestation?
- Odor – Musty, uriney smell
- Hairs – Tiny hairs grey, white or brown in color
- Gnawing – Chewed holes around pipes & wires
- Sounds – Scatters and squeeks
- Nests – Paper, wires, and debris
What are the risks of having a mice infestation?
Having mice in your home carries serious health implications. Not only do they carry a variety of diseases, but they can spread up to 35 diseases to humans through their contact with your food. These diseases can be spread in their excrement, urine, or even through their chomp. Mice are also known to gnaw through electrical wires, which can potentially cause structural fires. Furthermore, when mice invade your space, they bring fleas, ticks, and other uninvited parasites with them.
What can I do to keep mice away?
To keep mice away, store garbage in rodent-proof containers and refrain from throwing table scraps into a compost pile. Avoid leaving unopened food out, including pet food. Any smell of food can be deduced as the main reason mice find their way in. For the outdoors, use rodent-proof bird feeders, keep the yard free of debris and nesting spots, clean up fruit and nut trees off the ground, and avoid leaving standing water. As a DIY prevention trick, try using the scents of peppermint oil, cloves, pepper, and cayenne pepper to repel mice from your home.
How can I stop mice from getting in?
Get airtight.
Seal up any holes and crevices that mice can easily slip through. (Mice can squeeze through holes as small as a dime!) Fit any doors to the outside with brush strips, especially older doorframes that don’t close tightly. Fix any damaged roofing and use wire mesh to close off gaps in the eaves. Check the entryways of pipes, wiring, and other utilities entering your home. Mice can easily chew holes around old pipes open to squeeze inside. Finally, cover your vents with galvanized wire mesh to prevent mice without blocking airflow.
Keep it clean.
If there’s nothing luring mice inside, the chances of them making the effort to get in go way down. Be sure to keep foods in plastic or metal containers, and regularly clean grime and debris under stoves, refrigerators and cupboards. Keep your lawn maintained to eliminate available shelter and seeds as a food source. Get your yard’s vegetation under control, keeping separation between the house and the garden. Trim vines, shrubs, branches and other overgrown vegetation away from the home so that they’re not touching the outside walls or roof.
Call A1 Exterminators.
Without professional pest control, there’s virtually no stopping mice from coming back again and again. Mice are persistent as they are adaptable, and will even outsmart your mouse traps over time. Homeowners enter a cycle of buying new and more expensive traps, thinking the old ones weren’t working. In reality, they’ve entered ‘the mouse trap-trap’ themselves, going through new traps just to arrive at square one again. By the time you’ve tried every DIY pest control trick in the book, the mice have multiplied many times over. (We’re saying this to save you the trouble!) Contact a professional at A1 Exterminators to be gone with mice for good.
Get pest free. Call A1 Exterminators.