Most homeowners in Missouri have come into contact with the common house mouse at least once in their lives. Mice like to seek refuge inside homes during the fall months so that they will have a warm and safe place to spend the cool winter months. Finding a mouse scrounging around in your cupboard, or finding their droppings near your bread box is not uncommon, but it’s a lot more dangerous to have mice in Physical Pest Control your home than some people realize. Mice are known carriers of several different diseases and health conditions, and their presence in a home can cause asthma and allergies in young children. Before you find mice in your home this fall, here is some basic information about their habits as well as a few pest proofing tips you should follow to make sure your home and family are safe from mice this winter.
Mice can enter your home through tiny openings as small as A�” diameter. Small gaps around pipes and utility wires into your home can be enough to allow mice into your home, and gaps in siding or wood fascia can be inviting to mice and other creatures. Once inside your home, mice will start looking for a place to nest and for a food source. The food in your cupboards that is packaged lightly is easy for mice to get into, and they will devour whatever they can find, leaving their little brown rice-shaped droppings throughout your cupboards. These droppings can carry salmonellosis, and can contaminate the food in your cupboard. If you leave pet food out, mice will eat that too. They will nest inside walls, and chew up insulation and dry wall to make a comfortable nest for them. Often they will chew through electrical wiring, which can be very dangerous and even a fire hazard.
The common house mouse is easily recognizable; often gray or brown and about 7 and a half inches long, including their 3 to 4 inch long tail. Their eyes are black and beady and their ears are relatively large for their bodies. Mice are very quick and very agile, with very sharp senses. In only a year, a female mouse can have as many as 10 litters, each litter having up to 6 babies. In a very short time, you can have a large population of mice living in your home- feeding off your food, creating nests in your walls. In order to keep pests from wreaking havoc in your home this winter, prevention is very important. Locating and sealing up gaps in your siding, or around piping that comes in from the exterior of your home is a must. Sealing cracks in your home’s foundation How To Get Rid Of Tiny Spiders and installing a chimney cap can keep mice from entering your structure. Finding all possible entry points for mice is nearly impossible- you just never know what tiny hole they’ll find in your home’s structure. If you have blocked all the entry points you can find, and still are finding mice or their droppings in your home, you need to protect your food sources. Putting food in your pantry in metal bins that have tightly fitting covers can keep mice from stealing your food. If mice don’t have access to food in your home, your home is no longer habitable to them. Make sure that pet food is not left out for extended periods of time, and that your cupboard is clean and free of food crumbs. Having a clean home can also help deter mice from finding your home habitable.
If you have sealed all gaps in your home, and have protected your food sources but are still finding new little mouse droppings, or are hearing them in your walls or cupboards, it’s time to contact a pest professional in your area. Pest control professionals have the knowledge and tools to help your home and family become free of mice and other annoying and damaging pests. They can help you find and evict mice populations living in your home, and they can also help you locate problem areas in your home that may be allowing mice in. In often just one visit a pest control professional can take care of a mouse problem so that you can rest assured that your family and home are safe from damaging house mice.
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