Regardless of whether your house is old or new, mice might still choose your place for food, shelter, and warmth, and getting rid of them requires the use of various methods and items. Reading a few reviews of mouse traps and choosing such a product might be enough when your place is not heavily infested.
However, when it’s not just a mouse or two visiting your place, you might need professional help to get your house rid of these rodents. If you want to know more about what exterminators do and use to achieve such results, this post might be of help. Check it out for more on what makes your place a target, the measures you should take to avoid mouse infestation, and how to exterminate them.
Things that attract mice to your place
Rodents, just like all other living creatures, need food and shelter and your house might actually be the perfect place for them to cover such needs. Once they find food and warmth, they won’t hold back from setting up a nest and breeding even if the shelter is a human being’s home.
One mouse might be easy to catch or chase away but when these rodents start to breed, then the problem can get serious and you might find your home infested sooner than you think. That’s why you should not ignore the signs of mouse presence and activity but take immediate action instead.
Removing foods and crumbles, vacuuming on a regular basis, and daily cleaning might still not be enough, though, and additional measures might be needed. Depending on the level of infestation, there are things you can do yourself and exterminating methods only professionals should use. However that is, you will find useful information on both below.
Getting professional help
In case you’ve noticed signs of mouse activity or even seen and heard them, you need to take action immediately in order to stop the infestation from getting worse. When it’s not too serious and a few traps could do, you can install them yourself and wait for them to do their job.
Unfortunately, that’s not always enough. Here is where professional exterminators come into sight. If you think you can’t handle this problem and you need professional help to make sure your house is free of mice and there are little chances for them to come back, then delay no more and contact a professional mouse exterminator.
Do your research before that, though. Read more about the services provided by such exterminators, check out reviews, and choose accordingly. It’s true that hiring such a professional will cost you more than trying to solve this problem yourself but such experts are trained to deal with rodents and other pests and by going for their services you minimize your risk of getting hurt.
What do exterminators do to rid of mice?
Once you’ve found the professional mouse exterminators you’d like to hire and you’ve set a day for them to come over your place, you will most probably see them doing the following. They should not only help you get rid of mice but they should also mouse-proof the house to avoid any future problems.
One of the first things mouse exterminators do is to search your house for easy entry points. Mice can squeeze themselves into the tiniest holes, therefore, any cracks, vents, or weak points represent a good way for them to enter your home. Plus, it is enough for them to find a little hole as they will use their powerful teeth to make room for them to get inside your place.
When exterminators find these entry points, they will cover them with a mesh net or will caulk them, if possible. After blocking their entrance to avoid future visits, exterminators will use traps to make sure the mice that are already present will soon be exterminated. Depending on the level of infestation, they will employ various types of traps.
The market now offers different types of such items. Snap traps and glue boards are usually used when the infestation level is not that high. The exterminator will decide which ones are best for your place since different traps will help catch different mice. Such items are placed around the kitchen, attic, basement, bathrooms, and wherever there are signs of mouse presence.
In case your house is heavily infested, these traps will only help you rid of mice partially. That’s why other measures need to be taken to approach and cover this problem fully. Exterminators will add bail stations, which are similar to traps just that they use food or poison to kill the rodents.
You might think that by placing food that is easily accessible, the number of mice visiting your place will be greater but traps using food prove to be quite effective and trigger impressive results even when there is a nest or colony.
The downside of this method including bait stations, although highly effective, is that it uses harmful chemicals and if you have pets, not to mention young children, you must be sure they are placed in a spot where these traps cannot be accessed by them.
After the traps have done their job, the exterminators will be able to identify the mouse nest location and take further action if needed. They will remove the bodies in order to prevent any other risk or hygiene and odor problems.
Sometimes, unfortunately, the infestation might be so serious that these steps won’t be enough to completely rid your house of mice. In such cases, the exterminators might use fumigation. This means that you and your family won’t be able to use the house or live in it for a few days because this process involves the use of poison around your entire property.
The exterminator will spray poison that must be left for several days to kill a large colony. Some of the chemicals used include magnesium phosphide, methyl bromide, phosphine, chloropicrin, and hydrogen cyanide. Since such powerful chemicals are involved, it is mandatory to leave your house for a few days.
If fumigation is needed, there are some things you will have to take care of. First of all, make sure you find a place to stay and take all the things you will need with you. Before leaving, make sure the interior doors are left open in order for the gas used to cover your entire place. Closed doors will limit the spread of the poison used and thus will solve the problem only partially.
Also, if there is any food left or there are consumables you cannot take with you, make sure you protect them as well as possible. Ask the exterminators about this. They should know how to store such items securely in order for them to be safe for use when you return.
The exterminators will need to have easy access to your home to carry out this process, so, you might want to leave them a copy of your keys. After the poison has done its job, the pest control professional will remove the dead bodies.
The things you can do to stop a mice infestation
Of course, there are things you can do yourself to catch a mouse or two or to prevent these rodents from infesting your place yet that should apply only when the problem is not that serious. Not leaving any food exposed, cleaning up crumbles that might attract rodents, and covering entry points with materials mice cannot chew on are some of the things you can do.
Be careful if you want to use poison traps. Take the required safety measures when handling the poison and the dead bodies. While some things are easy to do, others involve a certain degree of health risk, that’s why it is recommended to get professional help whenever needed.
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