Spring is in the air! Birds are singing. The warm breezes are blowing. The snow is all but melted away. It is time to move everything in your home outside for the summer, right? What? You don't pick up all your belongings and move out of your home every time it warms up outside? Why not? Is it because you might need the shelter of your house again when the weather turns colder, or wetter, or worse? Well, as it turns out, mice don't want to move out when the weather warms up either. They are perfectly happy to reside in your nice cozy home with you all year long.
Mice like to chew on things, things like your home, your belongings, your treasured keepsakes, and your electrical wiring. Since they are rodents with ever-growing incisors, they will chew on anything. And, when they do, they will not only damage and destroy items, they could spark a house fire.
Mice do not come alone. When there are mice in your home, you can be certain that secondary pests came alone with them, like, mites, ticks, and fleas. Did you know one mouse can carry as many as 100 ticks in its fur? That's scary stuff.
Mice bring bacteria in with them. They roam through filthy places, picking up bacteria, and then travel inside your home over counter tops, inside silverware drawers, and in other places where they deposit feces and urine. This can lead to illness and flu-like symptoms for everyone in the home.
Mice spread diseases. They are known to spread rat-bite fever, plague, hantavirus and more. This last one can lead to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a dangerous respiratory condition that can be fatal. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, chills, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
Here are some steps you can take to try to keep mice out of your home.
Remove clutter and overgrown areas in your yard
Trim back vegetation from your perimeter and remove food and water sources
Examine the outside of your home and seal up any gaps and cracks you find where insects and mice might squeeze in
If you are dealing with an active infestation of mice already, it is best to call in the professionals.
While do-it-yourself mouse removal will get rid of some mice, it is unlikely you will be able to get rid of all the mice nesting in your home. If you live in our New York service area, let the team at Thomas Pest Services help. We've been assisting homeowners since 1949. We have the experience to make sure all those mice are removed, the first time.