Why Mice Invade Your Boston Home And How To Keep Them Out
As adorable as mice are in your favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon, a sight of a little gray rodent scurrying across your floor is defiantly a reason to worry.
Mice spread infectious and deadly diseases, contaminate your food, and multiply with amazing speed. Each female can birth up to 100 baby mice each year, all of which will do their best to make your house their home, spoiling your food, leaving mouse feces everywhere, and generally being as disgusting as possible.
In our northeastern climate, mice are always on the lookout for a new place to call home. Unfortunately, dealing with a mouse infestation is not an easy task to tackle on your own. If you see a live rodent or spot their droppings or the damage they left to your food or furniture, it's time to put this issue into the hands of an experienced Boston pest control professional.
But first, let's take a look at what attracts mice to your home and how to keep them out.
Habits And Behaviors Of Common House Mice
The Mus Musculus, the common house mouse, is a small, gray rodent averaging 5 to 5 1/2 inches in size. They have poor vision but make up for it with an amazingly well-developed sense of smell. They can smell a food source or a predator up to 10 miles away!
House mice can climb straight up a wall, jump up to 18 inches high, and squeeze through an opening the size of a dime. They are primarily nocturnal, making them elusive creatures. In the wild, they subside on seeds and grain, but once inside, these voracious eaters will take a bite out of almost anything, including cat food, notebooks, flour packs, and any scraps or crumbs they find lying around. They sense food through walls or plastic packages and are especially attracted to stored dried goods like pasta, grains, and sugar.
Why Mice In Your House Can Be So Problematic
Mice's small size, elusive habits, and rapid reproduction combine to present a true challenge to any homeowner. But coexistence with these Boston rodents is not an option for several reasons:
- Mice carry infectious and sometimes deadly diseases. Leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM), tularemia, and salmonellosis are all easily transmissible from mice to humans.
- Ticks and fleas that live on mice will bite people and pets. Lyme disease, meningoencephalitis, and rickettsiae are just some of the diseases they spread.
- Mice cost homeowners more in damages every year than any other pest. Their incisors grow continuously, which drives them to gnaw on your furniture, drywall, books-even electrical wiring (causing numerous house fires each year).
With all these factors to consider, it's in every homeowner's best interest to take steps to prevent mice from getting into their home.
How And Why Mice Find Their Way Into Homes
Mice infestations usually begin in the fall, with the arrival of the colder weather. They're looking for food, warmth, and shelter, and your warm home starts looking pretty appealing to them.
To stop mice from getting into your house, follow these simple steps:
- Seal any outside holes bigger than a quarter inch, as mice will use them to gnaw their way in.
- Make sure the doors fit snugly in their frames; it doesn't take much of a crack for a mouse to squeeze in.
- Cover the vents with steel mesh. Mice can squeeze through most vents when their flaps are open.
- Keep the grass outside short. Mice hate moving around without cover.
- Don't attract rodents by leaving your food easily accessible; store it in glass or metal containers.
With these tips, you can minimize your risk of a mouse infestation in your Boston home as much as possible. However, when rodents get inside, it's imperative that you call for immediate professional assistance as soon as possible.
Contact The Pros At The First Sign Of Mice In Your Home
If you come across signs of mouse infestation, there is no time to waste, get in touch with one of our experienced Boston rodent control professionals at Urbanex. We'll inspect your house, take care of your pest problem and develop a plan to keep mice out of your house before they cause any more damage to your property and well-being.
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