If you have come across a mouse in your home you definitely know the feeling. No matter who you are, after the sighting of mice there’s no time to waste and getting the problem under control becomes the top priority. That’s where we come in. We like to help homeowners know the signs that they may have a family of mice living in their home.
Knowing if you have a family of mice living in your home before an infestation starts, will nip the problem in the bud and potentially save your home thousands of dollars. So let’s get to the nitty gritty.
Here are the top 10 signs your home is in need of mouse control
#1 – You hear scratching in the walls
If you hear faint and sometimes obvious scratching and even pitter-patter in your walls, that’s a surefire sign that mice are living in your home. Mice tend to travel all over a home they’re living in, looking for food and sources of water . One of the usual routes they take around a home is in the walls.
#2 – You hear sounds in the attic
Hearing faint sounds coming from your attic is quite common. Hearing scratching and chewing isn’t. For the most part if a family of mice is in your attic you’ll hear the typical sounds of them travelling through your insulation, scurrying, but at times you can actually hear them gnawing away at something like wood or some sort of metal. Hearing sounds in your attic combined with the above and the other signs below is a strong indication that you’ll need to arrange for an inspection.
#3 – Food packaging torn open
Suddenly finding opened packages of food and/or bits of plastic or cardboard laying about is another sign you’ve got a mouse problem. After mice have decided to make your home there home, they tend to become brave enough to risk coming out into the open to find food. Once they start doing that, you can expect them to take advantage of every attempt at getting at the food including ripping open bags of cereal and digging into boxes of rice. Mice and rats love bread and so if you see bits of plastic bag and cardboard scattered about, you can bet your bottom dollar you need mice control.
#4 – Mouse droppings found
Seeing mice droppings anywhere in or even outside of your home is another surefire sign you’re harbouring mice. For the most part, mice droppings can’t be missed once you come across them; they look like grains of rice and are usually found in scattered piles. They can be found almost anywhere in your home but if you suspect you do have mice, looking in your attic for droppings is your best bet.
If you find mouse droppings up in your attic or anywhere in your home, you’re going to want to make an appointment for prevention as soon as possible. To make a long story short, mice droppings (or the droppings of almost any wild animal) are not safe to be around and getting them removed from your premises as soon as possible is your best bet.
#5 – Your cat has found a mouse inside your home
When the cat’s away, the mice will play, but sometimes the cat hides and ends up catching a mouse. If your cat has found a mouse and is inside your house with it, there’s a chance that’s where he/she found it and there’s probably many more of them. Take this as a sure sign that a mouse inspection is in order and that they’re not going to go anywhere until you do set one up.
#6 – Your cat has found a mouse outside your home
This is the same advice as above. The bottom line is, when a pet (usually a cat) has found a mouse and brought it to you or left it somewhere, it’s probably not the only one around. To find out for sure you’ll have to arrange for an inspection before they start multiplying.
#7 – Exposed attic insulation, and insulation falling out of the roof
Mice build nests and when they’re living in a home they like to use attic and wall insulation. When they do this, homeowners tend to finds shreds of insulation hanging out of their attic, or around holes on the inside of the home. If you see exposed attic or wall insulation chances are you’ve got a mice problem to contend with and arranging an inspection should be your next order of business. Some of the areas that a home owner can see shredded insulation is around roof vents, soffits, the corners of external siding and underneath gutters along the roof line.
#8 – Tunnels and trails in your insulation etc.
You may not see shreds of insulation because they’re in secluded areas, but another sign of mice are the trails they leave behind under the insulation in your attic. When mice have been living unknown in an attic for some time, a homeowner can find mice trails all over the attic – on top of the insulation, under it, and they’ll see what we call “mouse pockets”. Mouse pockets are pocket tunnels created by burrowing mice which end up ruining the proper air circulation in your attic. This leads to higher heating and air conditioning costs. Mice tunnels and trails are one of the top signs you’re harbouring mice and at this point only full prevention will solve the problem.
Also, mice like to venture outside to look for food so in the winter you may also see the trails they make to and from your home in the snow. The trails will usually start and end at potential sources of food, and at your external walls where they climb back into their nests.
#9 – Foul smells, pungent odour
Another sign of mice (or most other types of wildlife) are foul smells and odours coming from unknown or hard-to-find sources. Like all wildlife, mice leave behind waste in the form of urine which eventually builds up. That buildup of urine will cause a strong odour and that odour is a sign that you need to be on the lookout for mice, and arrange an inspection. If you smell a strong odour and have experienced any of the signs above, you can be sure you need an inspection immediately.
#10 – Dogs or pets staring strangely at walls
Cats and dogs have superb hearing and can hear vibrations in walls much better than we can. When a cat or dog is intrigued by unknown sounds that it can’t get access to, you may find them staring at the wall in what looks like wonder. Maybe what they’re doing is hoping the perpetrator will pop out at them so they can play, but the point of this sign is that a pet staring strangely at the wall is a sign something is up.
If you’ve encountered any of the signs of mice living in your home in the list above, combined with this sign, be sure to arrange an inspection because there’s no better time to get mice out of your home and make sure they don’t get back in again.
These are the most common signs a home has mice living in it. When we’re approaching winter, home owners start seeing them in the home more than in the summer. This is the time mice are looking for a warm place to nest so if you have seen or experienced any of these signs, make arrangements for a home inspection and prevention.
Mice removal should only be done by professionals.
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