Mouse and house are a terrible combination for homeowners. During the fall, mice search for warm shelter inside houses, basements, and attics. Your home makes the perfect place to settle down. Mice make scratching noises in the walls, rip up wrapping paper and tissues to use for their nests, and tunnel through your attic insulation. They chew through electrical wires and consume pantry items.
Out-of-control rodent problems are more than a nuisance: They have a huge impact on the value of your home. Repairs can be costly, and the damage is often far more extensive than you realize. The best way to get rid of mice is often to handle the problem as early as possible.
Pest Damage To Your Home Is Rarely Insured
Although a mice infestation is a pretty common problem, insurance companies don’t cover homeowners for pest damage. Your home can be insured for damage from larger animals (like bears and deer that could cause extensive structural damage to your property). Rodents, insects like moths, bedbugs, and termites, and raccoons are generally not covered. Unfortunately, these animals and bugs cause the most costly problems for homeowners.
Some companies offer coverage for rodents and bugs, but this is usually as part of a more expensive package. These are add-ons to already costly plans, and most homeowners skip them as they don’t see mice in their future. All in all, there’s little protection for homeowners dealing with rodent destruction. Rest assured that your insurance likely will cover a fire or flood due to mice chewing on your wires or pipes — but don’t let things escalate to this point! Call a pest control company if you’re struggling to get rid of the mice in your home.
Rodent Devastation Can Go Unnoticed
Most of the time, mice infestations and other pests are hidden. They’re in attics or walls, slowly gnawing wood and drywall, and tunneling through insulation. Don’t be fooled if you’ve only seen only one mouse: There are always more.
It can be surprising and concerning to discover this kind of damage when trying to sell your home, and you can guess what a huge expense it might be to restore the house to a sellable condition. Mice can contaminate insulation, destroy walls and chew wood.
Damage Caused by Mice
If these problems are discovered during a home inspection, a buyer can negotiate an incredible discount. Regardless of the price of similar homes, small mouse problems can see a significant drop in value. Studies have shown that properties with evidence of previous or current infestations sell for at least 9% less.
In the best-case scenario for a home with a noticeable mouse problem, buyers may get a steep discount. In the worst-case scenario, your home could sit on the market for an extended amount of time. Mice can accomplish the following in a short amount of time:
- Chew on anything for nesting materials: This can include wrapping paper, clothes, tissues, and pantry items.
- Gnaw and burrow into walls and furniture: This can severely reduce the value of your home as the damage will be visible to prospective buyers (as well as guests!). It’s also quite costly to repair baseboards, drywall, and carpet that mice love to chew.
- Tunnel through insulation: You’ve likely got insulation in your attic and the walls of your home. Mice use this soft, fluffy material as bedding for themselves and as nests for their young. It provides a perfect hiding place and a safe space from other predators that may include cats and dogs in your home.
- Chew on wires: Did you know that mice are a leading cause of house fires? It sounds incredible, but mice are able to gnaw through electrical cords. This can include holiday decoration wiring, lamp cords, phone chargers, and anything else you have plugged into the walls.
- Gather dry materials around electrical appliances: You’ve learned that mice love to gather fluffy materials for their nests. They also love to hide in corners and in the walls, where much of your electrical wiring is kept. If this sounds like a bad combination that will almost certainly lead to a fire, that’s because it is.
- Cause structural damage to any home: Mice can chew through just about any homebuilding substance (wood, drywall, carpet, vinyl, and more), and the smallest of them can squeeze through a hole as big as a finger. If you have a mouse infestation, it’s only a matter of time before they cause noticeable damage to the structure of your home.
Get in Touch for Mice Infestation Remedies Local to Ancaster
A mice infestation can decrease the value of your home, and the repairs can be a huge expense all at once. If you’re planning on selling your home at any point in the future, don’t wait to banish the mice from your property. It’s best to control pest problems sooner rather than later. This includes eradicating the pests, repairing any damage to your home, and cleaning up mice droppings that can make your home look filthy and contribute to the poor health of its residents.
Don’t let a mouse infestation hurt the value of your most prized (and likely most expensive) asset. If you find signs of mice in the house, get in touch with Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to begin combating the problem before it’s too late. We can remove mouse infestations and prevent rodents from getting back in.
Our technicians can also remove dangerous droppings and soiled building materials to help restore your home’s value. Your conscientiousness will help protect the value of your property, eliminate the risk of your family contracting mouse-related illnesses, and ensure that whoever buys or rents your home in the future will not have to deal with another infestation.
Are you battling mice infestation? Contact Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control today for a safe and effective solution!
