Four Signs There Are Mice In Your House
It is getting colder outside, which means the rodents are making a beeline for homes and businesses. Mice are one of the most common rodent pests, left uncontrolled; they do a tremendous amount of damage. Mice also carry diseases that humans can acquire, such as hantavirus. Mice are a pest you want out of your home or business. Inside, we go over five signs that mice have invaded your space.
You Hear Them
Mice are mostly nocturnal creatures. As your house settles down for the evening and small noises become more apparent, you will hear mice foraging for food or looking for mates. Mice can be very loud or almost silent. Listen for bangs from the pantry as they knock over items. Listen for small squeaks coming from behind the stove or cupboards. You might also hear them in the walls or the ceiling’s subflooring as you get ready for bed. They run across the ceiling from one exit hole to the next, or they start to scratch and claw inside of the wall as they make a nest.
Mice and rats are loud. If you have rats in the attic, you begin to understand why we refer to them as roof rabbits.
You See Sign Signs Of Mice
Usually, what you see are fecal pellets—the small blackish, rice-sized droppings left behind by mice or rats. You might find them in drawers, in cupboards, or in areas where they have gotten into stored food.
You Find Damage To The Buildings
It is not uncommon that mice or other rodents chew their way into a home or business. You might find places where they have enlarged holes where pipes enter a building or holes where they have created their way inside the structure. You might also notice small insulation pieces where they have pulled out of the wall or, worse, out of appliances. Stove ovens have fiberglass insulation, and mice love to use that as nesting materials.
You Find Damage to Personal Belongings
Mice are notorious for using personal items as nesting materials. Those can range from wedding dresses and sweaters to photo albums and baby clothing. They chew up things to create a nest where they rear their young. Attics and quiet areas of the home or business are prime locations. Under dressers, in drawers, inside cardboard boxes in the back of closets are all likely spaces for mice to nest.
You might see a mouse, but the infestation is usually pretty bad if you can see them. It does not take long for a single mouse to overrun your home or business. They breed like “rats,” meaning that they can have five to eight babies in one birthing, and they can give birth upwards of ten times per year. So, in a single year, one female mouse might produce 80 baby mice.
Learn more about safely controlling rodent populations in your home or business by reaching out to our experts. We provide comprehensive pest control services that are affordable and efficient throughout the Bryan and College Station communities.