MICE
PEST CONTROL

The house mouse tends to build its nest in farm fields, grassy spaces, and wooded areas, but when the weather turns cold, these pests seek out a new place to live. So, what are they looking for?

Mice are drawn to the warmth of shelter and the smell of food. If this sounds like your home, protect yourself by checking for signs of their presence, in order to catch the problem early, as the house mouse will squeeze through any opening, including utility lines, pipes, even gaps below doors. And when they’ve settled, the mouse population increases rapidly, with one female able to have 5 to 10 litters throughout the year, to about 8-14 young each time. Of course, spotting mice in your home or business is upsetting enough in itself, there’s more than meets the eye! Mice aren’t just pesky, they are also associated with significant health risks.

Rodents’ constant gnawing habit is likely to damage your property, but their nature and design also make them perfect vehicles for harboring and rapidly transporting diseases. In fact, mice are notorious for spreading these ailments while scrambling around in search of food. For these reasons, any concern regarding a mouse sighting is certainly justified and should be addressed, especially for those using a kitchen to cook food and for families with young children. It may not be the most urgent worry in your daily routine, but over the past ten years, more than 10 million people have died from rodent-borne diseases.

Here are some of the most common signs of mice to lookout for:

Droppings:

50-80 droppings a night, small and dark

Grease Marks:

Caused by their bodies brushing against walls and floors, dark smears around holes or around corners

Urine Pillars:

Body grease combined with dirt and urine, builds up into small mounds, 4cm high and 1cm wide

Scratching Sounds:

Often at night

Nests:

Check lofts, suspended ceilings, cavity walls, under floorboards, behind fridges, under stoves, and in airing cupboards

Tracks footprints:

Sprinkle flour, talcum powder, or china clay and check the next day for fresh tracks

Strong smell:

Mice urinate frequently, causing strong ammonia-like smell