How to Prevent Mice from entering Your Home This Winter
The leaves start to turn the beautiful colors of Fall and as the weather turns colder, mice look for a new home. Mice look for a place to over winter that provides warmth, shelter, and food. Most often their target will be Residential Homes.
Mice can cause extensive damage to residential homes and businesses with their urine and feces. Their gnawing activity on utility pipes and electrical wiring can cause indoor flooding, fires and power shortages. Mice are prolific breeders and their numbers increase rapidly. Mice also can transmit diseases like Hantavirus and salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces.
“Once mice become established inside a home, they can be extremely difficult to control.”
Tips for Rodent Proofing Your Home
- Make sure your exterior envelope is secure- Inspect the exterior foundation of your home for possible entry points. Mice only require ¼ inch opening to gain entry into your home. Close and repair any holes or openings by using steel wool or hardware cloth or caulking. Make sure your screens are tightly secure.
- Make sure you do not create a harbourage area for mice- Keep your yard free of clutter so you are not creating a harbourage area for mice to nest. Keep tightly sealed lids on garbage cans. Store firewood away from your home. Firewood is an ideal hideout for mice. Keep grass short and trim bottom of hedges or bushes to expose soil beneath and eliminate rodent harborage areas.
- Be careful with Bird Feeders- Bird Feeders can attract mice to your property. As the birds are feeding the bird seed will fall to the ground which will give mice a food supply. Mice are excellent climbers!
- The Garage- Mice love bird seed, grass seed and pet food. Make sure that these items are properly sealed in your garage with tightly fitted lids. Elevate and store items off the ground.
- Door Seals- Proper door seals to your exterior doors and garage doors will prevent rodents from gaining entry. Make sure that your weather stripping is properly in tact and your vents are tightly sealed.
Tip from the JAPCO Man- “Be careful on Halloween night when opening and closing your doors. This is an ideal time for rodents to gain entry into your homes!”
Ask about our Home Protection Plans to ensure that your home is properly rodent proofed to ensure that mice do not find their way into your home!
JAPCO offers closure services and door seals!
Contact JAPCO Pest Control today for all your
Rodent Solutions!
Rock Exterior Bait Stations look like landscape rocks.
Some areas are more prone to repeated rodent problems, as they are close to wooded areas. Exterior bait stations are ideal as a first point of defense.