As development in North York comes closer to rural areas, it encroaches on land where wild animals currently live. This increases the probability of mice making their way into human homes, where they can remain undetected for some time. Shoddy construction work can contribute to a mouse problem by providing points of entry that mice can take advantage of. Here is the story of one situation in which a homeowner had to call professional wildlife removal in Toronto about mice because of poor construction work.

The Call

A homeowner living in a rural area of North York called Skedaddle about a strange smell coming from a room in the basement. The room housed the sump pump, and the client used it for little else than storing a golf bag. Upon investigation, the client discovered mouse droppings. She closed the door to the room to avoid disturbing the droppings and called Skedaddle for North York wildlife control.

Technician Angelik Huenel arrived at the location and performed an initial inspection. Lifting the golf bag caused it to leak, indicating that mice had used it as a latrine. A closer inspection of the golf bag revealed that five rodents had made a nest in the bag. Because neither the sump pump room nor the bag had been used for some time, the mouse problem went undetected. Though the problem initially seemed localized to the sump pump room, further investigation demonstrated that the mice had also gotten into the walls.

The Entry Point

The client had an idea that the mice may have gotten in through an old drain pipe, a theory that investigation bore out. Initially, the drain was part of the sump pump system. Construction workers should have sealed off the pipe when they removed the previous system. Because they failed to do so, the drain pipe provided a tunnel by which mice could enter the home. Mice are adept and climbing and were able to scale the flat exterior wall to reach the opening.

Mice in Toronto homes due to construction crew oversight are unfortunately nothing new. Technician Huenel observed, “We’ve seen poor construction jobs lead to serious mouse infestations quickly. For this particular case, since the mice were in a room that had been left unattended, they were able to create an unsanitary room really fast.”

The Removal

Skedaddle installed one-way doors over the drainpipe and all other potential entry points. These doors allow the mice to get outside but prevent them from going back into the house. Cleaning the contaminated areas took about an hour. However, because the mice had gotten into the walls, the process of mice exclusion took place the following day and required hours to complete.

Once the mice had been excluded and the areas where they had been cleaned and decontaminated, the drain pipe was permanently sealed, along with all other potential entry points. Once wild animals such as mice have found a nesting site, they can show great determination in trying to return to it. That’s why it is so important to seal off all the potential entry points, not just the original one.

The Need for Professional Wildlife Removal in Toronto

It was wise of the client in this case to close the door to the room and wait for Skedaddle technicians to arrive rather than to attempt to clean up the mouse droppings herself. Some species of mice carry hantavirus, which can cause severe respiratory illness in humans. It spreads when humans inhale aerosolized particles of mouse excrement. Because the simple act of cleaning can launch such particles into the air, decontamination has to take place under controlled conditions to avoid exposure.

It is not only poor construction work that could allow mice to enter your North York home. Mice sometimes get in through openings for utility lines and weep holes in brick exteriors. These holes serve a purpose and are intended to be there, but mice could still squeeze through them to gain entry into your home. They have the ability to compress their bodies to fit through openings that seem impossibly small. Our technicians are trained to identify potential mouse entry points and seal them in a way that doesn’t interfere with their intended purpose. For example, we cover weep holes and HVAC vents with wire mesh that is impervious to rodents’ teeth and does not rust. Find out more about the wildlife removal services we offer in North York.