Mice — and other rodents — tend to live off the generosity of others. If you see one little scavenger mouse in your house, it is almost certain it brought a family with it. Pro-Staff, your Des Moines mice exterminator, answers your questions about what causes an infestation of mice and how to keep your home rodent-free.
Food
If you have children, chances are you have cereal bits crammed in the corner or last week’s snack shoved between the sofa cushions. Whatever the cause of food being left in the open, mice will find it. Mice are great climbers and can access many trash cans easily. During your nightly kitchen clean-up, tie up your garbage and toss the bag into your outdoor trash can.
If you see a mouse scurrying across the floor in any room of your house, move as much food as possible into the refrigerator. Mice even eat through bread wrappers if the bread is on the counter by using drawer knobs or pulls as steps to access countertops. Leaving wrapped food in drawers often will not prevent mice from finding it, either.
Standing Water
Leaving toys or tires outside so sprinklers or the rain can puddle on an inverted surface gives mice a great place to stop for a quick drink. They’re not picky about where their water comes from or if they’re sharing it with other animals. Therefore, it’s also important to keep your pets’ water bowls outside as well as a preventive from the mice inside using them as a source of water.
Cozy Spaces
Female mice often come inside to browse for a perfect nesting spot. To build a nest, they’ll search around the house for materials. Keep all off-season clothing in airtight containers and clean under all the beds in your house to ensure mice have no reason for using your house as a birthing center.
Considering a mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime, it does not take much to entice a mouse into a climate-controlled area. Any holes drilled through your flooring for wiring, gas lines, electric lines, et cetera, should be caulked or temporarily stuffed with steel wool to prevent mice from entering. Be sure you have no holes in the walls behind your cabinets. If mice are in your cabinets, they are able to crawl into your linen drawer and nest in your kitchen towels, then rummage through the other drawers for sources of food.
Keep an Eye on Your Yard
Wood piles are ideal for sheltering from weather and prey animals. Keep all wood far from your house so you do not inadvertently let in a mouse while gathering wood. They also find things to eat outside. Mice love bird feed, and birds are messy eaters. Once twilight hits, mice will scamper across the lawn to the grass directly below your bird feeder and feast. Although you may love seeing birds flit around outside your picture window, store the bird feed in an airtight container and take down the feeder if you notice the presence of mice.
Mice are more than just annoying. They carry parasites and diseases that can affect your family’s health. Be preventative in your safety by contacting Des Moines’s mice exterminator at 515-279-7378 or contact us online.