House mice are troublesome pests to have. They can damage your property, disturb your peace, and even spread disease. If you’ve ever awakened to the sound of scurrying and squeaking noises in your walls, found storage boxes chewed up, or saw a mouse dart across the floor, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans deal with house mice every year. If you’ve got house mice in Salt Lake City, here’s everything you need to know.
About House Mice
House mice are small rodents with brownish-gray fur and a pointed snout. They range in size from about 2 to 4 inches in length, not including their tail. House mice are believed to be the most common mammal in North America, so it’s likely that if there are signs of a small rodent inhabiting your property, it’s probably a house mouse. House mice are perfectly adapted to survive in manmade environments. They can enter buildings through incredibly small cracks and holes, able to squeeze through entry points as small as a quarter-inch in diameter, or about the width of a dime. If they can get their heads through a hole, they can fit their entire body.
Once indoors, house mice will often build their nests in fortified, out of reach areas like walls and attics. Your property is a reliable shelter for house mice, and a great source of food. Mice are avid foragers and will eat just about anything they can get their paws on. If you leave crumbs around, you’re inviting house mice for a snack. But house mice aren’t just annoying, they can actually be dangerous to your health and safety.
Dangers Of House Mice
House mice are known to carry a number of harmful pathogens. Contact with mouse feces or urine can transmit salmonella and E. coli bacteria. When you have house mice, the mice themselves aren’t the only carriers of diseases. The parasites that mice bring with them are also a threat. Ticks and fleas can spread in your home as a result of a house mice infestation. These parasites pose the risk of transmitting Lyme disease, plague, and typhus to humans.
And if their capacity to spread disease weren’t bad enough, mice are also highly destructive. As rodents, mice must constantly gnaw in order to trim their teeth, and so they will chew through just about any structural material to satiate themselves. They will chew up wood, paper, cardboard, plastic, and even electrical wiring.
Mice are prolific breeders, and once a mouse enters your home, it’s only a matter of time before a “mouse” becomes “mice”. Just one female mouse can give birth to more than 30 offspring a year.If you’re concerned with house mice on your property, the following are a few steps you can take to prevent an infestation:
- Identify And Seal All Points Of Entry: House mice only need a hole the size of a dime to get inside. Look for small openings around your property and seal with a sturdy metal material. Mice will simply chew through wood or plastic.
- Store Food Properly: Glass or metal containers are best for protecting food from mice, but a hard plastic container will still offer better protection than the paperboard boxes your cereal and snacks are packaged in.
- Clean-Up: Vacuum floors and carpets, wipe down surfaces where you prepare or eat food, and make sure that no crumbs or food scraps are around to attract mice.
You can take precautions to protect your property from house mice, but the most effective way to get rid of mice is to contact the professionals. White Knight Pest Control can solve your mouse problem and offer preventative rodent control plans to keep them from returning. If the mice are trying to take over, call White Knight Pest Control for the rescue today!