Mice inflict more financial and emotional damage on American homeowners than any other pest. Every year over 21 million homes deal with mouse infestations, and these furry little invaders cause close to 20 billion dollars in damages.
Mice, like all rodents, are born with front teeth that grow continuously, up to 14 inches a year, and are forced to grind them down by gnawing on walls, furniture, and books in your home. For an inexplicable reason, they have a taste for live house wiring and are the second most common cause of house fires in the United States.
In their pursuit of food, mice contaminate a home's surfaces with pathogens and bacteria they carry on their bodies and will happily chew up your stores of cereal and seeds.
Let's talk about common house mice and their behavior, diseases they carry, what keeps mice away from your house, and, if prevention efforts fail, how to find reliable pest control in Ocean Isle Beach.
Habits And Behaviors Of Common House Mice
House mice are small rodents in Ocean Isle Beach, usually ranging between 2 1/2 to 3 3/4 inches in size, with short, round bodies and large eyes and ears. Their coat is typically dusty grey with cream-colored undersides.
The house mouse, as its name suggests, is commonly found in our homes. They breed rapidly, often having up to 10 litters a year, with 10 to 12 mice in each litter.
House mice are social animals, often living in sizable colonies or social groups. The mouse odor you usually smell when the mouse infestation is advanced is a colony marking its territory with pheromones in urine.
House mice are nocturnal, preferring to rely on their overdeveloped sense of smell instead of weak eyesight, and often go unnoticed for a long time thanks to being active during the night when most of us sleep.
The Dangerous Diseases Mice Are Known To Spread
Mice carry a number of serious and infectious diseases. Living in as close proximity as they do to humans, these diseases pose a serious threat to people living in a house with a mouse infestation.
Some of the diseases house mice carry include:
- Leptospirosis
- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM)
- Tularemia
- Salmonellosis
People with weaker immune systems or those affected by asthma are at risk of being triggered by exposure to mouse feces or saliva.
Five Simple Yet Effective Mouse Prevention Tips For Around The House
It's much easier to prevent mice from getting into your Ocean Isle Beach home than to attempt and evict a colony that's already there, so let's look at some commonsense tips to drive mice away from your home:
- Keep human and pet food in tightly sealed glass or metal containers to avoid tempting rodents into your house.
- Fix plumbing issues leaks from which might attract mice.
- Seal cracks in the outside walls of your home.
- Make sure window screens are in good shape to keep mice out.
- Cover vents and chimney with metal mesh or grates.
Mice are attracted to your home in hopes of easy access to food and shelter. If you remove those tempting lures from their sight or make getting in difficult, there is a good chance they will move on.
The Most Effective Mouse Control For Ocean Isle Beach Homes
As a homeowner, your best bet when it comes to mouse control is to keep them outside your walls, but if you start to notice signs of a mouse infestation, it's time to give a professional a call before the colony gets out of hand.
At Jay Taylor Exterminating, we've been helping Ocean Isle Beach homeowners rid their homes of mice and other disgusting invaders for many years and would love to give you a hand with an infestation in your home.
If you're fighting a losing battle with mice invading your Ocean Isle Beach home, give us a call today, and we'll clear the little invaders out!