Cute, fuzzy face? Do not fall for it. Mice and rodents are creatures that you definitely do not want lurking around in your home. Mice might look cute when they’re scurrying down a path in a park, but that is not the case when they chew on your furniture, leave their smelly droppings in every nook and cranny of the house, and gnaw at the electrical wiring in your walls.
Did you know that mice and rodents are responsible for the spread of many diseases? These abominable critters are a nightmare. They are clever and difficult to get rid of. However, don’t blame yourself. There’s nothing wrong with your home. In fact, any home can become a breeding ground for mice. All they want is a comfortable, warm spot where they can get a steady supply of food. While they make themselves at home, our homes become unsanitary.
Do You Have Mice in Your Home?
Do you have a strong doubt that mice have taken over your safe space? Here’s what to look for:
1. Droppings
You can find mouse feces in areas where they are the most active, mostly near feeding, breeding, and nesting spots. While it is hard to miss a mouse dropping, you need to know that they are black in color and cylindrical in shape. They can be between three to six millimeters in length. Think of it this way- have you seen small grains of rice? Mouse droppings are just fatter and darker than those.
Most people confuse mouse droppings for cockroach droppings. If you find mouse droppings in your home, make sure not to sweep or vacuum them as disturbing them could release bacteria and viruses into the air. When you dispose of the droppings, wear protective gloves. If an area is heavily infested, wear a respirator along with gloves. Mouse droppings should always be carefully handled and gotten rid of in sealed plastic bags.
2. Noises, Especially at Night
If you hear scratching, screeching, or scabbling noises in your walls, especially at night, you might have a mouse problem. Mice are great at climbing and jumping. They can fit in almost every opening, including ones that are smaller than their bodies. Talk about flexibility, right?
Mice usually take advantage of the spaces between joists to move from one part of the house to another. Since they are nocturnal creatures, there are higher chances that you will hear them after sunset.
3. Dirt on Floors and Baseboards
Another sign of mouse traffic is dirty smudges on floors and baseboards. Mice will run along walls and use the same route during the night. Over time, the dust and dirt from their fur will accumulate, and you will find a specific pattern of smudging and streaking in your house.
Disgusting fact: you might also start to notice patches of wet or dried mouse urine along the way. Who wants that?
4. Teeth Marks
Since mice have teeth that grow continuously, they tend to gnaw down hard on inedible materials. These include wood, plastic, cables, electrical wiring, and other household items.
This quality also makes mice a fire hazard as they can chew through shielding and wiring. Once electrical wires are damaged, you might witness shorts, power outages, equipment damage, and even fire.
5. Smell
It is rather difficult to miss the smell of mice. They usually have a distinctive, musky ammonia smell that resembles the smell of stale urine. You might notice this smell in enclosed areas of your house, including pantries, cabinets, or drawers.
You might also notice this smell along baseboards and walls where the mice usually reside. The odor helps mice establish and mark their territory so that they can frequently find their way back to the same spot, even in the dark.
Wondering How to Get Rid of Mice?
Disclaimer: mice are smart creatures and are not easy to get rid of. However, here are a few methods that will help with the mice infestation in your home:
1. Eliminating Entry Points
Rodent-proofing your home will stop mice infestations from occurring and expanding. All you have to do is seal the cracks in the foundations of your home, along with the openings in walls that hide utility pipers and vents. You can use steel wool and caulking to do this.
Do not use plastic, rubber, or wood as mice can easily gnaw through these materials. A smart move would be to invest in weather stripping for your doors and window gaps to create a sweep that will seal the thresholds even when doors and windows are closed.
2. Mouse Traps
If you have an on-going infestation, litter your house with mouse traps. While the conventional wooden snap trap will be effective for light to modern mouse populations, do not make the mistake of underestimating the infestation in your home. Use plenty of traps around the house, even if you only have one mouse lurking underneath.
You can also use a variety of traps, such as bait traps, multiple-capture live traps, and glue traps along with the classic wooden traps. This will increase your chances of catching all existing mice that might know how to avoid certain traps.
3. Bait
Mice love food, so you don’t have to go out of your way to buy specific food as bait. However, keep in mind that mice especially love chocolate, peanut butter, bacon, oatmeal, dried fruit, and hazelnut spread.
Using a fishing line or dental floss, secure the bait to the trigger. This will ensure that the mice get stuck in the trap rather than running off with the bait food. If you’re feeling very efficient, you can also secure the bait to the trigger using a hot glue gun. Do not forget to replace the food every two days. If food does not seem to work, use cotton balls or feathers.
4. Proper Placement
You might have the perfect mousetrap set out with their favorite food, but if you do not place the traps correctly, all your efforts will be in vain. Always place mouse traps perpendicular to walls so that the trigger part faces the baseboard. This will cause the mouse to get stuck in the trap as it scurries along the wall instead of triggering the trap prematurely.
Keep in mind that mice do not travel more than ten or twenty feet from food sources and breeding areas. Hence, look for signs of a mice infestation and station the traps there. Change locations every two days. Remember, mice are naturally curious creatures so you’ll catch them sooner or later.
Some mice and rodent infestations are too risky and almost impossible to be handled yourself, and that’s alright. You do not need to worry. Simply call professional pest control services to rid your home of all infestations and help you avoid future ones. Contact AntsPlus today for a free quote