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In popular culture, mice are soft, kind, and shy. Common expressions like “he’s as timid as a mouse,” or “she’s as poor as a church mouse” help propagate this stereotype. The truth is that mice can be dangerous, and cause costly and irreversible damage to your home.
As pest and wildlife control experts, we’ve compiled a list of facts to help unveil the truth about mice:
Where there is one, there are many. Mice can go years without detection. If you see a mouse in your home, especially during the daytime or in an open area, there are very likely more where it came from. When mice populations reach a certain level, some mice are forced to burrow in strange places in broad daylight. Female mice reach sexual maturity within six weeks of birth, and with a gestational period of only about 19 to 21 days, can deliver between five and 10 litters per year.
Mice can carry dangerous diseases. Mice can transmit numerous illnesses to humans, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, lymphocytic chorio-meningitis, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, and salmonellosis. Some of these diseases are fatal and can be transmitted through mouse urine, feces, and bite wounds. If you spot mouse poop in your attic, under your sink, or anywhere else in your home, get in touch with a wildlife control specialist as soon as possible.
Mice can cause irreparable damage to your home. Mice chew on everything. These pesky creatures will shred, burrow, and nest in just about any material they can get their pesky paws on, including upholstered furniture like car seats and couches, insulation, and wood. Despite their size and innocent disposition, mice have been known to cause house fires by chewing on wires, destroy family heirlooms and valuable documents, and ruin furniture with urine and droppings.
Mice will scavenge for food. No Tupperware lunch is safe from a mouse. Unless your food items are stored in glass, metal, or ceramic containers, you run the risk of mice gnawing on your precious goods. It is estimated that mice destroy 10 times the amount of food they eat. The result? An accumulation of partially eaten food unfit for humans or pets. Your garden isn’t safe, either. Mice have been known to dig up bulbs and cause damage to crops before harvesting.
Next time you see a mouse in your home, we hope you see it as something other than a cute, fluffy, innocent creature. Keep in mind the health risks associated with these rodents, and how they can reproduce to form an insulation-eat, wall-damaging army in just a few weeks.
If you have a mouse infestation in your home, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the wildlife experts at Raider Wildlife Control. Contact us today for more information.
