As soon as the cooler weather starts to hit, mice find a way to hide in the warmer places inside the homes. Western North Carolina offers a perfect environment for rodents and the colder weather sets them off looking for new homes. Residential homes that have mice need to ensure the safety of their interiors and exteriors in North Carolina. When mice breeding is left unchecked, they settle in fast, their growth multiplies so quickly that only an exterminator can remove them.
Mice or rodent infestations need to be taken care of because these creatures are a potential threat to the house structure and to the health of the family members. If you see a mouse in the house, it’s most likely that they have invaded through openings and entryways. They are hiding away and may be causing damage to the wires, walls, or other warm crevices of the house.
What are the signs that you have mice or rodent infestation?
Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter. In the months of fall or winter coming ahead, these creatures are far more resilient in their survival when seeking food and shelter. During the lockdown period, restaurant owners confirmed that rodents became more visible scratching around to survive in new areas and revealing unusual behavior.
These tiny pests always leave behind some noticeable clues or signs that ensure that residential homes have mice infestation.
The important signs that mice have actually invaded the house are rub marks or scratches, and tiny mouse droppings everywhere. Finding holes in the bags, pet food bags, and other chewed food sources such as rice grains or other grains.
Food crumbs in the kitchen, nesting of fabrics, shredded paper, strings, and soft material shaped into nests. Unpleasant behavior of your pets, squeaking and screeching noises in the house at night from the wall or floors.
Easy and natural ways to keep mice out of your home, especially in winter
Here are some natural ways to help repel mice. However, it must be noted that none of these methods are entirely preventable. The best solution is to start a regular pest program.
#1 Use Apex Pest Control Rodent Program
The first and best solution is to always start a local pest control program to keep rodents out. Especially at home and even more so if you are a local restaurant or food service business. Call apex pest control. Unlike big national companies, we are homegrown and do not make you sign contracts.
#2 Keep Kitchen Area Clean
Clean the kitchen counters after you finish cooking or eating in the kitchen. Don’t leave bread crumbs or other food particles lying anywhere in the kitchen or house.
If you leave food untouched in the house, the tempting smell of the food will attract mice. To keep mice out of the house, mop floors on a regular basis and clean all the spills & messes immediately.
#3 Block Food Sources
Store all kinds of food such as biscuits, grains, pet food, etc. in glass or metal containers. Use seal-proof containers so that mice don't have any reason to smell the food.
Make sure to use airtight containers to store the food such as flour and sugar that is kept in the bags and cartons.
#4 Block All the Entryways
Another easiest way for the mice is to enter the house through the tiniest openings either from the backyard or front of the house. A mouse or rat can gain entry to your home with a hole that is the size of a dime only. The best way to keep the mice out is to seal or close all the tiniest cracks or holes. Use concrete, plastic sheets, or metal to seal the rooflines, attic, and eaves.
Inspecting and repairing regularly all the pipe holes, such as sewer pipes or other broken areas in the house where they can hide. This means checking regularly around the foundation of the house for cracks or holes to seal them immediately.
Keep the garage doors, basement windows, sliding patio doors, or exterior doors tightly closed.
#5 Using Mouse-proof Seals or Blockages
A mouse doesn’t like chewing on metal or steel materials. Sealing the mouse entry areas with steel wool and aluminum foil makes them stay away from the house.
The foil sheet or steel sheet creates a sensation in their teeth so they avoid chewing on it.
#6 Remove Mice By Using Natural Mouse Repellents
They are natural products or homemade, and easy-to-prepare use mouse repellents can keep mice out of the house. However, nothing will beat a regular pest control program. They have a very strong sense of smell which can help you remove them through their smell senses. Use essential oils and homemade spray mixtures. The options are:
- i) Prepare spice pepper spray that includes chili flakes, peppers, dishwashing liquid soap, and water. This spray will irritate the eyes, nose, and mouth of the mice as soon as they smell the sprayed areas in the house.
- ii) Soak the cotton balls in essential oils such as peppermint oil, and clove oil and place these balls near the door openings or other entry points of the house. Keep a peppermint plant or use whole cloves wrapped in the cloth as repellents.
- iii) Prepare a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water to spray at all the entry points.
- iv) Place 2-3 moth balls around the house entries. The strong smell of moths works outstandingly well for attic areas. Use ammonia as a similar repellent.
- v) Add water in the soap detergent and tabasco sauce to prepare another spray.
- vi) Stuff the fabric softener sheets in the door entries. The mice will run away immediately after smelling these sheets.
#7 Buy A Cat
Bringing a cat in the house will solve the problem of rodents. Keeping an aggressive cat in the house and letting it hunt for food. Mice might eliminate themselves after smelling kitty litter or cat urine.
A pet predator is an excellent way of restraining mice. An owl nesting in the outdoor garden can be an easy control on rodents. Keeping a dog with a terrier species can be another helpful control on the mice infestation.
#8 Dispose Off Garbage Bins Regularly
Place garbage bins and cans covered tightly with air-sealed lids outdoors of the house. Unattempted or overflowing garbage bins with litter lying on the floor is a call to the mice or rodents. When storing used empty milk bottles or empty food cartons make sure you place bins alongside the house and above the ground.
Any foul smell coming out of these bins is a call to many small and big animals such as mice, pests, cats or dogs. Make sure to dispose of all the waste material regularly from kitchen and bathroom to outdoor bins.
#9 Purchase Live Traps
The trapping method is a humane and poison-free method to remove mice from the house. The hardware store or home goods store sells chamber-type traps with a spring door to trap mice. These traps are quite effective to trap them and are not for killing them. While selecting a trap and bait, you can check that these are not used for killing them. Avoid using tablets or poisonous bait made up of plastic or paper packets.
The humane trapping can be set up anywhere in the house openings or entry points. The bait can be peanut butter, cheese, biscuits or bread. When mice are trapped in the live trap, release them at least a mile away from the house. Don’t forget to wear gloves while performing this activity of live trapping.
#10 Keep Backyard Garden Clean
Reducing all the hiding places for the mice by cutting and trimming overgrown shrubs, trees and bushes. Always invest into mouse-proof compost bins so that you don’t leave room for mice to play and hide on the compost bins.
Regularly clear out the remains of the garden and keep your yard clear from fallen nuts, leaf piles, rotten fruits or any debris. Keeping a limited stack of firewood outside the house to keep your property landscaping clean and tidy.
To Sum Up
After applying every effort and method to remove mice from your house, and you find out that you are losing the battle. Then you will need professionally trained exterminators to get rid of them. Apex pest control is a locally family-owned company that is dedicated to protecting your family and business from rodent infestations. Furthermore, unlike larger pest control companies, we will not tie you down to contracts with unfair get-out clauses.