Keep mice from feeling at home in your house
Last week I received a call for a very delightful lady by the name of Jeanie, she said there was a nasty odor in her pantry and she could not find it. I went to her home and sure enough her pantry smelled awful, however the odor was very distinctive. I asked Jeanie if she had she been baiting mice. She said yes. I told her I thought the smell was from dead mice that had nested in the walls. She was horrified. With her permission, using a three foot bore scope; I made four penetrations into the drywall of her pantry wall. My assumptions were verified by a visual inspection of the interior wall. There were two nest locations with at least 15 dead and dying mice in them. The walls were opened, cleaned, deodorized and repaired. During my closing comments with Jeanie I suggested she change her procedure from baiting to trapping mice and explained a safe and sanitary procedure for doing that.
With winter rapidly approaching, rodents are looking for winter housing. Unfortunately your home looks and feels great to them. It’s warm, dry and has lots of food. For most of us the thought of a small brown fury animal running all over the place is revolting, not to mention the fact that they don’t have toilet manners. It seems like every place they stop for a moment they either pee or poop. This fact also creates a potential health problem because of the diseases they have that may or may not be transferred to humans.
Mice are nocturnal animals so you will have your best luck at catching them by setting traps just before you bed down for the evening. They have poor eyesight but have a great sense of smell and that’s how they find their food source. The best source of attractant to use is peanut butter. It is oily and off gases an outstanding smell that mice love.
Mice are great explores. They generally do not stray more than 50 feet from their nest. It’s easy to see their travel route because of the black poop dropping they leave behind marking their trail. A single mouse will leave behind 20 to 50 droppings a day as they travel their route.
I know most folks don’t want to handle dead mice. Manufactures produce various chemicals like anticoagulants, metal phosphides, and hypercalcemia that taste good to mice. A mouse will taste something before eating it, these ingredients are slow acting. It usually takes about a week before the animal dies. Once the animal gets sick, like us, it goes back to its nest where it feels comfortable and dies. Unfortunately for us, that’s usually in a wall, under a cabinet, etc.
When taking to folks about trapping methods, I only recommend two, either glue traps or snap traps. The reason I recommend these types is because once the mouse is trapped, it’s easily removed from the home for disposal and the cost per removal is easy on the budget (Cheap). With chemical traps the animal dies leaving a potential bio-hazard problem.
The rodent population in your home will increase unless you take sanitary action and rodent proof your home. Please review the following:
Sanitation —Rodents must have adequate food and shelter in order to live and thrive. Removal of these factures will help prevent and control infestation.
Food
n Clean under stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers.
n Keep counter tops clear of food and crumbs.
n Don’t leave glasses of water out at night, they will drink from it.
n Store dry food, pet food and bird seed in sealed containers.
n Clean pet bowls after your pet eats at night.
Shelter
n Keep storage areas free of clutter.
n Store supplies or materials off the floor.
n Pack steel wool into plumbing, electrical, wall and baseboard openings, they won’t eat the steel wool. Once you have packed the openings with steel wool, cover the hole with caulking.
I know all creatures have a function; however, most of us prefer not to live with them in our homes.
If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (255-2266), email them to nwees@hughes.ne. or send them to Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church street, Sandpoint, ID 83864, Attn: What would Ed do. For more information about Ed, and his Handyman Services, check him out at NWESINC.COM.
Copy wrote by Edmond E. Madan, Certified Forensic, Fire, Flood, Mold Inspection & Remediation/Restoration Contractor. Ed is the President of Northwest Environmental Services (NWES, Inc.)