More often than not your mouse problem is caused by the ‘house mouse’ or Mus domesticus.

Mouse and Mice control

The first tell-tale signs are normally noises in the loft/attic or ceiling, followed by signs of chewed and gnawed material. The second most common domestic place to find them is either in the shed or garage, where they have been happily chewing and nesting for some time. Mice will chew just about anything….

The other obvious sign of mice problems is there characteristic droppings- normally scattered throughout the places they are living and travelling through.  In households you will often find the droppings at the back of cupboards, along worktops, uder the stairs etc and the droppings resemble grains of rice (although black/brown in clour).

Mice live in and around homes, farms, open land etc. but the house mouse is normally found inhabiting buildings where it finds harbourage, warmth and food. They eat many types of food but generally prefer seed and grain and, unlike rats, are not hesitant to try new foods.  Even such items as butter, cheese, bacon etc are often eaten and mice meet their water needs from the food they eat.

In general mice are prolific breeders, so if you think you have problems with mice you should act promptly before the situation worsens.

As with most rodents mice are known transmitters of diseases. They also have the unpleasant trait of walking over and through foodstuffs.

The mouse can cause significant damage via its chewing, and cause problems with losses of both stored foods and stored items.

There are numerous option open to use in controlling mice infestations. But as always you must firstly correctly diagnose the mouse as the pest.

Common clearance techniques include the use of rodenticide poisons (blocks, grains etc), the use of traps- both spring and live capture, sticky boards etc.

Prevention:

To gain access a mouse only needs a hole the diameter of a pencil so full proofing is difficult:

• Fill all holes around pipes, cables, overflows with  cement/mortar or a suitable external filler.
• Fill gaps/holes where roof tiles meet the soffit .
• Seal all holes around door/window frames.
• Cover air bricks with fine wire gauze however you must ensure that the air flow is not restricted (there are now specially designed guards for this exact usage available to purchase- mouse mesh)
• Ensure your store all potential food sources in appropraitely sealed containers.