Mice might be cute and cuddly in the movies. They might make good cartoon protagonists on Saturday morning kids’ shows. They might even make good pets for some people. But what they don’t make is good houseguests. These tiny rodents can contaminate all your food stores, tear up your home’s insulation, and chew through just about anything you can think of. Not only that, but they can also make you sick. That’s why it’s so important to keep mice out of your home with effective pest control services in Anna, TX.
Rodents, Rodents Everywhere
Rats and mice both want the same things when they come into your home: food, shelter, and water. Mice are a little pickier than rats when it comes to what they eat. While rats are perfectly content to root through your garbage or mooch off your compost pile, mice prefer grains, seeds, nuts, dried fruits, and other staples. That means if you have a mouse infestation, you might notice more activity in your pantry.
While rats and mice are both attracted to the shelter and goodies in your home, you likely won’t have an infestation of both at the same time. Larger rats tend to bully and outcompete their smaller cousins, driving tiny mice away. That means if you have a mouse infestation, you probably don’t have rats.
Before you go thinking that’s good news, mice are just as dangerous to your health and property as rats. They still spread deadly diseases like hantavirus and rat-bite fever, they still rip up insulation and furniture to make nests, and they still chew through plastic and electrical wiring to grind down their constantly growing teeth.
Signs Of Mice
Mice are timid. They are terrified of humans and want no contact with us. This is especially true if you have certain types of pets. Cats, dogs, and mice don’t get along, so if you have mice in your Anna home, they may be especially careful to avoid being seen by your pets. All this means you may never actually see any live mice in your home, even if it’s infested.
Don’t be fooled, however. If you have mice, you’ll see signs of them even if you don’t see the mice themselves. Signs of mice include:
- Chew marks on wiring, plastics, or other hard items
- Mouse feces on floors or in other dark corners
- Ripped up plush items like cushions or insulation
- Scurrying noises inside walls
- Torn or chewed-through food packages
Mouse Prevention And Elimination
Even if you do not see live mice or any other signs of infestation, you should be taking prevention measures. Mice are a lot less expensive and difficult to prevent than to exterminate, so it’s a lot easier to make your home less attractive to them.
To do that, take measures like:
- Store all foods in airtight, hard containers that mice can’t smell or chew through.
- Cover all indoor and outdoor trash with tight lids.
- Seal up all potential entry points. Remember, these tiny Anna, TX rodents can squeeze through equally tiny holes. Not much is too small for them.
- Consider getting a cat or dog if you don’t have one. Cats, dogs, and mice are natural enemies, so their presence might encourage them to move on to easier pickings.
Don’t waste your time with traps and baits if you wind up with a mouse infestation. Most of the time, do-it-yourself (DIY) extermination methods don’t do much more than kill a few individuals and make room for more. Here at EcoArmor Pest Defense, we can do much more than temporarily reduce the mouse population in your house. We can get rid of the whole thing with our rodent control services in Anna, and make sure it stays gone. Reach out to us today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Anna.
