Cooler weather is just around the corner, and when the temperatures outside drop, many pests find themselves looking for a warm place to move in. Your home is quite inviting to mice and other rodents who cannot handle the cold outdoor temperatures. If you discover signs of mice or rats in your home, you need to take action quickly, because these pests can carry diseases or cause costly damage to your home and belongings. If you need either mouse control or rat control, call the team at Senske for help, or read on to see what you need to know about rodent infestations.
What’s the Difference Between Mice and Rats?
Both rats and mice can make problems for your home and be difficult to prevent, but these two rodents are not quite the same. Mice are small rodents about the size of a sparrow that have long, thin tails. There are many different types of mice that can infest your home, but they all have a similar look.
Rats are much larger, with bodies around 10 inches long, with longer and thicker tails. Rats will actually hunt, kill and eat mice on occasion.
Regardless of whether you are dealing with mice or rats, both rodents can carry diseases and parasites, and they will chew your home and belongings. You need to get rid of them the moment you notice signs of them in your house.
Signs of a Rodent Infestation in Your House
Mice can be found in any home, no matter how clean it may be. If a home has a small opening to the outdoors, which almost all do, mice will squeeze in. Because they reproduce quickly, just a pair of mice can grow into an infestation in just a few weeks. To protect your home, you need to be on the watch for signs of mice so you can take action quickly.
So how can you tell if you have mice in your home? Unfortunately, these animals are excellent at hiding from humans, so you may never see one. They also tend to be more active at night, which is when most people are sleeping. Some of the signs to watch for include:
- Droppings, which look like small black grains of rice and are often found near food
- Chewed food storage containers or boxes
- Footprints left in dust
- Nests found in walls or wall voids
- Sounds of something scurrying in the wall
- Smell from dead mice, urine or fecal deposits
- If you are noticing these problems, you need to call Senske right away for help getting rid of the rodents.
How to Get Rid of Rats and Mice
The best method to get rid of rodents is to have a professional pest control company help, but there are things you can do to reduce the mouse population in your home. Here are some of the best ways to deal with mice in your home.
Find and Eliminate Entry Points
All it takes is a tiny hole for an animal to enter your home. To ensure you find and fix all entry points, consider hiring a professional to help. When fixing holes you have found, use a metal mess with holes no larger than a quarter inch to close the entry point.
Set Mouse Traps
Mouse traps can help you catch and remove mice from your home. Bait the traps with something the mice will want to eat, such as peanut butter, then place them strategically in areas where you suspect you might have a problem. You can use live traps, then release the mice far from your home, if you prefer not to handle dead mice.
Remove Food Sources
Mice will eat anything, including pet food, that they can access. If you suspect you have a rodent problem, make sure you keep your food picked up and sealed properly. Keep in mind that mice can, and will, chew through cardboard packaging or baggies. Hard plastic sealed containers and a rigorous kitchen and pantry cleaning routine are critical.
Clean the Attic
If your home has an attic, make sure you keep it clean. This is a perfect nesting place for rodents, so consider scheduling an attic cleaning service every three years. This will help keep rodents at bay by removing one of their more popular hiding places.
Request Your Free Estimate
If you have a rodent problem, the best course of action is working with a professional pest control company. Effective pest control is just a phone call away. Call your local Senske branch today for a free estimate on effective rodent control.
