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MARCH 14 2022 / PEST AND TERMITE
It takes a lot of work to keep your house in good condition. Everyday wear and tear can lead to little problems, and if those little problems are not addressed in a timely manner they can turn into much bigger problems - especially if rodents get involved.
For instance, a water leak may not seem like a major issue at first, but if left unfixed, it can lead to damaged wood, mold, and other problems.
Another problem that should be addressed as early as possible is a pest infestation. There are many pests that can get into Maryland homes and each causes its own set of problems.
One of the worst offenders is the little, furry house mouse. While these cute little critters may not seem like they could cause any harm, the truth is that a mouse infestation requires immediate action if you want to avoid serious problems down the road.
If you suspect you might have a mouse infestation, learning the trick to total mouse control for your Maryland home will help.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at mice and other common rodents threatening Maryland homes, the many problems mice bring with them, why preventing and eliminating mice inside the home is such a difficult task, and what Maryland homeowners can ultimately do to keep their homes mouse-free.
Maryland is home to many rodents, including mice, rats, squirrels, groundhogs, and more. However, although there are many species of rodents in our state, not all of them are problems for homeowners.
The fact is that only a few of these animals regularly infest buildings, and of those few, mice and rats are the two that are most commonly found in Maryland houses, with mice taking the number one spot.
Although no one wants either of these rodents getting into their house, the good news is that it’s unlikely that you’ll ever have both a mouse infestation and a rat infestation at the same time.
Both of these animals live in colonies that are built upon social hierarchies. When a colony of one rodent species claims its territory, they will be friendly with the other rodents within their colony, but aggressive towards strangers. That means that two colonies are extremely unlikely to cohabitate within the same space.
Understanding a little bit about the rodents that are likely to infest your home can be helpful in catching an infestation as early as possible. Knowing how they get inside, where they’re likely to spend their time in your home, and what signs they leave of their presence are all important pieces of information.
If you know these signs, you can be on the lookout for them in order to discover and eliminate an infestation as quickly as possible.
There are two types of rats that are likely to get into your house. Roof rats are excellent climbers, and tend to nest in the upper levels of homes, especially in the attic.
Norway rats tend to nest in the lower levels of homes, especially in the basement. House mice can be found in any area of the home, but like rats, prefer secluded areas where they can hide and create nests. They are often found in attics and wall voids.
All of these rodents gain access to your home through small entry points outside. Uncovered vents, gaps around your windows or doors, and holes in your siding can all be utilized to get into your house. Even a hole that is too small for a rat or mouse to squeeze through can be chewed away by their powerful incisors until it’s large enough to fit through.
Since rats can fit through a hole the size of a nickel and mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime, it doesn’t take long for a rodent to make a hole that’s big enough to fit through to get into your house.
Once inside your house, rats and mice will try to stay out of sight as much as possible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t leave any signs of their presence. You may hear scratching sounds in the walls or ceilings, find droppings on your countertops or in your cabinets or drawers, notice gnaw marks or holes chewed in pantry items, or find greasy rub marks along your walls.
Although any home can become victim to a rat or mouse infestation, rats tend to be more prolific in urban areas, while mice are more likely to invade rural and suburban locations.
Even so, any home can become infested with mice or rats, regardless of where it is located. New infestations usually occur in the fall and winter when rodents are in need of warm shelter and a steady supply of food and water.
Having mice in your house is something no one wants to deal with, but when you learn how many problems mice are responsible for, it becomes even more apparent why a mouse infestation can cause serious trouble for Maryland homeowners and should be dealt with as quickly as possible.
First, mice are dangerous to your health. They carry diseases that they can easily spread around your house. When they crawl across your countertops, into your food stores, and over your food prep areas, they can spread contaminates directly off their bodies as well as through their droppings.
Mice are responsible for spreading salmonella, rat bite fever, and more through contaminating surfaces.
You can also contract illnesses through direct contact with a mouse if you have the misfortune of being bitten or scratched by one.
Furthermore, mouse urine can cause allergies in children, and when particles from dried mouse droppings get into the air, they can cause allergies and asthma symptoms in both children and adults.
In addition to the direct health problems they can cause, mice are also responsible for bringing other harmful pests into your home.
Mites, fleas, lice, and ticks are commonly found on mice. When they get into your house, these parasites can drop off the mice and find their way to your family members and pets. Each of these pests causes their own set of health problems that you don’t want to deal with.
Dangers to your health aren’t the only trouble mice cause when they get into your Maryland home. They also are extremely destructive pests.
Mice are powerful chewers, and once inside your house, they will gnaw on almost anything. In addition to getting into food stores by chewing through boxes and contaminating the food inside, mice will chew through boxes in storage and damage the goods inside. That’s not where it ends though.
When mice get into homes, they chew holes through drywall, tear into pieces of insulation, and chew through wiring and piping. This damage is not only costly to repair, but can also be dangerous, leading to fire hazards, water leaks, mold problems, and more.
If you could spot a mouse as soon as it entered your home, catch the offending rodent, and be done with it, having mice get into your Maryland home wouldn’t be such a big deal. Unfortunately, that’s rarely how things work in real life. The trouble with getting mice out of your Maryland home has several components.
First, most people don’t notice a mouse infestation right away. If one mouse gets into your house, you won’t see it immediately and it probably won’t make enough noise or other signs of its presence known right away.
Instead, the infestation will begin to grow so that by the time it becomes noticeable, you don’t have just one single mouse in your house anymore,but many.
How fast can a mouse infestation grow? You might be surprised to learn the answer.
One female mouse can give birth every three weeks and the average litter has around six pups in it. A female pup reaches sexual maturity in as little as four weeks, but usually between six and eight weeks of age.
Depending on the number of females born in each litter, with these facts in mind it becomes easy to see how quickly a mouse infestation can grow. A mouse population does not simply multiply; it grows exponentially.
Even if you discover an infestation in its early stages, it’s still difficult to eliminate every mouse from your house. Setting traps will likely be met with a bit of success, but not enough to fully eliminate the problem. Mice are both smart and cautious, and it’s nearly impossible to fully eliminate an infestation by setting traps alone.
Not only do mice have quick reflexes that can allow them avoid the trap while still taking the bait, but if they suspect any danger or smell a former occupant in the trap, they will keep their distance.
Furthermore, in order for traps to be successful, you need to understand the habits of mice and where the best locations are to set the traps in the first place - which many homeowners will not be aware of.
Another problem with getting rid of mice from your house is that they are excellent at hiding. Mice don’t build their nests in easy-to-reach locations. Sometimes you can find them in your basement, but they’re far more likely to be tucked away in your attic or even within your walls.
Just getting to the source of the problem can be difficult without the proper training and equipment, and no one wants to have to break into their walls to remove a mouse infestation.
Even if you find where they’re nesting, as soon as mice sense your presence, they’ll slip away through tiny holes and other openings they find, making it very difficult to eliminate them.
If you have a mouse infestation, you need the trick to total mouse control for your Maryland home. The best part of this trick is how simple it is.
All it requires of you is to pick up the phone and call American Pest. By contacting Maryland’s leaders in the pest control industry, you won’t have to worry for one more day about fully eliminating your mouse infestation.
American Pest has been in business for nearly 100 years, and in that time, we’ve developed the most advanced, effective methods of dealing with rodent infestations on the market.
Through a five-step program that we’ve developed and improved over time, we determine where the mice are harboring then seal off their entry points, get rid of the mice in your house, reduce the mouse population outside of your house, and provide follow-up services to keep your home mouse-free in the months and years to come.
The trick to total mouse control is simple: Trust the professionals to do the job for which they’re trained. If mice have gotten into your Maryland home, don’t delay. Contact American Pest and let us handle your mouse problem with the efficiency and effectiveness we’ve come to be known for.
