Experiencing A Mouse Infestation? Here Are Some Important Facts to Know
As the seasons change, mice are a common household pest you may find yourself dealing with. Found almost everywhere in the world, they are incredibly hardy, adaptable creatures.
Mice can grow up to 75 mm in size and are most commonly brown or grey. While they can be mistaken for rats, mice are smaller and differently natured. In fact, mice are sometimes kept as pets.
That being said, they’re quite troublesome when unwanted. Here are a number of important facts about mice including some advice from pest control pros on how to handle their unwelcome presence in your home.
3 Things You May Not Know About Mice According to Pest Control Experts
- Mice Come Out More at Night – Mice are nocturnal, meaning that they are active at night. If you hear scratching noises or the sound of moving about in the middle of the night, it may well be a mouse looking for food or for materials to build a nest. Mice are actually voracious eaters and seek out fruit, nuts, sugars, and grains for sustenance. They also will happily chew on wood, paper, hard candy, and other malleable materials in order to assemble a nest. Signs of a mice infestation include hearing scampering noises, strange smells, seeing small bite marks, holes, or crumbs in food/materials, and the characteristic feces.
- Mice Procreate Actively & Efficiently – At just around one month old, female mice can mate and carry young for an additional three weeks. They give birth to four to twelve babies. They can actually do this every three weeks, meaning that an uncontrolled mouse population can grow rapidly!
- Mice Are Acrobatic – It isn’t just size and speed that gives mice an advantage when it comes to getting caught… they are also quite acrobatic. They can climb up the sides of furniture, jump up over two feet into the air, fit through tiny spaces, and “lose” their tails when approached by predators. These factors make mice very difficult to get rid of if left unchecked.
Although anyone, rural or urban, can struggle with mice, practicing prevention can reduce the chance of having an infestation. Preventative measures include sealing up possible points of entry, such as old basement walls, windows, doors, and roof vents. Also, since mice are likely seeking food in your home, securing food containers and garbage cans, cleaning up crumbs, and practicing general kitchen sanitation can help. Even your eco-friendly compost pile or bird feeder can be a source of food and attraction to mice. Sealing up your compost and choosing husk-less bird seeds can reduce risk.
If you think you have mice in your home, it is important to act immediately. An experienced should take care of your rodent problem as soon as possible. If you’d like to take a more pro-active approach to pest control, you may also want to find out about ongoing services. After-all, it can be easier (and more cost effective) to prevent a rodent infestation than to deal with the damage they could potentially cause.
