Why Are There Mice In My Washington D.C. Home?

09/01/2021


Mice   
a house mouse crawling inside a home

While many people in the Washington D.C. area understand that rodents are a serious problem, they often consider mice one of the smaller or less dangerous home invaders in the area. Unfortunately, this is a misconception, as mice can be some of the most problematic pests in the Washington, D.C. area. Once you learn the truth about problematic mice infestations, you’ll realize why professional pest control and prompt care are necessary to protect your home and family. 

Danger, Destruction, And More

Mice are some of the smaller pests that will invade your Washington D.C. home, measuring about 2 to 6 inches long at the most, not including the tail. They are typically light brown or gray in color and feature large front teeth that are constantly growing, giving them the incessant need to gnaw on various items around your home. Mice are very flexible, so they can also squeeze through a lot of the cracks and crevices around your property. This combination of sharp teeth and flexible bodies makes them very difficult to keep out of your home.

Unfortunately, once they are in your home, they will continue to chew on all kinds of items, from your electrical wiring to your stored goods, cardboard boxes, shoes, linens, laundry, and more. And it gets worse. Mice will also spread dangerous bacteria throughout your property. 

As mice search through your home for poorly stored food and lose crumbs, they will contaminate your meal preparation areas and your stored food, often resulting in harmful illnesses such as salmonella, E. coli, and more. Mice will also bring harmful parasites such as fleas and ticks onto your property. When there are fleas and ticks on your property, you and your family could be at risk of harmful illnesses like tularemia, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. 

Proper Prevention Methods

Since mice can be tough to keep out of your home due to their flexible bodies and sharp teeth, reducing their attraction to your home and property is the best thing that you can do on your own to limit your chances of a mouse infestation. Here are the best ways to make your property less attractive to mice:

  1. Store food and trash properly and securely. 

  2. Clean regularly to avoid loose crumbs. 

  3. Reduce moisture problems throughout the property. 

  4. Maintain the lawn regularly. 

  5. Declutter the low traffic areas of the home.

Even though all of these methods can help you reduce your chances of incurring a mouse problem, there’s nothing you can do on your own to eliminate an existing problem. Mice will reproduce rapidly within your walls, so it can be hard to keep pace with their rapid reproduction using store-bought traps or poison. Plus, these methods can put your children and pets at risk without even solving the entire problem.

That’s why partnering with the professionals at American Pest is the best way to keep your home and family safe. We will conduct a thorough inspection to get to the bottom of your mouse problem before creating a customizable rodent control plan to eliminate existing problems and prevent future ones. 

When protecting your home from the local pests, don’t put your trust in anything other than pest control solutions that truly put your needs first. When you’re a part of the American Pest family, you’ll always feel like our top priority. Don’t wait until your home and family are in danger from a robust mouse infestation. Give us a call today to schedule an inspection with one of our residential pest control experts.






 
 
 

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