Why Can't I Get These Mice Out Of My West Chester, PA Home?

Common House Mouse Description

It’s not unusual for people to mistake house mice for rats. While rats and mice have a lot in common, mice are much smaller. If the rodent in your home can fit in the palm of your hand, it’s probably a mouse. House mice are usually between two and four inches long, are light brown to dark gray with lighter fur on their bellies, and have a tail that is equal to or exceeds the length of their bodies. They also have pointed snouts, small ears, and round bodies.

Mice are typically picker than rats, so they might be more interested in your pantry than your garbage. In a pinch, mice will eat almost anything, but if given the choice, they prefer cereals and similar products. House mice favor grains and seeds, but they’ll also go for fruits, nuts, insects, and other whole foods.

Dangers Of House Mice

House mice pose threats to two main things – health and property. Mice, like their rat cousins, are notorious for spreading disease, and they have a ton of ways to do it. They crawl across surfaces, tracking germs on their feet. They carry disease-ridden parasites like fleas and ticks and they can contaminate both surfaces and food stores with their feces and urine. All in all, mice directly or indirectly spread dozens of diseases, including:

• Hantavirus
• Salmonella
• Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
• Bubonic plague
• Lyme Disease
• Rat Bite Fever
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Not only can mice threaten your family’s health, but they also destroy property. Mice stain carpets and furniture with their droppings. They love to rip up fabrics and plush items to make their nests. Maybe worst of all, because their teeth never stop growing, they have to constantly gnaw on everything they can get their paws on to grind them down. They can chew their way through aluminum, vinyl, wood, and plastic – pretty much every common material in your house. They also love to chew through electrical wires, likely because they can easily hold them in their hands while they gnaw. If left untreated, mice can do thousands of dollars in damage. 

What To Do About Mice

Mice are tough to keep out of your home. They can slip through the tiniest crack or hole in your exterior, and once they’re in, they become endemic fast. Each female mouse can produce between 32 and 56 pups every year, and it only takes 6 to 7 weeks for pups to mature and start reproducing litters of their own. That means if you get one breeding pair of mice in your house, their population can easily balloon into the hundreds within a year. That’s why snap traps, poisons, and sticky traps are usually ineffective – when they kill one mouse, they’re just making room for more.

If you have a mouse infestation, the best thing to do is call the pros. Family-owned since 1991, we bring all the experience of decades of the pest control industry and all the customer-focus of a family business here at Masters Touch Pest Solutions. Our award-winning service combines the most state-of-the-art technology and methods with the most knowledgeable technicians to deliver unbeatable rodent control at a fair price.

Give us a call at 610-269-3000 or visit our contact page at Masters Touch Pest Solutions to schedule your appointment today!