What do mice do in fall season ?

Now that summer has come to an end and that the temperatures are getting colder, mice are looking for a home for the winter season. Where could they possibly stay during the cold? Fortunately, they found a small opening between two bricks! Congratulations, you are now the owner of a mouse family that does not pay rent.

Here’s the MBM tips for September

A long-term lease with these rodents

No one wants to end up with an infestation of mice. Unfortunately, when the temperatures are cooler, the mice are looking for a place to stay. The smallest openings (even of the size of a 10 cents) lets these little creatures sneak into your house.

Your new tenants can regularly have babies. We’re talking between 3 to 12 babies per litter. Five weeks after birth, theses young rodents can also breed. It’s easy to end up with more than one generation of mice!

How to recognize the presence of mice?

Normally, a good indication of an infestation regards the rodents defecation. They look like dark brown rice grain. It is possible that at night you hear scratches or noises in the walls of your house. Depending on the level of infestation, you may find food packaging destroyed or objects damaged. You might also smell the bad odor they leave behind them.

Tips and tricks for prevention

Inspect all of your exterior walls, make sure there’s no openings and check your caulking.
Close any openings, even small ones. This way, you will avoid other types of infestation.
Prune your trees that come into contact with your house and it is highly recommended that you remove the vines from your walls.
Do not leave wood under your deck and maintain your lawn.
Check intake openings such as the dryer hose or the heat pump hose. Make sure that it is not possible to enter trough the holes made to let theses wires or pipes pass.

Do you really want to keep your tenants ?

Of course, these little beasts can appear to be cute for some people. Be careful! Mice transmit diseases and can cause damage to buildings. They may also have ticks on their coats. The Deer Mouse, for example, is the main vector of hantaviruses causing severe breathing problems.

Did you know that a single mouse can produce up to 4 liters of urine in your walls per year?

Did you know that a single mouse can also produce up to 18,000 droppings a year?

They make an average of 10 to 11 ml of urine (equivalent to one vial of eye drop) and 45 to 50 droppings a day.

It would be the same thing if we’ve had pour four milk pouches and a big rice bag in your walls.

Now, take the number of mice you currently have at home and do the math. It’s the total number of poop and urine you get at the end of a single year.