The house mouse is considered to be one of the most bothersome pests in the United States. Because mice have a higher population number than rats, they are more widespread. Mice are vermin; damaging and eating crops, causing structural damage and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces. Simply breathing the dust that has come into contact with mouse feces has been linked to hantavirus that can develop into hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).

Characteristics of the House Mouse

Mice are small rodents with characteristically pointed snouts, small rounded ears, and a body-length scaly tail. Mice are mostly nocturnal and they make up for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing. They also rely heavily on their sense of smell to find food and to avoid predators. House mice are great little gymnasts. They can climb and run up vertical surfaces with ease, run along with cables and ropes and are able to jump up to 13 inches from the floor onto a flat surface. They will eat seeds, cereal grains, or sweets; and just about anything else they can get their hands on. They don’t need much water and usually get all they need from the food they eat. They like to eat all day long and can eat about 10 to 15% of their body weight each day. They will continue to store food as long as it’s available.

How to Deter Mice from Your House

Mice have extremely high breeding rates if there are food, water, and shelter available, so it’s best to keep them out of your home. They will try to make their way indoors and build nests in ceiling voids, in walls, in storage boxes, inside upholstery, under appliances and in any void they can find. There are steps you can take to prevent them from finding their way inside. A house mouse is able to squeeze into an opening about the size of a dime, making it important to look for any openings and seal them. You will also need to seal off openings around utilities, vents, and pipes. To ensure mice will not begin chewing through the patching compound that you use, you need to make sure it is smooth on the surface. Make sure all your doors and screens have a tight fit and store all your processed or used food tightly in metal canisters, glass jars or resealable airtight containers.

Controlling House Mice

The most important step to control house mice is sanitation. It may not eliminate them but poor sanitation will attract them. Traps are an effective control method and they don’t rely on potentially dangerous poisons. Poison baits will be consumed by the mice and they will die. Sometimes sound and electronic devices may force mice to leave your home but a lot of the time the mice become used to the noises and if an infestation is well established they may do little to drive them away. If you start noticing rod-shaped droppings, clean holes made form gnawing, mouse tracks or worse yet an actual sighting of mice, you are likely sharing your living space with an infestation of house mice. Call Rentokil to take care of your rodent problem before the infestation keeps multiplying!