Mouse infestations may be more common than you realize. They have been a problem for centuries affecting homes in both urban and rural environments. Fortunately, in this day and age, we have established effective mice removal methods. However, if you want to evict these unwanted tenants for good, you will need help from experts to properly address the issue and prevent the mice from coming back. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control is here to help rid your home of these rodents.
How To Get Rid of Mice
The best way to get rid of mice for good is to identify how they’re entering the home. Mice are able to get into walls and attics undetected because they can fit into the tiniest cracks and crevices, as small as ¼ of an inch. By inspecting for entry points, you can combine mice removal with mice prevention for better results.
Once they have identified a mouse problem, most homeowners think the only way to get rid of mice is by using traps and poisons to kill them. While this is the preferred method used by some pest control companies and many do-it-yourselfers, killing mice with traps and poisons isn’t going to solve the root of your problem. Most mice infestations are more complex than they appear on the surface, and understanding mice biology and behaviour plays an important role in their effective control.
Traps and poisons are far too passive and reactionary to provide effective mouse control. You might be able to reduce some of the population but ultimately the problem will persist and resurface unless you address the cause.
Mice not only cause damage to whichever structure they inhabit, but they are also carriers of diseases, which can make their presence a serious health hazard. DIY methods to remove mice from your home are not recommended, as these methods do not provide a permanent solution. Instead, opt for professional animal control services for your home.
Skedaddle has been in business for over thirty years and uses a proven three-step process to ensure mice are removed from homes for good. In addition to assessing the situation and removing the critters, as well as cleaning and sanitizing the infected areas, Skedaddle also goes a step further to future-proof the affected structures against subsequent re-entry. With Skedaddle, you’re getting a complete and rounded package that ensures no similar problems ever take place in the future.
If you’ve been struggling with a persistent mouse issue that you just can’t seem to solve, it’s time to give us a shot. Our team of experienced technicians will be happy to walk you through our customized procedure and answer any questions you may have. We have a three-step process that helps us achieve superior results:
- Assess and Remove: We start by locating the mice and where they are living. This includes evaluating the inside and outside of the home. We then remove the mice from your home
- Clear and Clean: We carefully clean the area to minimize the risk of disease. We also remove any attractants that could cause the mice to want to return, and decontaminate to prevent the spread of parasites
- Prevent and Protect: We seal all the entryways being used by the mice using one-way doors. This allows the rodents to continue to leave, but not return.
How To Find Mice Entry Points
Mice are one of the most common pests found inside of a home. Whether you’ve found droppings under the sink or hear scratching and scurrying in the attic, the thought of sharing your home with mice can be very stressful.
Some of their favourite places to nest for the house mouse are in and around homes and buildings. Human activity provides these mice with their favourite foods, such as cereal, grains, nuts, and fruits. Also, homes with central heating provide mice with warm shelter during the winter months.
The house mouse can also cause serious structural damage. Their teeth grow rapidly, and they must gnaw to keep them sharp and at the proper length. This leads to the destruction of wall insulation, personal items and damage to dishwasher lines. House mice also chew on electrical wires, which leads to shorts and the risk of electrical fires.
Rivalled only by rats, house mice always cause some kind of damage when they enter a home or building. They dig up planted grains, mutilate crops before harvest, and gnaw through food containers. Because they spend so much time in and around trash, they can pick up secondary pathogens and pests. They often carry parasites in their fur and can spread diseases. It is possible for humans to consume their urine or droppings by accident and potentially ingest parasites or diseases.
When Skedaddle is helping with mice removal, we find entry points through careful inspection of both the inside and outside of the home. In doing so, we look for more than just gaps. Our technicians also inspect for droppings, chewing, fur and distinct brown staining.
What Mice Eat
Despite what cartoons may have led you to believe, cheese is not the top choice of mice. They typically like fruits, grains and seeds. However, they are omnivores and will happily eat anything they can find and consume. Many people are surprised to learn that this includes meat. If there are any accessible food sources in your home, these rodents will likely take advantage of them. In some cases, mice may even turn to cannibalism if they don’t have access to any other food sources. House mice tend to have more varied diets than deer mice. However, neither species can be described as picky eaters.
In most homes, mice don’t have to turn to such extreme measures. In fact, in human neighbourhoods, mice can easily find plentiful resources to sustain a sizable population. They may look for cereal, corn, bread, rice, berries or similar food items that may be left unsecured. Their sharp teeth allow them to easily chew through cardboard boxes. Sometimes the first sign of mice that homeowners notice is chewed corners of food containers.
Mice are hungry little creatures. Like many small animals, they eat frequently but in small amounts. A single mouse may eat as often as 20 times per day. They only consume around three grams of food per day, but destroy much more than that thanks to the fact that they are always nibbling on things. They may sample several sources of food around your home, giving themselves plenty of options.
How Long Do Mice Live?
The most common mice in Canada are the house mouse and deer mouse. A very small animal by nature, the house mouse is 0.5 ounces and grows between 8 and 11 inches long, including the tail. They have light brown or black fur, and their bellies are white to buff in colour. The house mouse has pointed noses, tiny black eyes, large ears, and scaly tails. They are competent swimmers, climbers, and jumpers.
Originally from Asia, the house mouse spread to the world by international commerce. Now they are present worldwide and live wherever there are humans. The mouse might nest underground or wherever there is a shelter. They build nests with paper, burlap and other materials in and around houses, farms and open fields.
Deer mice, conversely, are native to North America. It is widespread across the continent other than the far north. The deer mouse is noted for being a common carrier of hantaviruses and Lyme disease. In the right environment, house mice can live up to three years and deer mice can live up to two years. A few species can live up to seven years. However, this is very uncommon in the wild. Most mice live between 12 and 18 months.
One of the great challenges of effective mice removal is that they can start reproducing at only three weeks old. So, if left unchecked for even a short time, a mouse infestation can grow exponentially. This is especially true in a house with a lot of accessible food. If there are enough resources, the mice population will balloon very quickly.
How To Keep Mice Away?
To control the mouse population some pest control companies will use rodenticides. Not only is this ineffective for long-term solutions, but it is also considered inhumane. Professional and humane animal control providers such as Skedaddle will give you permanent results using safe and humane methods.
Over the years the urban mouse population has increased significantly. Pest control is in more and more demand as Canadian cities continue to grow and push mice out of their natural habitats.
- Mice reproduce quickly. Mice breed year-round and a female mouse is capable of producing up to 10 litters per year each containing 3-16 young. One of the problems with trying to trap and poison mice is that it’s nearly impossible to kill them faster than they can reproduce themselves.
- Where are they nesting? The mice activity you see inside your home is usually the tip of the iceberg compared to what’s going on inside your attic and walls. Mice are successful rodents and are able to live inside houses because of their excellent ability to avoid detection. That’s why they nest, mate and breed in areas of the house that are hard to access making it impossible to get traps and poisons in all the right places to kill off the infestation.
- What are they eating? Mice behaviour and activity is dictated in large part by their need for food. The reason mice are able to survive harsh winters is because they’re able to store food they forage for in secure places that are out of plain sight. Mice that have a cache of birdseed tucked away in the attic are very difficult to entice with other baits.
Rodents carry many diseases and it’s best to not have them around your family. The problem grows even larger if inadequate DIY removal methods are employed, such as traps or poison. Mice breed incredibly fast and a single mouse can turn into a full-blown infestation in a matter of weeks if left unattended. The house mouse has adapted to live wherever humans live. The rodent has a weak sense of eyesight but has heightened senses of smell, touch, and taste to compensate. Since they rarely travel 10 to 30 feet from their nests, they are extremely familiar with their surroundings.
Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control has been removing mice from Ottawa houses since 1993. We start with a comprehensive exterior and interior inspection of your home to identify how the mice are getting in and out. We then install one-way doors over those areas to lock mice out of the home when they exit for food. Click here to learn more about mouse entry points.
Get Expert Mice Removal Services
Urban mouse populations have become a serious issue in Canada. If you have a problem with mice in your home, contact Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. We will apply our proven three-step process to not only remove the mice but also protect your home against future infestations. Rodents can pose serious health risks. Don’t wait to handle the problem.
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