home Invaders
dealing with mice
One of the most obnoxiously resilient pests that enter our homes are mice. They are intelligent enough to find a way inside, and daring enough to raid your cupboards when you’re not paying attention. After which they scurry back to safety, leaving you with nibble marks in your pantry and a feeling that your home isn’t as clean as you’d like to think.
In the dead of winter, they have a tendency to do whatever they can to find their way inside your home. As the temperatures outside continue to drop, and the wind blows hard, they have added incentive to push past any barrier in their way so they can enjoy the warmth of your furnace. The good news is mice aren’t quite as filthy as we like to imagine. Rodents can carry all kinds of diseases in their stool, but mice in general tend to be fairly clean animals.
Although there are technically 38 species of mice, the Common House Mouse is the one that most often invades your home. They typically designate different areas in the homes they make for eating, going to the bathroom, and sleeping, showing a sophistication most of us wouldn’t expect. They are also picky eaters, so if they’re attracted to the food in your home, you might take it as a compliment.
All of the above notwithstanding, they obviously shouldn’t be allowed inside any home for a variety of reasons. Aside from the pathogens they can carry in their waste, they are an incredibly unpredictable nuisance. They’ll burrow into sofas, bite wires, and generally wreak havoc on your home if you don’t take immediate action. With a little planning, their removal from your house can be accomplished and an effective defense set up to keep them away for good.
Are mice dangerous?
Before you go thinking house mice are not as bad as they’re made out to be, you should understand some of the very real risks that make their presence in your home completely unacceptable. To begin with, mice like to chew on things (furniture, appliances, wires, etc.) to sharpen their teeth. Setting aside for the moment that you’ll almost certainly need to hire an electrician to locate and fix the problem when your lights and appliances stop working, there is a very real danger of electrical fire. If you’re unable to pinpoint the exact location of the cut wire (since most of them are chewed on the inside of walls), your ability to stave off an electrical fire becomes that much harder.
As mentioned above, they also carry a lot of diseases in their droppings. If you have children in your house and find mouse droppings, you should be concerned. Rodents in general can spread a whole host of pathogens this way, from rat-bite fever, to hantavirus, salmonella, and even the plague (yes, the plague). This means protection and caution are a must when cleaning up any mouse droppings you find. It’s not uncommon for new homeowners to move into their older homes and find themselves showered by mouse droppings when handling construction. Just because you get rid of the mouse problem, it doesn’t mean you don’t still have mouse droppings that need to be disposed of.
What should I do next?
Give us a call at (269) 424-3458. We’d be happy to walk you through both the removal AND prevention process. Once we’ve eliminated the mouse problem, you’ll want to make sure you eliminate any gaps and/or holes on the outside of your house that allowed them entry in the first place. Additionally, getting rid of areas in your yard mice typically hide is a good idea. Things like wood piles next to the house should be elevated and moved as far away from your home as possible.
- Call us to discuss a tailor-made plan of attack: (269) 424-3458
- We'll eliminate the existing mice, and provide guidance on ways to eliminate further rodent issues.
- You may wish to seal any cracks or holes you find in your building's walls (remember - mice can squeeze through small openings!)
- Make sure you're consistently checking the affected spaces for signs of re-infestation.
We’re here to assist! Give us a call at (269) 424-3458!
