How Dangerous Is It To Have Mice In My Auburn Home?

Have you ever considered adopting a mouse as a pet? Do you have one right now? If so, would you ever let it out of its cage to wander around your home, unsupervised? Absolutely not. Why? Since mice are not naturally pets, their instincts drive them to chew on everything in sight, eat things they shouldn’t, and roam freely wherever their heart (or stomach) tells them to. Another problem that comes with letting mice roam freely is that they become dangerous. Here is how these pests become dangerous inside Auburn homes and some ways to keep the wild mice in Alabama outside where they belong.

What Makes Wild Mice Dangerous?

Mice are naturally filthy creatures that spend a lot of their time crawling through trash, over dead animals, and in other bacteria-ridden areas. While in these areas, they will consume nasty things like rotting chicken, decomposing fruits and vegetables, and expired dairy products. This type of behavior leaves these pests teeming with disease-causing organisms inside and out. The kicker is, all mice have to do to get you sick is to "use the restroom" inside your home. When cleaning up mouse urine and fecal droppings, be sure to use safety equipment to reduce your chances of getting sick.

Other Problems Mice Cause

Apart from being dangerous to your health, mice cause many other problems around homes. For starters, these pests chew on things constantly. Sometimes they chew to serve a purpose such as when they gnaw through a wall or into a box of food. Other times they chew just to chew, like on the legs of furniture or on baseboards. On rare occasions, mice gnaw through electrical wires and utility pipes. This can lead to electrical fires, water damage, and other serious problems.

The Difficulties In Eliminating Mice

Mice are adept at two things, staying out of sight and avoiding danger. To stay out of sight, these pests hide during the day inside wall voids and in other secluded areas. It is only after the sun has gone down and you are fast asleep that they come out and cause trouble. As for avoiding danger, it is not uncommon for mice to trigger snap traps without injuring themselves. They do this to consume the bait meant to draw them to their demise.

Prevention Tips To Keep Mice Out

Although mice are difficult to eliminate, there are several things you can do to keep these pests from invading your home in the first place. Here are a few great exclusion and prevention tips our experts recommend you try:

• Check your home’s exterior foundation for gaps, cracks, and openings. Seal these using a caulking gun and some steel wool.
• Inspect your home’s window/door screens and door sweeps. Make sure they are in good condition.
• Address moisture problems such as water build-up, leaky piping, and high humidity.
• Invest in trash cans that have rodent-proof lids.
• Store food away in air-tight containers.
• Keep your living areas and yard as clean as possible and clutter-free.
• Repackage food stored in cardboard boxes and plastic bags into heavy-duty containers.

A Better Answer To Mouse Infestations

If you are hearing pitter-pattering at night, finding holes through your walls, and discovering damaged boxes of food, you might have a mouse infestation. Find out for certain by getting the Auburn, AL rodent control experts at Prewett Pest Control involved. One of our friendly and highly-trained technicians would be happy to inspect your property and suggest courses of action to eliminate and prevent unwanted guests like mice.