HAMILTON MOUSE REMOVAL

MOUSE REMOVAL PROCESS

Avoid Mice Infestations in Hamilton

The sight of a tiny little mouse running across the kitchen floor is sometimes enough to send even the bravest individual running. Yet, for others, mice are adorable animals that are kept as pets. These nocturnal rodents tend to be skittish and avoid human encounters, though as pets they can be quite social and friendly. Their small size and nighttime activity can make it difficult for homeowners to be aware of their presence in attics and behind walls.

Mice in Homes Create Risk to Hamilton Homeowners

Most important of all, mice thrive in areas with abundant food – which is part of the reason they make their home so close to humans. Mice are found throughout Hamilton in all types of housing, from single family homes right up to high rise apartments and condominiums. They need only a very small opening, about the size of a dime, to make their way into a building. Once inside, they enjoy protection from the elements as well as a place to have their babies and store their food. Conjoined housing, poorly stored food and improper garbage disposal, especially in closely built communities, allow mice infestations to spread easily between units.

History and Habits of Mice in Hamilton

Mice have lived side by side with humans for thousands of years. They are also messy houseguests that leave urine and feces behind everywhere they go. Unfortunately for Hamilton homeowners, one of the most common places for mice to be found is in the kitchen. Not only can they spoil food, their activity can also spread pathogens on countertops, appliances and cookware.

There are a few simple reasons why kitchens are a hot spot for mouse activity. First, kitchens are where most households keep food that house mice like to raid, usually at night when the occupants are sleeping. The other reason why mice tend to emerge into homes via the kitchen is because there are usually numerous hidden openings into the walls. Plumbing and gas lines that run into walls often have large gaps around them that allow for the mice behind the walls to find their way into the kitchen or voids behind stoves, dishwashers and cabinetry. In these areas mice are provided with excellent cover.

In 2015, Hamilton Public Health reported that calls for mice problems from homeowners and renters throughout the city had doubled, and continue to be a concerning problem. That year, Skedaddle President and CEO, Bill Dowd, spoke with CHCH to help educate Hamilton residents about some of the root causes of a mouse infestation, and why populations are rising throughout the city. Homeowners can help reduce mouse problems around their home with continual property maintenance and by storing food and garbage properly. The more food mice have access to, the more likely they are to settle in.

Where You Find Mice in Hamilton

Mice in Hamilton are found throughout the city, and are just as likely to make their way into homes in older lower city communities like Westdale, Corktown and Durand as they are in the newest developments of Waterdown, Ancaster, Binbrook and Stoney Creek Mountain. Homes and buildings are not constructed to keep mice out. Builders often leave gaps and openings behind and each year our team removes mice from newer and older constructed homes. Even well built and maintained homes are commonly taken up by mice. New developments throughout downtown Hamilton are also not built with the city’s mice problems in mind. The downtown core is already densely populated, and as new high rise apartment and commercial buildings are built, mice are giving more opportunity for shelter and food sources. Unsanitary conditions often thrive in congested areas, and access to food can serve to make problems worse, but they are not required conditions for a mouse infestation to take root.

The type of mouse that Hamilton residents are most likely to see or hear inside their home is the common house mouse. Mice do not live alone, seeing a single mouse is almost always a sign that there are more elsewhere in the home, usually in the spaces that humans rarely get to, like in the attic or behind walls or ceilings. When food and space are abundant, their population can increase quickly.

Mice use pheromones to communicate with another. Those pheromone markers are one of the reasons why traps and poisons alone cannot resolve a mouse problem for good. Even if the current population is eliminated other neighbourhood mice will continue to be attracted to your home and use the same travel roots as previous generations. The key to keeping your home mouse free is to identify and block the entry points they are using on the exterior of your home. Skedaddle’s mouse removal and prevention services are focused on not only getting rid of the mice currently inside your home but also sealing it off against future intrusions.

What are Hamilton Mice Doing all Year

House mice are active all year long. In the warmer months, mice will often seek their food sources outside, but during winter, food sources become scarce. Their activity ramps up in fall as the days grow colder and shorter. During this time they seek to cache food away in secure places to help them ride out winter. It is during this time that there is the potential for evidence of mice to turn up as they seek warmth and sustenance inside the home. Taking care of an out-of-control mouse problem requires experts in safe and humane removal. Our mice removal in Hamilton services can help you safely and effectively rid your home of any unwanted guests.

Mice populations grow fast and they can cause a lot of damage through their droppings and chewing. A single female mouse can give birth to 5 to 10 litters of about 5 to 6 babies. When mice are healthy and well fed they give birth to larger and more frequent litters. Mice also have high metabolisms and they require a lot of food to keep going. They like to nibble, eating anywhere from 15 to 20 times per day.

Their high priority for food leads them to establish their nests near reliable food and water sources, which means that the kitchen and food storage areas are prime spots for mice nests. They build nests of soft materials in wall voids, attics, storage areas and crawl spaces. Without professional removal and exclusion mouse infestations can become unmanageable.

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Mice Facts

Even in the city mice tend to avoid people, but their presence still poses a health hazard. Though they do not carry rabies, they can transmit a number of other diseases that are dangerous to both humans and pets. Viruses and bacteria are spread primarily through the urine and feces and rarely through bites. Mice tend to only bite when they feel threatened, so if you don’t handle them, you are not likely to be bitten.

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