Signs You Have a Mouse In Your House No one likes spotting spiders or any sort of pests in their home, but mice and rats? They’re an entirely different unwanted visitor that can cause a bunch of problems. They can contaminate food, counter tops and floors with their feces droppings. They expel a lot of urine droplets over those surfaces and spread bacteria that can cause diseases. Spotting signs of rodents in your home is important because the faster you spot them, the faster you can intercept and end possible infestations before they get out of hand. Mice tend to reproduce indoors quickly, so you’ll have to act fast!
There are a few tell-tale signs that you have rodents in your home. Mice and rats sharpen their teeth on soft material, leaving behind gnaw marks. They leave droppings wherever they nest. They’ll damage containers to access food. Understanding their needs will help you spot the signs of them being in your home.
Mice will basically chew their way through anything, causing thousands of dollars in damage, Even your garage isn't safe as they can build a nest in your vehicle, chew wiring, hide food in the engine, and defecate in air filters.
Here are each of the common signs of mice or rats in your home to watch out for and what you should do about them:
Droppings
Mouse feces droppings look like dark brown/black grains of rice with points at each end, typically 1/8 inch long. As droppings dry, they flake and break apart, which will make them look like dirt.
Mice tend to poop in straight lines because they follow set pathways to navigate through your home safely. Look for straight lines of rice-shaped droppings around baseboards, in wall corners, and under furniture. The more droppings you find, the more mice you have.
Gnaw Marks and Damaged Wiring
Rodent incisor teeth never stop growing. To compensate, mice must teethe throughout their entire lives. They’re constantly gnawing on any soft material they can find, including wood, paper, cloth and other fabrics… and also unfortunately, electrical wiring. Over time, mice leave behind distinctive gnaw marks on wires cause dangerous damage.
Mice generally gnaw on soft materials at night, around where they nest and hide during the day. Look for damaged wires, chewed cardboard and other paper products, torn up fabric and furniture, ruined insulation, and gnawed wood, especially in any unfinished parts of your home such as your basement or crawl space. They will even chew through cabinets or walls. If you find any damage due to mice give Ontario Pest Prevention a call right away at (365) 309-PEST (7378).
Damaged Food Containers
If mice are going to stay inside your home for any extended period of time, they will need to eat. Mice chew through cardboard boxes and packaged food containers to get to the stuff inside. Mice will find a food source in your home that they can return to time and time again since they are much more interested in quantity of food over quality.
Look for damaged dry goods such as bird seed, pet food, flour, nuts, seeds, and anything else you keep in dry storage in your cupboards. Mice dig their way inside food containers and will help themselves as long as they can. Mice will peel the paper label off of cans and use it for their nesting material so keep your eyes open for that also.
Nests
Rodent nests aren’t like those of the birds that you’re used to associating with the word 'nest'. In fact, they don't look “nest-like” at all. Mice build small nests out of any reclaimed soft material they’ve chewed up and gathered. This could include paper, insulation, fabric, or pretty much any other scraps of garbage they can (literally) sink their teeth into.
Mice are nocturnal and spend most of their time sleeping or hiding in dark, sheltered areas. These areas also tend to be where they build their nests and raise their young. Look for small, dirty clumps of soft debris under furniture, in underutilized corners, under shelving, and pretty much anywhere where mice could sneak around and hide without fear of being bothered.
Dirty Marks on Walls
Mice and rats have very poor eyesight. In order to move around your home safely they tend to stick to paths along outer walls or against objects to make sure they are not lost. The longer mice stick to a particular path, the more of their body grease and dirt rubs off on the walls and objects they rub up against. In fact, they often leave “runways” and tracks in areas with high activity.
Mice generally run along the perimeter of the rooms they inhabit so check for dark, greasy smudge marks along the base-boarding in your basement or closets. Look for fur, gnaw marks, and the other signs included on this list along the path as you follow it for more evidence of rodent infestation.
How do mice get inside your house?
Usually, they’ll make their way in through small cracks, crevices, and openings in your home. An opening as small as your pinky finger is large enough for a mouse to get through, That could be a hole around your utility boxes, a garage door that doesn’t quite go all the way down, and crawl spaces. Once they are indoors mice like to hide behind walls, in cabinets, and in furniture.
Is it possible to just have one mouse in your home?
Mice usually don’t travel alone so generally speaking, there is always more than one. Mice reproduce very quickly so populations can get out of control if not taken care of immediately. These rodents are most active at night, so if you spot one during the day, that’s a definite sign you already have an infestation.
Can mice or rat bites cause diseases?
Mice and rats can carry diseases, including hantavirus, salmonellosis, and even the bubonic plague, among others. These can be transmitted by breathing in dust that has been contaminated with rodents’ urine or droppings or having direct contact with the animal or its urine and droppings. Although bites are not very common, mice and rats can bite if they’re handled and these wounds can also be risky.
How to get rid of mice in your house
Unfortunately, home remedies that claim to get rid of mice, like trying to repel them with dryer sheets, cayenne pepper, and peppermint essential oil, won’t really do anything however here are a few suggestions you can try before contacting us:
✔️ Figure out how they’re getting in
You’re looking for openings as small as your picky finger and outside of your home. Make sure you seal all of these crevasses and holes. Use steel wool or chicken fencing first to fill the larger holes because mice and rats can't chew through this. Then use caulking or expanding foam to fill and seal the hole.
Their entrance holes can literally be anywhere: inside cabinets, around fireplaces and doors, near pipes, inside the attic or basement, between the floor and wall, around vents, windows, and the foundation, and even in the roof. Do a full, thorough sweep of your house for any and all possible entry points. Start with areas that have visible rodent activity. We offer this service at Ontario Pest Prevention so if you find the idea of sealing up your home overwhelming, just give us a call at (365) 309 – PEST for a free quotation to do this for you.
✔️ Set out traps
There are different types of traps you can use but it’s a good idea to put out a variety because mice are curious and very inquisitive of new things. You can buy bait traps, glue traps, and traditional snap traps online, as well as catch-and-release options if you are only dealing with one.
We recommend you continue to set traps until a full week has passed since the last mouse was captured. At that point, you can consider your problem under control.
✔️ Clean up your landscaping
If you have overgrown trees, shrubs, and wood piles, those can create nice habitats to hide rodents from predators and unfortunately can also help provide an easy pathway for mice to get into your place. Keep your yard tidy to make it less attractive to rodents and pests of all sorts. Raising woodpiles, debris and garbage cans at least one foot from the ground can be helpful.
✔️ Hide any food and signs of food
While mice will chew through food boxes and bags, it’s trickier for them to get into sealed plastic containers with tight lids. Another suggestions are getting a thick metal garbage can with a secure top, putting away pet food and water bowls immediately after use, keeping compost bins at least 100 feet away from your home, and making sure outdoor cooking areas and grills are kept clean.
✔️ Be cautious when cleaning
If you have successfully eliminated the infestation, you will want to do a thorough deep-cleaning of your home to ensure all urine and feces droppings are gone. We recommend you do this about a week after it is under control. Make sure you properly ventilate the area, using effective disinfectants, and wear gloves while you do this.
✔️ Call Ontario Pest Prevention to do your dirty work
If you’ve tried everything and still battling mice or rats, or if you just feel overwhelmed at the thought of taking on and cleaning up after a rodent problem, then it’s time to call Ontario Pest Prevention at (365) 309 – PEST (7378) for a free inspection and no-obligation quotation. We guarantee our results and your satisfaction.
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