House mice are the most nettlesome guests you want to even have in your house. Those cute and fuzzy looking, tiny four-legged ninjas might apparently look to be very innocent and harmless, but they are one of the most dangerous intruders in your house. These little creepy creatures are extensively capable of nestling themselves in just any gloomy, dark corner or holes, or even piled up garbage in your storeroom as well. Rodents in general look for dark troves as their hub and of course the hub must adequate offering and availability of food as well. They are typically shrewd by nature, messy, dirty and harbingers of bundles of diseases. Moreover, these creatures breed really fast and once they are in groups, your house will soon turn into a messy place.
Common Problems from House Mice
Discovering that your house has been invented by rodents, in nothing less than a nightmare and if you are really unaware of its potential dangers, you need to read through to know more about all the risks, damages, unsanitary conditions that could ail your house and family members, if you have mice battalion in your house.
1 They can Devastate your Home Structure
Underestimating the capacity of mice is the most foolish thing to do when it comes to the structure of your house. They can literally burn your house into ashes. Though it sounds pretty dramatic, but the dire truth is, mice are extremely fascinated with chewing on electric wires. Moreover getting ready access to the electrical wiring of your house is like a doll’s play for them. Since mice try to hide inside your walls and attic, quite instinctively as well as purposefully they cut through the wirings blocking their way of access as well as in order keep their teeth sharp and short they constantly practice, chewing, cutting, etc. As a matter fact as per the studies of Illinois Dept. of Public Health almost 25% of all the unknown cases of fire breakout inside the house, initiate due to mice chewing on electric wires and making way for short circuits.
2 Diseases
Mice invasion in your house is also a potential threat for your family’s health since rodents carry diseases and since they mercilessly urinate everywhere and drop faces throughout your house, along with chewing and eating just anything in your house, the risk of spreading diseases. They can easily track food materials and have an instinctive habit of eating everything, cutting through packaged foods as well. Diseases can spread from their saliva, urine, feces, nestling items etc. The common diseases spread by mice include
- Rat Bite Fever
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
- Airborne Mouse Allergen
- Salmonellosis
- Listeria
- Bubonic Plague
- Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
- Leptospirosis
3 Breed Fast
Once you have spotted a single rat or mouse anywhere near your house or inside your house, it is high time for you to be alert. Mice breed really fast, they have a high-end reproductive system capable of giving birth to multiple offspring at a time. This means, what might seem to you like just a little four legged ninja, can be a negligible part of a huge battalion of mice inside your house, devastating your house, its hygiene, your family’s health, cleanliness as well as safety. Mice are capable of breeding 5 to 10 liters per year with every litter having six to eight babies, and the rest of dreadful scenario you can imagine yourself.
4 They will Make their Way
Mice have the ability to pass in through just any mere crack, small holes, pipelines, drainage holes, etc. They have extensive ability to jump, swim and climb which makes it simply inevitable to obstruct their way inside the house. Moreover, if you have even exterior wall cracks, unguarded holes, it is better to seal them ahead, and protect your house from the attack of mice or even to get rid of mice.
5 Threat to your Furniture
If you are not sure last time when you have checked your blankets, sweaters, unused cushions and carpet stacked in your attic and if you have recently spotted mice in the house, this is a major threat to your clothing, upholstery, car seats, cushion, blankets etc. Mice just simply love chewing upholstery, bedding, clothes etc, and their chewing means that your items are completely ruined, since whenever they dig in their sharp teeth they tend to tear items into pieces.
6 Contamination of Edible Items
Even though mice have really meager appetite and capacity of intake that is of 3 grams, they tend to contaminate 10 times more food beyond their capacity of eating. Moreover, they have a nasty having of contaminating everything that is edible within the house with their urine, feces, saliva or hair. Even more, they leave behind half-eaten particles of food, nibble on packets and also leave nibbles.
7 Damage your Gardens
Many people like gardening in their backyard or front garden area. Even they need to be alert about mice, since mice like eating on freshly planted plants. They can dig into the soil and move through the burrows they create and can damage your entire garden and harvest. They use these burrows to find nesting places as well and can even track a trail into your house from the garden.
Therefore, when you spot mice in your house or around your garden you need to respond to need of the hour immediately by calling the pest control department or service provider near you. You can at first take some preliminary steps like
- Block all the holes and cracks, small gaps between the doors in wardrobes to stop the entry of mice.
- You can also set trap for mice, there are numerous types of traps available in the market.
- Do not keep foods and vegetables or any food item uncovered. Try using tight lid containers to store food and avoid plastic or paper food cartons, as they are easily chewable for mice.
But calling professionals for mice control and trapping is the best way out to stop mice from damaging your house.