Remove Mice from Walls

How to Remove Mice From Your Walls?

Since early humans dwelled in caves, they’ve had to share them with various vermin. Unless you live in a glorious castle in an iconic theme park, you don’t want a mouse as a roommate. Nor do you want mice running up and down your clock or nesting in the walls of your New Jersey home.

You can minimize damage to your house when you identify and get rid of mice hiding deep in the walls of your home. Even if one pregnant female invades your space, she can potentially give birth to 150 babies within one year, now what if you have five females in your home? It’s easy to understand how quickly things can turn into an infestation.

These squeaky pests can cause profound structural damage by gnawing on furniture and electrical wiring. They are a potential health hazard because of the diseases they carry. Mice are hosts to fleas, lice, and ticks, which they’ll also bring into your home. So, what started as a problem with mice can also end with a flea infestation too.

Source: news.okstate.edu

How Mice Get into Your Home?

Anyone can get a rodent infestation whether they live in a mansion or humble hut. It can happen even if you’re an impeccable housekeeper and your place is well maintained. Mice seek warm shelter and food when the weather turns cold and human habitats are their favorite.

These small squatters hunt for any entry points in the early New Jersey autumn. Typical entries are foundation cracks, gaps around doors and windows, and holes in the siding. Mice have even been known to gain entry around your water pipes or through your drains.

Signs of Mouse Infestation

In general, mice and other rodents are nocturnal and stay out of sight during the day. They are like miniature ghosts that linger in the dark shadows of your house. Some favorite haunts include attics, air ducts, crawl spaces, and within walls. However, the more familiar they become with your home, they might start wandering out during the day too.

Before you see your first droppings or spot one scurrying by, it’s possible you already have an infestation hidden in your walls. Since they are night creatures, they can be raiding your pantry long before you suspect it. Here are some ways you can tell if you have a mouse infestation..

Source: https://www.uky.edu/

1. Scratching Sounds

If you hear any creatures stirring in the night, it’s probably a mouse. You’ll listen to the tell-tail scratching, rustling, and tapping of their bitsy feet. Mice can run an average of eight miles per hour, equivalent to you sprinting 160 miles an hour.

They are voracious gnawers, and you’ll often hear them chewing on boards within your walls. In the case of a severe infestation, the walls may be alive at night with tiny squeaks.

2. Urine and Feces

Another sure sign that mice have moved in is their disgusting bathroom habits. These putrid pests leave a plethora of tiny seed-like droppings on every surface. While you may not see the dried pools of mouse urine, you’ll often notice the foul ammonia smell.

3. Footprints

Have you seen a bunch of miniature paw prints on your floors and surfaces? Even if your home is relatively dust-free, mice can leave tracks from the dirt and dust they bring in on their feet. They have four fingers on their front paws and five toes on their larger back paws.

These creepy critters also have long tails that leave dragging marks wherever they roam. You’ll most likely notice these foot and tail prints in the kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. It’s a sure sign that you have a rodent infestation that needs immediate attention.

4. Nesting Materials

Once these fuzzy invaders are in your home, they find a comfortable place to build a nest. As with humans, it’s all about location. Mice prefer dark, warm, dry, and secluded areas for nesting.

Sometimes, you’ll see a nest under cabinets, appliances, and nooks in the attic and basement. They gnaw and collect soft, shredded material like cardboard and old fabric. The rodents pack it all into a cozy nest for their babies, and each nest can house up to two dozen mice.

Look for chewed holes in your furniture, curtains, or soft material. They often find a wealth of nesting stuff in your kitchen and pantry. If you don’t see a complete nest, you might find some chewed material scattered on the floor.

5. Food Invasion

Don’t let their nominal size fool you because mice have a ravenous appetite. They can consume up to 15 percent of their weight each day in food. That’s like a 150-pound human devouring 22.5 pounds of groceries each day.

These miniature thieves don’t cover their tracks well. Mice spend most of their time in search of a tasty tidbit. They have a notoriously sweet tooth and can gnaw through plastic bags in your cabinets and pantry.

Look for gnawed holes in bags of flour, sugar, grains, or packaged foods. There will usually be leftover crumbs from the thieving. Unless the storage containers are glass or heavy metal, all food is fair game for your unwanted house guests.

Health Hazards of Rodent Infestations

Invading mice is nasty and destructive, but they’re a potential health hazard to you, your family, and your pets. You’ve probably read about the Bubonic Plague in 1346 – 1352 that killed approximately 25 million people in Europe. The culprit was virus-infected fleas carried by rodents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, mice and rats can carry as many as 35 diseases. These can be acquired through direct contact or rodent urine, feces, saliva, and bites.

Did you know that dried specks of rodent waste can go airborne, and you can inhale dangerous bacteria and viruses? Anything they touch is contaminated, whether it’s household surfaces, textiles, or food. Mice can contaminate countless dollars’ worth of food in your home.

Of particular concern is their high chances of carrying rabies. Fortunately, you’ve had your beloved pets vaccinated for this deadly disease. If a human is infected and not treated immediately, it’s too late once they show signs of this lethal illness.

How to eliminate Mice inside Your Walls?

When it comes to any vermin infestation, early prevention is the key. The more you understand mouse behaviors, the easier it is for you to keep them out. Consider these helpful hints to stop a home invasion.

Source: www.uky.edu

1. Block Potential Entrances

All it takes is a hole or a crack that’s as small as the head of a pencil eraser for them to gain entry. Mice can squeeze their body through the smallest areas to get into your home. Seal cracks, holes, and crevices in your foundation, doors, or windows. Repair or replace any damaged screens or broken water pipes and routinely inspect crawl spaces.

2. Rodent-Proof Your Yard

Keep foliage trimmed around your foundation, and don’t keep brush or woodpiles near the house. These are an open invitation to visiting mice who may later move into your home. The fewer places they have to hide, you reduce the chance of them getting too comfortable on your property.

Seal your trash in containers and bins and ensure that it’s collected often. Open containers and plastic garbage bags are virtual smorgasbords for vermin. Mice adore rotting food, and they assume there’s more once they’ve filled their stomachs. If there’s anything in the vicinity, their keen sense of smell and sharp eyes will certainly find it.

3. Protect Your Food

Don’t let your expensive groceries be stolen and contaminated by looting mice. It’s best if you store staples items like flour, sugar, and small items in sealable, glass containers. Clean up any spills immediately, and make sure you never leave food on the table or counter overnight.

Avoid cardboard boxes or any plastic containers that mice can chew through easily. If you notice any signs of rodent tampering, throw the contaminated items out immediately. Put out little pet-safe sachets of cinnamon or vinegar to repel mice from your food stock.

4. Set Humane Traps

If you go the route of mousetraps, consider ones that are humane and contained. The invader will be exterminated humanely, and you’ll not have to see nor touch anything. Avoid glue traps because they’re not efficient and result in a drawn-out and cruel death.

Poison traps may cut the mouse population, but it can also be dangerous if found by children or pets. Plus, poisoned rodents can return to the wild and poison any wildlife predators. Not to mention that the poison can leach into the ground or water source.

5. Adopt a Cat

In the wild, mice and other small rodents have natural enemies like larger mammals and birds of prey. Domestic cats kill mice and rats and keep them at bay. While properly fed cats won’t usually eat mice, they can help exterminate them in your house and around your property.

6. Drill a Small Hole

If you hear the scurrying feet but can’t get to them, try an old trick. Using a drill bit, make an inconspicuous hole in the bottom of your drywall that allows them to easily come from the inside out. The hole should be around the size of quarter or fifty centpiece. Take a small box and cut a hole that is the same size as the one in the wall and secure the two together.

You can slide a trap into this box and put some peanut butter on for them to dine. Then, you can bring them out one by one and easily dispose of their bodies. Since the hole is so small it allows you to easily catch them through the extra box without making any larger cuts into the drywall.

What Should You Do About Dead Mice in the Walls?

If you have mice in the walls, it’s just a matter of time before one dies in there. There’s nothing that smells worse than a decaying rodent that you can’t reach. While you may know the general vicinity of where they died, they could be anywhere around there. You don’t want to start drilling holes and tearing up drywall to find the odor, as that’s a costly venture.

First, you must make sure that’s what you’re dealing with as many things can cause this pungent odor. You will notice that a decaying mouse smells like rotten cabbage. You may think it’s the garbage disposal or trash at first, but when you make sure that’s all good, you will come to an alarming conclusion.

You can expect the smell to linger anywhere from 10-14 days. You won’t get a reprieve from the stench until the rodent dries up, which means their body has decomposed and is nothing but skeletal remains. The best thing to do without causing a huge mess is to use enzymatic sprays or charcoal deodorizer bags to absorb the odors. Another trick is to place coffee grounds near the area of the smell, as it tends to mask the aroma well.

There are many things that can affect how long the smell will linger. A larger mouse might smell for a longer period than a smaller one, and if it’s a humid area, it’s going to be even more pungent. If you use any food-based killers like d-Con, you’re likely to have many mice die inside your walls where you’re unable to get to them.

Source: www.si.edu

Contact the New Jersey Professionals

A mouse infestation can happen to anyone in the Garden State. Keep your family, pets, and property safe by contacting our professional exterminators. We can eliminate a present infestation and help you avoid one in the future. Do you really want to share your home with these invaders?

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