This is How Mice Keep Getting Into Your Washington D.C. Home
01/30/2022
It is estimated the more than 20 million homes in the U.S. each year are infiltrated by rodents such as mice and rats. Mice are small rodents that ...
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Many homeowners do not react the way they should to a mouse climbing in their walls. We think, "great! We have a mouse," and go grab a few traps at the store. Why do we think laying a couple traps in the back of the sink cabinet is going to protect us from mice? Because we don't truly understand the threat. We think we are protecting ourselves against inconvenience. It is a pain to deal with a mouse thumping and scraping in the wall, or on the ceiling. And, even more frustrating to find a hole chewed through the oatmeal box. Mice can be frustrating. But that is not the real threat mice pose to families.
Here is the secret rodents don't want you to know about themselves...they are nasty! This isn't Micky Mouse, or that cute little mouse from Ratatouille. This isn't even the lovable, furry mouse you saw running on the wheel at the pet store. Domesticated rats and mice are actually quite pleasant to have as a pet. But the mouse in your walls isn't the same adorable creature. Wild animals have scavenging habits, and mice and rats are one of the worst. Their superior GI tract allows them to eat some of the grossest things you can imagine. That is why you'll find them in a bacteria infested garbage bin, or crawling in a sewer pipe. They rather enjoy it--not unlike a pig rolling around in sun heated slop. This behavior is what make them a threat to your family. The mouse that just feasted on a five day old piece of meat loaf, and slid over a maggot infested clump of mayonnaise, is the same rodent sliding over your plates and silverware.
Sadly, our GI Tract is not so robust. That bacteria can produce some undesirable health problems like: dysentery, pneumonia, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections--to name a few. If you get the wrong rodent living in your home, it can be far worse.
The solution is not to get a couple traps, and hope for the best. You don't need even one mouse or rat livinging your home. Protect and seal your exterior walls and foundation before fall, when rodents begin searching for a place to spend the winter. Look in hard to see places, like under a deck, porch, patio, or stairwell. If a mouse has been chewing its way into your house, it did it under some protective covering. Get a strong flashlight and look in those dark places, or pull some boards up, to get a better peek. If you have a broken gutter, or a hidden place where water is getting close to your exterior walls, this is a prime target for mice. Soft or rotted wood is easier to gnaw through. Find these areas and seal them with caulk, until you can get them properly fixed.
For added protection, contact a pest specialist and have them do an inspection. There is a large database on rodent infiltration, and a professional technician can give you exclusion tips based on your specific situation.
American Pest offers home pest control in Montgomery County, Howard County and services throughout Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Contact us today to find out how our home pest control services protect families and homes from rodents and other annoying and potentially dangerous pests.
