Ways to prevent mice infestation

Rats and mice – the mere mention of this nuisance wildlife can bring goosebumps to any homeowner.  And who wouldn’t? Mice and rats reproduce so fast that first signs of infestation can immediately turn to a domestic nightmare in just a couple of weeks.

There are many ways to get rid of mice and prevent an infestation in your home and today, we will give you some tips on how to do just so.

1. Keep your clutter to a minimum, or at best, zero level.  Do you have stacks of old newspapers lodged somewhere in your attic? How about old clothes that you have been storing for quite some time? This type of clutter is a perfect breeding haven for these rodents. Not only that, mice and rats always look for something to sharpen their incisors and your stored clutter is a perfect sharpening tool.

2. Do not leave your food unattended. Most of us would look after our food, sealing them in containers to keep them fresh but what about your leftovers in the trashcan? Or maybe, your pet’s dinner that is just lying around on the porch? These are the greatest wildlife attractants so make sure that you attend to these, too! One way is by sealing your garbage cans so that no mice, or any wildlife animal for that matter, will have access to it. At night, tidy up any pet food lying around so that other nocturnal animals won’t go after it. Bird seed is also a favourite for mice.

3. Seal off any possible entrances. Mice and rats are tiny that they can fit in any crevice that will let them gain access to your home. Seal openings around your home that are larger than a dime to prevent entry.

These are just some tips on how to keep your house rodent-free. It is important to keep these in mind as preventive measures for any wildlife infestation. Any nuisance wildlife inside your home can pose dangers not only to your property but also your family’s health and wellness. There are a slew of zoonotic diseases that can be fatal especially if you have babies at home.

If you are already confronted with a mice infestation, call the Wildlife Technicians of Skedaddle Truro to get rid of your mice problem safely and effectively. Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians are trained to draw out these rodents from your home with proven effective and humane measures. Not only that, Skedaddle Wildlife Technicians will clear and repair any damage caused by wildlife infestation and discuss other techniques on how to protect your home from any unwanted furry visitors.  With more than twenty-six years in the industry, Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control  can easily get rid of your mice problem.

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Why Killing Mice Won't Stop Them from Infesting

So you’ve killed one and you think this is enough to get rid of mice infesting your home. You couldn’t be more wrong. They seem to be multiplying and they keep coming back to your place simply because you didn’t take the proper measures to really get rid of mice.

Once you see a pair of mice on your property, chances are they already have nests hidden in some hard to see spots in your house or office. Simply killing the mice will not eliminate the problem. There might still be young growing that can start looking for food in a few weeks.

You must either get rid of all the mice, even the babies, to stop the infestation completely. Once you remove the rodents, it is best to implement preventive methods.

Repair or Replace
Mice are tiny creatures that can enter a home through a hole the size of a dime. These rodents get in through holes for electrical wirings and plumbing. They also invade a house through holes in the wall, windows or doors.

To prevent mice from infesting your home, inspect your property and identify at-risk areas. Once you see any damage, make sure to repair or replace it to deter rodents from entering.

Areas such as basements, attics, walls and crawl spaces are prone to infestation. Have these places thoroughly checked to make sure moisture is at a minimum level and damages are repaired.

Other Tips to Keep Mice Out
As a homeowner, there are a lot of things you can do to prevent an infestation from happening. Keep your home clean and get rid of junk. Mice like hiding in dingy places. That open box with piles of papers inside can offer the perfect nesting material for a pregnant rodent.

Dark, dingy areas might also be attractive breeding ground for mice. Install lighting in attics or dens. Check your garage often also.

Use cleaning agents with strong mint or clove scent as these repel mice.

Truro Wildlife Control Services
Truro wildlife control professionals employ tried and tested methods to remove mice effectively so that they will not return. They will identify the breeding ground, and get rid of the mice without killing them.

They will also provide you with tips on how to keep mice out permanently and prevent a re-infestation. They attack the root of the problem and fix it from there.

As the cliché goes, prevention is better than a cure; the case is the same with mice infestation. Killing them is only a short-term answer to a long-term problem. Implement the above mentioned ways to prevent mice from invading your home.

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10 Things You Should Do to Keep Rodents Out of Your House

Rodents can cause harm to you and your family with the number of diseases they carry. They are also very destructive to properties. For this reason, many consider them pests and getting rid of mice is a top priority at the first sign of an infestation.

As with most problems, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. So, it is better to keep mice from infesting your house instead of waiting to remove them.

What are the different ways to prevent mice from invading your home?

1. Keep mice away by securing garbage bins that contain food. Your house will attract not only rodents, but also all sorts of wildlife when they smell food nearby. Lock bins and keep food properly secured until the collector arrives.
2. Patch and cover all holes around your home to keep them out. Small openings are access points of mice as they can get into your house through holes the size of a dime. Repair damaged screens and install door sweeps as additional measures for prevention.
3. Make sure to keep firewood at least 20 feet away from your home and trim shrubbery to limit the hiding places of rodents.
4. You have to keep the attic, crawl spaces and basement properly ventilated and dry to prevent rodent infestation.
5. Moisture creates the perfect breeding ground for pests; have leaking pipes and clogged drains fixed to avoid infestations.
6. Replace or repair damaged weather stripping and/or loose mortar in the basement and windows. These may increase the moisture in your house and make it easier for rodents to breed.
7. Make sure to inspect groceries, boxes and other types of packages you or other people bring into your home. These may contain rodents that you were unable to see, which may start an infestation.
8. Check dark areas often. Mice breed in dark areas often inaccessible to humans. Install lighting in areas prone to wildlife nesting or denning.
9. Spray peppermint around your home; rodents do not like the smell of mint. To keep mice away you can add a few drops of mint to your cleaning product. You can also sprinkle pulverized peppermint onto potential areas of infestation.
10. Consult with professional Truro wildlife control to implement different ways to keep rodents out of your property.

These ten ways will help prevent rodent infestation; it is best to implement preventive methods rather than wait until they start breeding. With the help of a Truro wildlife control expert like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, you no longer have to worry about mice or any kind of pest infestation, as they will provide you with tips or tools.

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Common Rodent-Borne Diseases | Skedaddle Wildlife Control Truro

Rodents are pesky creatures that leave behind a trail of urine and feces and increasing the odds of acquiring all sorts of harmful diseases. Several wildlife species fall into the rodent category, the most common are squirrels and mice. The number cause for concern when people call to get rid of mice in their homes is that these little critters are carriers of many types of diseases.

                                                       

Common Rodent-Borne Diseases

Rodents are responsible for approximately 35 kinds of diseases, either directly through food contamination with their waste, or indirectly through parasites that they carry. These are some of the most common diseases that may affect you and your family, if your home is infested with rodents:

Rat-Bite Fever

This ailment is characterized by the onset of fever after getting bit by a rat or eating food or drinking water contaminated by rat feces or urine. The symptoms come out 2 to 10 days after the bite or contamination. Symptoms of this disease include: sudden onset of fever and chills, vomiting, muscle pains, and headache. Other symptoms occur between 2 to 4 days after the onset of fever. These symptoms include swollen joints and rashes on feet and hands.

To get proper treatment, visit your physician immediately. To prevent this disease from infection you, avoid contact with rats, wear gloves and immediately wash your hands if ever you have to handle any rats, and drink water or milk from safe sources.

Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis, or more commonly known as Salmonella, can be caused by ingesting food contaminated with rodent feces.  Symptoms of Salmonella include blood poisoning, nausea, vomiting, onset of abdominal pain, and diarrhea. To prevent Salmonella infection, make sure that food is properly and safely secured from rats and that living and common areas are properly cleaned.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is characterized by vomiting, chills, diarrhea, and myalgia. This disease causes a mild to severe infection from a rodent bite or ingesting contaminated water or food. You can avoid getting this disease through proper sanitation and food handling and storage.

Rickettsialpox

This disease is characterized by chickenpox-like symptoms after getting bitten by an infected rodent. Other symptoms of this disease include: chills, muscle pain, fever, rashes, and discomfort in light.

To prevent the spread of disease or infection, always make sure that you are drinking water from a safe source, store food in a place where mice cannot reach them, and sanitize living areas and food storages on a regular basis.

If you find clues in your home that tell you that it has been invaded by rodents, it is best to call in professional mice control or wildlifecontrol experts. Companies like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control have years of experience when it comes to getting rid of mice and other rodents.

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Addressing the Garden Mice Problem

Garden Mice eating a tomato. (via Youtube)

Mice have had conflicts with man since the beginning of time. They have been known to carry diseases like leptospirosis and the bubonic plague among roughly forty other diseases. They can cause many sleepless nights to homeowners who are worried about their properties. There have been incidents when mice have caused property fires because of their incessant gnawing of electrical wires. While most would think that the mice problem can only be found inside the home, there are many cases when they would infest your garden as well.

Garden mice have one thing in common with their relatives found indoors – their search for a food supply. Your garden could be one of the perfect targets for mice infestation especially if you are growing vegetables. While they are attracted to your leftover food, your bread crumbs under the table or that stash of cereal in your pantry, vegetables in your garden can be a good supply for them, too!

To check whether you are infested with garden mice, do a quick check of your produce: see if there are scrape marks on your vegetables. If there are, there is a big chance that your garden might be infested and your veggies, contaminated.

After determining if you indeed have garden mice at home, check out these measures to address your problem:

Look for nests of grass that may pile up in your garden. Rake away the leaves so that they won’t serve as nests to these critters. If you have bushes and small plants, trim the lower part so that they don’t serve as dark, hiding places for the mice to nest in.
Protect your crops with SPCA-approved netting. These are commercially available and also apply to other small wildlife hunting for food in your garden.

There are many other commercially available traps and baits designed for getting rid of mice but they are often ineffective and inhumane. When it comes to getting rid of mice, your best chance lies with the professionals. They can help protect your garden and your home in general – ensuring that these rodents don’t target your house once they’ve had their fill of your garden. Montreal wildlife control services such as Skeddadle Humane Wildlife Control can help.

Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control is Canada’s largest wildlife control company and they employ humane methods that minimize injury and stress to the animals. We are also backed by licensing from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of the Environment so you are sure that you get the best possible solution in addressing your wildlife problem.

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Using Old-Fashioned Mouse Traps VS Hiring Rodent Control Companies

The moment you discover that you have a mouse infestation in your home, your first instinct would probably to find a way to get rid of them fast. And rightly so, mice can carry up to 25 kinds of diseases including some fatal ones. They are also a fire hazard with their constant chewing of walls and wires.

Trying to remove them yourself may mean going to a hardware store and picking up a good old-fashioned mouse trap. But is this really the best way to handle the situation? Most commercially available mouse traps are extremely inhumane. They cause the animal to suffer and may even injure you.

Differences Between Hiring Animal Control Specialists & Mouse Traps

Mouse traps work via a spring action that traps the critter with a piece of metal. This often ends up hurting and even more likely killing the mouse on the spot. The downside to using this method is the limit in the number you can place in different part of your house for better coverage. For a mouse trap to be effective, you will also need to use food as bait. You will end up spending more money when you use a mouse trap, because of the food you have to use and the  number of traps you need.

While it may be effective at catching a few mice, these traps also pose a danger to you and your family. First, it can accidentally snap your finger during set-up. Second, when small kids and pets come into contact with the traps, they can be easily be hurt by it. You also need to spend time keeping track of the mouse traps you set up. If it ends up catching and killing your target rodent, it needs to be removed from the premises carefully to avoid spreading any diseases or having the dead mouse create odor as it starts to decay.

Hiring professionals to get rid of mice, on the other hand, takes away a lot of the hassles of catching mice yourself. They often use more humane methods for live trapping the animals. Even better, they can help you detect how the mice are accessing your home and help you set up exclusion barriers.

By hiring professionals, they will also help you prevent mice from coming back to your property. They will teach you where to place food where the rodents will have a hard time getting to them.

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