5 tips for exterminating mice inside your walls

Numerous mice live in urban environments throughout Quebec and Canada as a whole. For example, in Montreal alone, they number in the millions. These invasive, harmful little rodents set up housekeeping in buildings most often in the fall. During this time of year, mice come indoors in search of heat, shelter and food. However, their long-term presence can have a detrimental effect on your building, leading to contamination concerns. Mice are nibblers that can chew through electrical wires and other structural elements, increasing the risks of power outages and even fires.

In the middle of the night, do you hear scratching and scampering sounds coming from inside your walls? If so, you undoubtedly have mice in your home. In this article, you’ll find useful information on rodents, as well as tips for exterminating mice inside the walls of your building.

The characteristics of mice

Species
In Quebec, as in the rest of Canada, there are seven main species of mice: deer mice, grey or common mice, harvest mice, Colombian mice, Sitka mice, white-footed mice and pocket mice. The first two are the ones that most often invade homes and attics.

Appearance
Mice are very light, weighing between 30 and 35 grams. Dark or light grey in color in the case of common mice and dark or light brown in the case of deer mice, they have wide ears and long, highly sensitive whiskers. An adult mouse is generally between 7.5 and 10 cm in length and has a tail that’s nearly as long as its head and body combined.

Life cycle
Mice reproduce very, very quickly. In fact, female mice reach sexual maturity at the age of two months, and their gestation period is very short, ranging from 19 to 21 days. A litter generally consists of approximately a dozen pups, and the female will become fertile again within 5 to 24 hours after her babies are born. As a result, a mouse can give birth to more than 150 pups in a single year. The average lifespan of a mouse is two years.

Physical features
Mice are very athletic little creatures. In fact, they’re excellent climbers with the ability to scale walls, wires, cords and more. They’re also good swimmers and can jump to a height of 2.5 meters.

Food
Mice are primarily nocturnal, venturing out at night in search of food. Mice are omnivores whose diet includes the following:

  • Grain
  • Peanut butter
  • Chocolate
  • Oatmeal
  • Dried fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Meat, including bacon
  • Cheese

Living environments
During the daytime, mice take shelter in warm, dark places containing materials such as fiberglass, insulation, old clothes and linens, which they can use to build a nest.

Their preferred hiding places inside a home include the following:

  • Spaces between the walls
  • Attics
  • Kitchens (inside cupboards, cabinets, etc.)
  • Underneath parquet floorboards
  • Underneath furniture
  • Crawl spaces
  • Suspended ceilings

Health risks
Mice are carriers of pathogens, as well as blood-sucking parasites, including dust mites, fleas and ticks. Consequently, they can transmit various diseases to humans by contaminating their food, beverages and contact surfaces with excrement, saliva and urine. They can cause the following health problems:

  • Hantavirus
  • Salmonella
  • Bites, stings, pimples and itching resulting from parasites
  • Insomnia and fatigue brought on by their nocturnal noises

How to know if you have a mouse infestation

There are several signs that there’s a mouse invasion in your home. The main ones are as follows:

  • Scratching sounds coming from inside your walls at night
  • Squeaking sounds
  • Nibble marks on boxes of food
  • Gnawed and bitten objects, such as wires, books, boxes, etc.
  • Excrement resembling small grains of black rice in food, cupboards, etc.

Five tips for exterminating mice inside your walls

Mice can cause significant damage to your property, so if you believe you have an invasion, here are some measures you can implement to exterminate the mice inside the walls of your home:

    1. Block access to your home

Seal off the various points of entry to your home to prevent rodents from intruding. Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter of an inch, so to avoid an infestation, use steel wool or rodent-proof caulking to seal off any cracks or holes in your walls, pipe routes, etc.

    1. Place traps in strategic locations

The best way to exterminate mice inside your walls is to use various types of rodent traps. However, you must choose the right kind of trap and right kind of bait, as mice are very cautious little creatures. You’ll also have to place the traps strategically, covering a sufficiently large area.

Traditional snap traps can be very effective, as long as you use enough of them and the infestation isn’t too severe.
Single-use bait packets are easy to use, but as in the case of snap traps, they’ll only be effective if there aren’t a large number of mice.

In the event of a major infestation, a rodenticide will be the most effective measure. However, dead mice inside the walls can lead to numerous complications, including foul odors, so you must make sure to clean the spaces between your walls promptly after using any kind of poison.

Ultrasonic devices emit sound waves that, while undetectable to the human ear, will send mice scurrying away. However, mice can still acclimate themselves over time and remain inside your home.

    1. Clear away clutter outside your home

Remove all debris and any items that are stored around your building, as this will prevent mice from finding easy hiding places.

Cut any bushes or tree branches that are close to your house in order to eliminate easy access to your attic.

    1. Clean your home

One of the best ways to keep mice away is to keep your home clean and neat. Regularly clean your floors and prevent clothing, books, boxes and other items from piling up.

    1. Protect your food

Make sure to store your food in airtight containers, in places that mice can’t easily access. Don’t leave food out, and be sure to clean up any crumbs from your floors, tables and counters.

Effectively exterminating mice inside your walls

For definitive, long-lasting extermination of the mice inside the walls of your home, call on the services of a professional pest control company that avails of various means of getting rid of these intrusive rodents permanently. Sleep easy with peace of mind by contacting the experts at Central Extermination for first-rate, reliable, efficient extermination and pest control services in Montreal. They’ll quickly get to work exterminating the mice inside the walls of your home for good.

Mouse and Mice Exterminator in Montreal

 

Mouse and Mice Extermination in Montreal

 

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