How to Deal with Mouse in the House

No matter where you live, mice in the home can be a very serious issue. These small rodents can easily find their way into your house and cause problems.

Some homeowners continue to underestimate the fact that mice are more than just a nuisance. To illustrate this point, let's take a look at a few problems that mice in the house may cause. When you think of mice in the home, you probably don't immediately envision the danger of fire. After all, it's not like these little critters have opposable thumbs to help them light a match and burn your house down. What they do have, however, is teeth ... and those teeth can chew through almost anything, and that includes the wires found on your walls. Chewing through wires typically won't harm a mouse, but exposed wires are a fire hazard for your family. This is one reason why a mice infestation must not be taken lightly. You should contact your local mouse exterminator as soon as possible to reduce these risks. Also, a recent study found that 1 in 4 mice in New York City carries harmful germs in their bellies. Based on the finding, around 37% out of 400 the rodents trapped around the city contained at least one bacterial parasite such as germs which causes severe diarrhea in humans, food poisoning, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections.

A Disease Can Be a Factor

Rodents, especially mice and rats, don't have the greatest track record when it comes to disease. They have been known carriers of a variety of illnesses pretty much since man learned of their existence. Between rats and mice, according to the Center for Disease Control, over thirty-five diseases are spread. Some of these, such as hantaviruses, can be quite severe, even deadly. What many people don't seem to realize is that you don't even have to come into direct contact with mice in the home to contract a disease. Many of these are spread through feces, ticks, and other parasites.

Contamination of Food

As described above, mice are chewers. They'll chew through anything, and that includes walls, boxes, bags, and anything else they can get their teeth on. Very often, homeowners learn of mice in the home because they discover teeth marks in their cabinets and food. There's no way to know what a mouse has contracted, or if it is simply carrying in the filth from outside your home. But either way, your food can quickly get contaminated, which means you'll need to throw it out.

"Mice are chewers. They'll chew through anything, and that includes walls, boxes, bags, and anything else they can get their teeth on."

-Rest Easy Pest Control

Don't Take Any of This Lightly

Getting rid of mice in the home is an essential part of ensuring the health and safety of your family. Many homeowners set up mousetraps to eliminate the problem, and of course, it is also important to seal up cracks and gaps in your walls to stop them from entering your home. If the problem seems to be bigger than you can handle, hiring a professional pest control company will save you a lot of time, effort, and money in the long run.

Facts About House Mice

• Mice are prolific eaters

They eat up to 20 times per day. That's�a lot. House mice are constantly on the lookout for food, which is why they have been pestering humans for thousands of years�we're good at stockpiling lots of edibles.

• Mice are incredibly flexible

They can squeeze through spaces you wouldn't think it was physically possible for them to fit through�they've been known to contort their bodies to writhe through holes the size of a dime! That's why it's so important to seal any holes (caulk works well) you find in your home.

• Mice sing to each other

During courtship, a male mouse will serenade a female with high-pitched love songs. (Humans can't hear them because the frequency is too high, but researchers have confirmed this to be true.)

• Mice value cleanliness

Although we tend to think of them as filthy vermin, mice take time to clean one another and organize their living areas into different sections�like one for sleeping, one for defecating, one for eating, etc. If you find mice in the attic after a long period of time, you'll notice these areas.

• Mice can jump

They're more athletic than we may think�mice have been known to leap up to a foot in the air. Given their size, that's way higher than any human can jump. Mice can also climb and swim reasonably well. So be sure to keep the food safely locked away!

• Mouse whiskers are exquisitely sensitive

A mouse's whiskers can detect subtle changes in temperature and detailed information about the land that the mouse is walking on. Rat Infestation (Photo Credit: Rest Easy Pest Control)

"House mice are constantly on the lookout for food, which is why they have been pestering humans."

-Rest Easy Pest Control

Tips on How to Deal with House Mice

Most people associate mice and rats chiefly with disease spreading, but these rodents can do major damage without you ever coming into contact with them. That's because they chew through everything. They can cause house fires by chewing through electrical wiring. They can ruin your roofing or foundation by burrowing through it to get inside. And perhaps worst of all because you won't see it coming, they can tear up your home's walls and ceilings from the inside out, only revealing themselves when the problem is too far along to fix. There are steps you can take to prevent mice and rats from getting into your home, such as sealing up cracks and plugging what gaps you can in your masonry, foundation, and roofing. But what can you do once these rodents are in the house? First of all, don't freak out. They're as scared of you as you are of them. Now, onto what you should do:

• Listen closely at night, when your house is at its most quiet, for sounds they'll make when active; things like scurrying, chewing and squeaking.
• When you think you know where they are active, go to those areas and see if you can find things like chew marks, dusty footprints, and droppings.
• In what you feel are the highest traffic areas, set your preferred trap; there are all different kinds on the market, so choose whichever ones you feel most comfortable with, and use plenty of them.
• Stay vigilant once the traps are set: monitor them every couple days, remove a trap if you catch a rodent, and update locations if it appears your traps aren't set in the right spots. Keep in mind, some mice avoid traps if they're smart enough.
• Once you think you've caught or scared away the rodents and you no longer see any droppings, clean up the high-traffic areas with a chemical disinfectant (be careful here, and follow all cleanser directions).

That last step is very important: mice and rats have a pheromone they release that lets other mice and rats, as well as other rodents like raccoons, know they've been somewhere. So if you see one rat or mouse in your home, assume there are plenty more behind it. That that if one found its way in, more will follow. When dealing with mice or rats in New York City, Nassau County, or Suffolk County, call Rest Easy Pest Control. It's our job to know exactly what to look for when it comes to finding rodents, taking care of them, and making sure, most importantly, that they don't come back.*** Related Articles:

Back To Blog