Winter time means mice. One of the funny things about people is how surprised they are when I tell them that they have mice. Typical responses from these clients consist of "I have never had mice before" to "I have never seen any mouse droppings". The fact of the matter is that, to use a phrase from Proverbs, even King's houses have them. You don't have to have a dirty home or live in a bad neighborhood to have mice. The truth is that mice are pretty much everywhere humans are.
Here are a few mouse facts that you should know. Mice are excellent climbers. They can enter your home at the roof level by climbing up the wall. Mice can squeeze through a hole no larger than 3/8 of an inch diameter. The rule of thumb is, if you can stick a pencil into the hole, a mouse can get into the hole. Mice can live in between your walls for some time before venturing out into your living space. Mice can be quite loud. I have had a number of jobs where the clients swore that the noise was too loud to have come from mice. They said, "It has to be squirrels making that noise." Finally, mice can live on a 1/10 of an ounce of food per day. They are also able to extract water from their food if necessary. Thus unlike, rats, mice don't need to drink from standing water.
How do you know if you have mice?
The best way to determine if you have mice is to do an inspection of your property. Generally speaking, if you can't find a hole in your home greater than 3/8 of an inch in size, and you hear scurrying noises, then you have mice. (Bats are a possibility but that is another article). Check your attic for droppings. Mouse droppings look like thistle seed. They will be about 1/4 inch long with pointed ends. If you tap it with a spoon, it will be hard. (Bat droppings by contrast will crumble into dust). You should also look for trails in the insulation. These could consist of dime-sized holes burrowed into the insulation or slight depressions on top of the insulation. If you don't see any of this evidence, be sure to look underneath the insulation. Make sure you wear a HEPA filter mask when performing this activity.
If you are still not sure, set some mouse traps as I describe below.
