Mice Heading For Home

When the weather turns cold, we aren't the only ones seeking the toasty comforts of indoors. When it gets cold outside, mice try to come inside, and they're not only looking for food – they're looking for warmth and they're looking for a good nesting spot.

The tiniest gap or hole can be a flashing "vacancy" sign to a pest driven by such imperatives, and it's not always easy to keep them at bay. An average-sized mouse has the ability to squeeze through a hole smaller than the diameter of a 10 pence piece.

Mice can almost flatten themselves out and squeeze through the tiniest of holes, whereas rats and squirrels need a little more of an entry. Unfortunately, even if a hole isn't quite big enough for them to fit through, they'll have a damned good try at making it bigger.

Mice have acute hearing and a keen sense of smell, especially when it comes to locating their home territory. So, if you do manage to capture a mouse and decide to release it too near to your home... chances are, it'll be back before too long.

Mice are drawn by smells, by their own markings that they leave along their travel paths. Ridding a home of rodents means disinfecting and wiping out the odours that might draw a population back. However, even if you've plugged the holes, if the smell is there the rodent population will still be drawn to your house.

Mice are nocturnal and tend to do their scavenging under the cover of darkness. They multiply quickly and breed year-round, meaning that if you find a mouse in your home, it's likely that there are more to be found. Most common nesting spots include lofts, cellars and garages, so it's a good idea to investigate thoroughly before declaring you home mouse-free.

Think having an immaculate house means you're immune? Think again. People have the impression that because they have a newer house and they keep it clean, they don't have mice. But mice don't just come in for food, they come in looking for warmth, then they sneak down for a midnight snack.

But you don't leave food out on the counter, ever! So your mice certainly either starved, or moved on to greener pastures, right? Wrong again. They're bottom-feeders – they'll look for anything. Obviously, they don't get inside the fridge, but maybe it's food that you don't think you leave out, including crumbs and sugar.

If you think that you have a mouse taking refuge in your home, you should call for specialist treatment, where you can be guaranteed that the problem is removed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

SDA Pest Control, "Long Acre", Bluntisham Road, Needingworth, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire
01480 465684