PEST CONTROL FOR MICE CAMBRIDGE

 

Description of a Mouse

A mouse weighs on average ½ - 1oz (10 - 25gms). Their droppings are small dark and sausage shaped and there is often a distinctive smell if mice have been in a cupboard or drawer.

 

The perfect habbitat for mice

Mice tend to live where there is a food source, so in the summer they are generally found out in the fields, but in the winter they will forage for food left for them by humans; this includes bird feeders, grain stores, food storage areas and open rubbish areas.  This often means that mice are attracted into our homes and buildings, and will enter our homes in search of food and shelter.

 

Lifecycle of a mouse

Mice can breed throughout the year if conditions are right. The gestation period is only 21 days, with young mice able to reproduce after 8 weeks. They have 6 – 8 young and generally 5 litters per year.

 

How do mice get into your home

Mice can access buildings through a gap of ¼ inch; they can also gnaw through wood and packaging. As their teeth grow continuously they have to gnaw on what they can find, this may include pipes and wires.

 

Preventing mice from getting into your home

It is important not to attract mice with food, therefore in order to prevent mice:

 

• Ensure bird feeders are kept off the ground and not too close to trees
• Ensure that there is no spillage of animal or human foods on to the floor
• Keep all animal, human food and food waste and potential nesting material i.e. newspapers, straw in areas where they cannot be accessed by mice
• Keep all grain store/food storage doors closed and fill any potential access holes
• Ensure that the undergrowth around grains stores/food storage areas is kept clear to a minimum of 10 feet (3 metres)
• Ensure that general hygiene is kept around kitchen areas

Rats and mice cannot live together as rats will kill mice, so if you have a large population of mice in your grain store, then it is unlikely you will have a rat problem as well.

Mice do not need a lot of food or water to survive, they can get enough water from moisture and eat food from any available source, so if you have mice, it is not because conditions are dirty, but because they have found an access hole to somewhere warm i.e. airing cupboards and lofts, hay barns and sheds.

 

Prest control for mice

There are many amateur products on the market to deal with a mouse infestation, these include

 

• Ultra sonic repellers
• Cage/live traps
• Break back traps
• Poison

But this can cost more than calling in the professionals and prevent the risk of harming non-target species other than the mice. By calling DRE Pest Control we can ensure the correct mouse removal treatment is applied, in the correct way, offering additional advice and reassurance.