Commercial and Residential Pest Control Services | Dodson Bros. Exterminating Co., Inc.
As temperatures drop, mice will begin scavenging for food sources, warmth, and shelter. Unfortunately, this means they may end up in unwanted spaces like your home. Dealing with a mouse infestation isn’t fun, and it can be difficult to get rid of them once they’ve taken up residence in your home.
Today we’ll discuss the basics of mouse behavior in winter, including signs of mouse activity in and around your house. We’ll also give you a few tips on the best ways to keep mice out of your home.
Contrary to popular belief, mice don’t actually hibernate or conserve energy during the winter. In fact, they remain just as active as they are in the warmer months. As the weather becomes cooler, mice start preparing to survive winter by finding places that offer reliable food sources and shelter.
However, mice typically don’t arrive alone — they bring a combination of disease, food contamination, and damage with them.
Mice can pose major problems for homeowners, so it’s important to catch their presence early to avoid massive issues down the road. Luckily, there are a few early warning signs that mice have entered your home.
Due to their small size, mice can enter homes quite easily. Just like with any other pest, prevention is always better than treatment. Mice are known to carry diseases and contaminate food and surfaces with urine, droppings, and saliva, so it’s important to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Here are a few strategies to safeguard your home from mice this winter:
Seal entry points: Seal off any potential entry points that mice may be entering your house through, including cracks around doors, holes in walls, and utility line entrances. Use materials such as steel wool, wire mesh, or caulk for best results.
Be careful with bird seed storage: If you use bird feed around your home, be careful where you store it. Mice enjoy it just as much as birds do.
Trim vegetation around your home: Mice often use shrubs and other vegetation for warmth and shelter before entering your home. Keeping them trimmed and as far away from your home’s exterior as possible helps reduce access points for mice.
Eliminate clutter: Mice are always looking for warm, hidden areas to hide in. Eliminating any unnecessary clutter around your home gives them fewer areas to take up residence in.
Utilize proper food storage: Mice are attracted to human food as well as pet food, and they’re willing to chew through plastic to get it. Store food in airtight glass or metal containers to keep mice from rummaging through your food. Also make sure to clean regularly and take out the trash can when it gets full to prevent mice from smelling leftovers.
If you’re finding mice in your home, you may be tempted to try to solve the problem yourself. However, many DIY mouse control solutions only work temporarily, and they may not eliminate the entire infestation. Your best bet is to contact a pest control professional who can perform a thorough inspection and help you create a custom plan to eliminate the mice in and around your home.
At Dodson Pest Control, our team of experienced pest control professionals can help you treat your rodent problem and provide guidance for future preventative measures. We’re highly familiar with the ways mice enter homes and we can address the problem before it becomes out of control.
