Mice are adorable as the subject of a Disney movie but not so adorable when they are in your kitchen. Mice contaminate food sources with their droppings spreading salmonella, tapeworms, and other infectious diseases including Bordetellosis, Encephalomyocarditis, Leptospirosis, Pseudorabies , Salmonellosis, Swine dysentery, Swine erysipelas, Toxoplasmosis, Trichinosis. This makes keeping mice out of your house a pretty high priority!
The best way keep your home free of mice is to encourage them not to move in at all. You should block off any place you believe mice might be entering such as around pipes under the kitchen sink and anywhere plumbing or wiring enters the house. Since the house mouse or field mouse can slip through an opening of just ¼”, there is no physical way to keep mice out entirely. Simply making your home less desirable will convince mice to look for a better environment.
Keeping your home and kitchen clean and free of food sources for the mice will help. Do the dishes, don’t leave food out, and keep your floors and counters clean. Mice graze, eating very small amounts of food at a time, so even crumbs will be a banquet for mice. Mice have very poor vision and rely on their sense of smell to identify food sources. This makes cleaning well very important.
Pet food can attract mice so feed your pets what they can eat and clean up any leftovers. Store all food in mouse proof containers. Bird Food attracts mice to your yard, garage and house. Bird seed is an excellent mouse food and you may want to eliminate this attraction to mice. Cereal boxes and other food packaging won’t deter a mouse. You may need to repack food in sturdy Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers to keep mice out.
Mice are nocturnal, so they will come out when you go to bed and you may hear a mouse scurrying around at night, or be surprised if you turn on the lights suddenly. Mice leave scent trails of where they have been and repeat their patterns nightly. The trails also signal other mice that “the party is here” and when one mouse takes up residence, you can be sure more mice are to follow.
Mice breed like crazy. Mice generally have about 6 babies per litter which takes 18-21 days gestation time. Mice can become pregnant again 48 hours after giving birth. The potential mouse population explosion is frightening. You do not want to be the maternity home for mice.
You can keep your home mouse free by making sure it is not a four star mouse resort with sources of food and comfort. By keeping your home clean and preventing access to food you should be able to become and stay mouse free. If you do find mice or evidence of mice in your house, start cleaning and your first line of defense against mice.
When you feel the need to see a mouse you can always go to the movies!
References: Pest Control Canada
