House Mice House mice can cause damage and serious diseases.
ABOUT THE HOUSE MOUSE
Commonly found in Yardley and throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is the house mouse This rodent is also known by other names including Domestic House Mouse, and the Common House Mouse. Due to the fact that they are highly adaptable creatures and can fit through a hole the size of a pencil, house mice can infiltrate any type of structure including homes, offices, sheds, apartment buildings, etc.
APPEARANCE
Adult house mice can grow to be up to 7 inches long, including their naked tail. They generally weigh about an ounce and a half, and are usually grey, or light to dark brown in color. As is characteristic of many rodents, house mice have a long snout, small eyes, and large ears..
DIET
In the winter months, house mice forage for any type of food that is available to them. This can include food found in homes such as butter, cereals, chocolate, and anything that is high in protein and sugar. In the wild during warmer months they prefer to eat seeds, insects, grains, etc. However, house mice will scavenge for food inside man-made structures at any time of the year. House mice are able to live for long periods of time without liquid water, as they derive it from the food they eat.
HABITATS
House mice have the ability to live nearly anywhere. They can build their nests in open fields, on farmland, inside commercial properties, by bodies of water, inside homes, etc. Since house mice are warm-blooded creatures, however, when fall and winter arrive, they seek warmth and often find it in home and office environments.
PROBLEMS WITH HOUSE MICE
There are several problems that house mice can cause. The first is that because they gnaw to build their nests, various components of a building can be damaged, if not destroyed. Electrical wiring, insulation, etc. can be ruined while also posing a tremendous threat for fire hazard.
House mice are highly capable creatures and easily swim, climb, and jump, making any location a possible nesting site. They often nest in basements, attics, and crawlspaces, and are capable of ruining precious items that are not stored properly such as documents, heirlooms, paintings, and books.
BEHAVIOR
Mice will nest nearby their particular food source, and if living inside a home will forage up to 30 feet from their nesting site. They sleep for about half of the day, and are nocturnal. Adverse to bright lights, foraging is generally done at night, their presence remaining hidden from home and business owners. Females can give birth to up to ten litters every year, totaling a possible offspring count of sixty newborn house mice during her one year lifetime.
HEALTH ISSUES
House mice carry a spectrum of diseases related to viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The presence of mice in a home or office building means that contamination is highly possible. This can happen via urine, feces, and when the mice track over countertops, through cupboards, over pet dishes, across floors, etc.
A home or office that has been contaminated with house mouse urine or droppings can contract LCM - or Lymphocytic choriomeningitis after breathing in the laden air. Other diseases that humans can contract include tapeworms, salmonellosis (food poisoning), rickettsialpox, leptospirosis, ratbite fever, and ringworm.
Children are most at risk of developing severe allergies to the urine that is left by the adult males to mark their territory. Mice are also carriers of fleas, mites, lice, and ticks, which, when transported into a home or office building, can create an additional pest infestation.
SIGNS OF A HOUSE MOUSE INFESTATION
While home and business owners might never actually see a live mouse cross their path within the building, there are clues to their presence.
• Mice exude a musky odor that will become most obvious closest to the nesting site. • Dusty surfaces might reveal mice tracks left from nighttime foraging rodents. • The presence of mouse droppings (they look like ¼ inch long grains of black rice) will be present in the kitchen area, or where the mice spend most of their time. • Gnaw marks may be visible on storage containers, drywall, wood, and other surfaces. • Piles of shredded paper and other soft material is an indication of a nearby mouse nest.
PREVENTION TIPS
Due to the fact that house mice are able to squeeze their bodies through nearly imperceptibly tiny holes, preventing them completely may be impossible. However, there are solid steps a home or business owner can take to help create an environment that will not attract mice.
• Never leave garbage or trash lying around the home or yard. Always secure garbage and trash in tightly lidded cans. • Leaky pipes and faucets should be immediately repaired to stop mice from investigating the new water source. • Seal any holes that a house mouse can squeeze through, namely, any hole larger than the diameter of a pen or pencil. • Store containers and storage boxes on pallets or steel shelves to keep them off of the floor. • Keep a clean kitchen including a swept floor, clean sink, and clean countertop to dissuade house mice from venturing inside the home. • Keep lawns mowed and excess brush cleared off of the property.
HOUSE MOUSE CONTROL
Determining the difference between a mouse and a rat is a homeowner’s main dilemma where extermination is concerned. That is because species identification can play a crucial role in successfully eliminating a rodent problem.
Additionally, the impulse to simply set a couple of mouse traps is common when mice are seen by property owners. Unfortunately, this course of action is not effective in the event of an infestation. Traps alone may be able to eliminate a few individuals, but large numbers of mice typically require the services of a rodent control professional.
A licensed rodent exterminator has a variety of techniques to end the infestation. This will include methods of excluding rodents from re-entering the building as well as traps and chemical control. With all of these precautions, it is possible to return a home or office to a safe and hygienic state.
If you suspect a rodent control issue, call the professional team of licensed exterminators at SafeGuard Pest Control, LLC today. We can determine if you have a mouse or rat problem in your Yardley home or office, and then proceed to implementing the best, most effective treatments.
