House mice are one of the most common household pests, and sometimes that means that one mouse sighting can go ignored. Unfortunately, if you spot even one mouse, you’re most likely dealing with an infestation. If you’re dealing with a recurring mouse problem, it’s likely that your do-it-yourself measures have never taken care of the full population of mice in your household.
Dealing with the source of the issue with prevention techniques could go a long way to keep them out of your home, but dealing with an infestation on your own probably won’t be possible. Thorough pest control measures are important to maintaining the health and safety of your household.
How To Identify House Mice
House mice may seem harmless, but they are vectors for several serious diseases, including rat-bite fever and salmonellosis, and they carry other disease-spreading pests like mites, lice, ticks, and fleas. Their urine has also been known to worsen allergies and asthma in children.
Identifying the type of rodent in your home is the first step to assessing the threat level, so look out for these characteristics when you suspect a house mouse infestation:
- From nose to tail, they can be about 7 to 8 inches long, with half of that length being in their tail.
- They are small and round-bodied with large ears.
- Usually, they are dusty gray with cream-colored bellies.
- May leave gnaw marks in food packages, wood, or electrical wires.
- Greasy rub marks may be prevalent on their common runways.
- They may steal material like insulation, paper, or fabric to create their nests.
- Feces can be up to ¼ of an inch long and are rod-shaped and pointed on the ends.
The reason that spotting one mouse is an indication of a larger problem is that mice are social creatures. House mice in particular live in networks where one dominating male presides over non-dominant males and a large number of females. Females can produce up to 35 young in just one year, having new litters as often as every three weeks.
House Mouse Prevention Tips
Mice, like every other house pest, are attracted to homes because they provide food, shelter, and water. Preventing them from having access to these things is the first line of defense for your home. This is why proper sanitation and home maintenance can go a long way.
To set up your home to be unattractive and impenetrable, try these prevention tips:
- Mice can fit into holes the size of a dime, so seal any cracks and crevices around the foundation and outside of the home with silicone-based caulk or steel wool.
- Remove any sources of available water around the home by repairing pipes, fixing landscape that collects water, or getting rid of birdbaths and old tires.
- Keep outdoor trash sealed and far away from the home. Indoor trash should also be sealed and taken out regularly. Clean bins weekly.
- Sanitize surfaces and don’t leave any spills or crumbs to sit, inside or outside of the home. Vacuum regularly and don’t let food sit out for any reason, especially pet food.
- Declutter your home and storage. Clutter offers the perfect hiding conditions for mice. If you have to store things, keep them in sealed plastic containers.
- Store food in metal or glass containers, and don’t let anything in the cabinet spill or collect in the corners.
- Don’t leave easy hiding places near your home, such as woodpiles, planters, tires, or lawn decorations.
DIY Traps Are Dangerous & Ineffective
Some traps will cause you more problems than they solve. Sticky traps will likely collect insects that will feed your rodent population, and if they do manage to catch a mouse, it will spread urine particles that could jeopardize your health.
In addition, poison traps don’t work immediately, so mouse corpses could build up in hard-to-reach places, drawing more pests like flies and cockroaches into your home to feed on decaying matter. Other traps may not be as dangerous, but they aren’t likely to be effective. So, while you can keep the population numbers down with at-home methods, it won’t control an entire infestation.
Call Quell Pest Control To Get Rid Of The Entire Infestation
Scheduled visits and inspections from Quell Pest Control are the safest and most effective mice prevention methods. Not only can we help protect your home from future and current problems, but we can nip your home’s mouse population in the bud with eco-friendly measures that keep you, your family, and your home safe without doing damage to the environment.
As a local company with roots in the community, we know the ins and outs of pest control specific to Queen Creek. Call Quell Pest Control or visit our contact page to schedule your first visit and a future free from pests and worry.