After my niece had a serious reaction to pest control, I realized that we were up against a few big problems. For starters, I knew that we needed to identify the types of pests that we were struggling with, and then we needed to find green products that would be safe for her to be around. It was a little bit of a challenge at first, but within a few weeks we found a company that offered the perfect line of products. I wanted to start a blog completely committed to pest control, so I started this site. Read more about keeping your family safe here.
Winter is here. It's that time of year when pests come out of the woodwork looking for a place to escape the cold weather. Mice are particularly annoying during this time of year. That's because once they get inside your house, it's almost impossible to get rid of them, especially once they start breeding inside your walls. If you do everything you can each year to keep the mice away, but they keep coming back, you may have overlooked something along the way. In fact, without even realizing it, you could have given the neighborhood mice an open invitation to take up winter lodging in your home. Here are four unexpected ways you may have invited your pest problem.
You May Have Offered Them Water
When mice start looking for winter lodging, they usually put access to water at the top of the list. Even if you don't have birdbaths and dog water bowls outside, you could have still offered the mice water without knowing it. Take a look around your yard and under the sinks in your home. If you've got any pipes that are leaking, they could be the reason you've got a mice problem.
You May Have Readily Available Housing
Once mice find access to available water, they'll start looking for a place to sleep—preferably one that's out of the cold. If you've got holes in the siding of your home or screen doors that are in disrepair, you may have inadvertently provided readily available housing opportunities right inside your home. Mice don't need much room to crawl through to get inside your home. In fact, mice can squeeze through any space that's big enough for their head to fit through. If you've got a mouse problem, you need to check out your house for access points, especially along the foundation of your home and around the doors.
You May Have Given Them Plenty of Places to Hide
If the neighborhood mice can't find access into your home right away, they're going to need a place to hide out and wait for the perfect opportunity. If you've got a wood pile near your porch, dried brush around the perimeter of your home, or other type of debris in your yard, you've given them plenty of hiding places. Before the mice that are hiding outside have a chance to run inside while you're not looking, remove anything they could use as cover.
You May Have Provided an Easily Accessible Food Source
After the mice have found their water and made living arrangements, they'll start checking out the dining opportunities. If you've got trash cans without lids, open containers of dog food, or low-hanging bird feeders, you may have accidentally provided the neighborhood mice with an easily accessible food source. Put the lids on your trash cans, move the dog food inside, and hang the bird feeders away from the house.
If you're tired of dealing with mice year after year, use the tips provided here to take rescind your invitation. If you continue to have a problem with mice, it might be time to bring in a professional exterminator like those at PermaTreat Pest & Termite Control.
Share29 November 2017
