Essential Tips for Effective Mice Control in Residential Areas

With spring in full swing many critters are looking for food and places to nest and one of the most common pests that start to invade homes in this season are mice. A mouse infestation carries many risks for those in residential areas. They serve as disease vectors, carrying pathogens like hantavirus and bacteria like salmonella. They pass these diseases on to humans by contaminating food, surfaces or equipment. They can also present a fire risk by chewing through wires. It goes without saying that if you have a mouse infestation you will want to get those little critters out of your home. In today’s blog we will be providing you with some essential tips for effective mice control in residential areas.

Look For Signs of Mouse Infestation

There are several things you can look for if you think you might be dealing with a mouse infestation. These include things like looking for mouse droppings in places they can frequent like near food sources, looking for gnaw marks on furniture or food packaging, hearing strange noises at night like scratching or squeaking, keeping an eye out for mouse tracks, looking for urine stains or noticing unusual pet behavior like pawing under appliances or unusual barking.

Keep Mice From Getting In

One of the main ways to deal with infestations and prevent future infestations is to prevent mice from getting into your property in the first place. You can do this by sealing cracks, installing door sweeps, installing screen doors and windows, making sure that vents are covered, trimming back any bushes or trees that are too close to your home and storing any firewood you have on pallets and away from your home.

Maintain Home Cleanliness

Mice love clutter, crumbs and general mess and one of the best ways to prevent a mouse infestation from ever occurring in the first place is to maintain home cleanliness. This can involve things like making sure your food is stored correctly, emptying your garbage’s promptly and regularly decluttering areas, especially ones where there isn’t a constant human presence like garages and storage rooms.

Use Traps

Traps are one of the most essential methods of removing mice that have entered your home. The cheapest and most common traps available are snap traps but there are also electrical traps and even live catch traps if you want to be more humane. Set these traps in areas where you have seen or suspect mice activity and bait them with high interest foods like peanut butter or seeds.

Call a Professional Exterminator

If you suspect you have a large infestation or are uncomfortable or unable to enact some of the other preventative measures yourself, you should contact a professional pest control company. Pest Control Professionals will have the knowledge, tools and experience necessary to deal with your infestation and help you prevent infestations in the future.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with some useful tips for dealing with mice in your home. If you have any questions about how to handle a mouse infestation or any other pest infestation, please feel free to contact us.

Gilpin’s Pest Control is a family-owned business operating on the Lower Mainland in Greater Vancouver and the BC Interior including Kamloops, Revelstoke, and Sicamous. After 35 years in the business, we do a stellar job and are proud of our rapid response time. 

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to us about pest control needs, please call us toll-free at (800) 770-2428.