Cold weather will drive most insects and animals, especially mice, straight to your home to find warmth. If they are also able to find a food source there, then they will surely move in.

Signs that you have mice in your house include the presence of mouse droppings and bits of chewed-up food packages. Also, you can hear them on your ceiling or walls. They creep around the garage, kitchen, pantry, cellar, and even in your bedroom. It usually takes just one mouse to make you feel uncomfortable.

Mice carry bacteria, diseases, parasites, and viruses. If you breathe in small particles from their saliva, urine, droppings, or nesting materials, you can get sick. These particles can get into the air when you vacuum or sweep the floor. Thus, you should spray disinfectants in areas where mice may have been to prevent these particles from flying around. You should also wear gloves and a mask when cleaning your home.

Most homeowners don’t consider mice to be a huge problem, but just a pair of mice can already do a lot of damage. They can actually leave 18,000 droppings and eat four pounds of food in a span of six months. Also, they can multiply fast. In just three months, six mice can become 60.
How to Keep Mice Out of Your House

1. Mice Exclusion

Excluding mice can be difficult as they can easily fit through a quarter inch opening. Look for areas where they can gain access and block these areas using spray foam insulation.
Spray foam insulation is probably the best insulation for mice. Expanding foam will be used to block holes, but since mice can chew through it, you have to make it stronger by integrating thick mesh hardware cloth that mice can’t chew through.

Mice usually enter under the sink due to the fact that the sink pipe doesn’t have a good cut around it. Thus, you must pack it with steel wool and mount it with spray foam.

2. Sanitation

Clean your house regularly, including the basement and garage. Remove any trash and clutter. Remember that mice love messy places. Moreover, you should store food sources and pet food in sealed containers.

3. Call in Professional Help

Pest control professionals will help find the mice’s entryway. They will check for spaces or cracks around pipes, vents, wires, doors, and windows. After that, they will block all possible entrances with mesh wiring and spray foam insulation.

Mice will only need a tiny crack in your home’s foundation or wall to get in. You can trap mice, but when you don’t do something to prevent them from getting in, this will just become an on-going problem. The only way to stop an infestation is to maintain a sealed home.

So make sure to let pest control experts check your home at least once a year for cracks where mice can sneak in. To learn more about how to control a mice infestation, contact your local Modesto pest control company, AAI Pest today.