New England is home to several species of mice, including the common house mouse, deer mouse, and white-footed mouse. Each species has unique characteristics and behaviors that can impact your home. Understanding these differences is crucial for effective pest control.
House mice can vary in color from brown to grey and typically have white underbellies. Adults are typically 3-4 inches in length and ½ to 1 ounce in size. Mice have very poor vision but powerful hearing and sense of smell.
Mice can be particularly destructive to our food supplies such as grain and crops because of their numbers and food preferences are similar to ours. They can also cause damage to our food supply and our homes due to contamination by their droppings and urine. Mice have pointed snouts and small round ears and their tail will have some hair on it. Mice can be distinguished from baby rats by the size and location of their ears and baby rats have hairless tails.
Mouse populations can explode very quickly under the proper conditions. Mice become sexually mature and able to breed when there are about 2 months old. Babies or “pinkies” are born after about 20 days and there will often be 10-12 in each litter. Mice will breed all year long as long as there are male mice available.
Mice are incontinent and will defecate constantly on many surfaces and along their travel paths. Their droppings can contain many potential risks such as Hanta Virus, toxoplasmosis, typhus, leptospirosis, etc. Special care to disinfect their droppings needs to be taken prior to removal.
Mice will typically nest within 10-15 feet from their entry points and their food sources. Finding multiple locations of large amounts of droppings can indicate more than one group or family of mice, since they are highly social mammals. Nests are often built with insulation, shredded papers, scraps of cloth etc. And since mice are mammals, just like we are, they want to be inside when the weather is bad and food is hard to locate outside.
Control options range from trapping, stategic bait placements, exclusion services along with our professional pest control services. Choosing the right method depends on the severity of the infestation and your specific needs.
Implementing effective prevention strategies is key to keeping your home safe from mice. Regular inspections and maintenance can help identify potential entry points before they become a problem.
If you are interested in getting a free quote for pest services or have questions about your existing service, please call us or fill out the form below and we will get back to you quickly.