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 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 ¼" 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 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 an
d 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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