What Are Mice?
The Basics. These nocturnal rodents have a knack for exploring every nook and cranny in your home. They are often much smaller than most rats, averaging 5-8 inches including their tails. They come in colors from white to brown to gray to black and anything between.
While some people choose to keep mice as pets, or even turn them into the mascot for multi-billion dollar businesses (Disney - we're looking at you), it's safe to say that we don't want them running around our homes without us knowing about them.
Which ones do I have to worry about?
The common mice species that will likely invade your home are field mice, deer mice, and house mice.
- Field Mice – These are 5-8 inches long including their tails with large eyes. Their fur is usually white underneath and gray on their backs. While they do infest homes, they prefer large fields and open spaces.
- House Mice – These are slightly smaller than field mice, measuring at 5-7 inches long with half of that being their tails. They usually are solid browns and grays with lighter bellies. As the name suggests, these fellas enjoy our homes as much as we do.
- Deer Mice – These guys are about the same size as the field mouse, leading to some confusing, but their fur tends to be reddish brown on their backs with white bellies. They are most active during the early mornings and late evenings.
When Should I Worry about Mice?
As soon as the temperature drops. Once fall and winter hits, mice are looking for a place to stay warm. Our houses offer shelter as well as food, becoming practically a mouse paradise during the colder months.
How Do I Know if I Have an Infestation?
For better or worse, a mice infestation is typically easy to identify for the following reasons:
- Feces or Urine. If you find mice droppings, small dark pellets the same size and shape as a grain of rice, there’s a good chance you have a mice problem. Typically you will also smell the strong and potent scent of urine when a mouse is within your home.
- Food caches. Some species of mice, especially the field mouse, are known for stockpiling their food in a single place. If you find a small pile of seeds, crumbs, general mice food, you have new tenant which might be inviting other house guests over.
- Scratching or squeaking. When you are bed in the middle of the night, it can be disconcerting to hear scratching of squeaking coming from somewhere in your walls. Assuming you aren’t having a night terror, there are mice (or some other rodent) living in your walls.
- Rub Marks & Grease Stains. If you have a rodent infestation you will often find rub marks within your home and grease stains on the walls from where the pest runs around. These may or may not be surrounding entry holes within your home.
- The mouse itself. Finding a mouse in your house, whether in the middle of the kitchen or in the attic, you have a mouse problem on your hands. Even if you only have the one now, mice can reproduce once a month and reach sexual maturity within two.
How Can I Prevent an Infestation?
- Properly storing food. Even if your house is warm and cozy, if it doesn’t have food readily available for mice, it discourages them from exploring more of your house than necessary.
- Yard and house maintenance. Clearing brush away from your home and sealing any cracks or holes, however small, in your house goes a long way in preventing mice from getting into your home.
It's important to note that we recognize that securing a home from mice can be a challenge. Especially if you live in a heavily forested area with tree's that come right up against your home. These can can as prime entry way's for rats to get into cracks within a roof. That said, properly checking your home annually through a pest inspection is a great way to get to those hard to reach areas that maybe prone to be overlooked in regular yard work.
Can I Treat Mice Myself?
When Do I Need to Call Someone?
There are traps and baits available over the counter that work in addressing mice infestations. However, they aren’t always effective, especially in the long run, and can cause more harm than good especially If you have small children or pets. Maintaining such traps or poisons can also be time consuming and expensive since treating rodent infestations often taken time.
Furthermore, mice often can carry diseases just like rats. Some like the hantavirus can be fatal if it is contracted and can even spread airborne. While we will be the first to admit that these severe incidents of mice disease spreading is uncommon, we urge caution. If you suspect a mice infestation in your home, save the time, energy, and money and call Humboldt Termite and Pest Control. It might be a life saver.
We urge caution if attempting to use poisonous solutions for combating and killing mice as these solutions can be dangerous for humans and our beloved family pets. Furthermore, if a mouse does indeed die from a poisons, the very last thing that you would want is for it to die within your walls, potentially attracting other pests to enjoy a snack, or leaving you dealing with the stench of a decaying corpse in your home - GROSS!
If you suspect rodents, please do not hesitate to call a professional for extermination and extraction.
What Do We Do?
At Humboldt Pest, we provide a variety of treatment options that will take care of the problem and give you peace of mind. It can be tempting to try and resolve the issue yourself, but there are of course potential problems that can arise. Because of this we provide treatment solutions to our local community to help them live mice free.
- Step 1: Identification – We’ll determine the extent of the infestation and provide you with a variety of treatments and products.
- Step 2: Extermination & Repair – We’ll treat the infestation quickly and effectively with the best products to protect your family and pets. It's important to note that it doesn't do any good to simply remove Rats if the way the entered into the home is not sealed. We can help you fortify your home against future infestations.
- Step 3: Ongoing Prevention – We’ll keep your home mouse free today, tomorrow, and any day after that. Our Quad-P service is designed to provide you the proactive protection you need to protect your home, investment and family from rodents. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help you not only combat today's mice, but keep them away for good.
Remember! We offer a warranty on all of our services. If the pests come back, so do we. No extra charge. We are confident that the service we provide will keep mice away. So rest easy, we're on the job.