As temperatures drop, people want to stay inside where it is safe and warm. House mice are no different, they just want to stay inside your customer’s structures and eat their food. Keep your customers happy and keep these miniature menaces at bay by following the three Pro-Tips below:
Exclusion is key. This is easier said than done since house mice can enter an opening as small as a quarter of an inch in diameter. Finding all these openings around a home or business is tricky. Make sure to do an inspection on the inside and the outside. You may see openings on one side that you couldn’t see from the other side. Focus on the ground level but don’t ignore higher areas that are still connected to the ground. Think of vines on the side of a building, cables or lines that go from the ground upwards, and trees and shrubs up against the structure. Identify all possible entry points and get the customer to seal all those. If you are set up to do so, give the customer an estimate for you, the professional, to do it.
Pro-Tip – If you are unsure which openings are actively being used by mice (and take priority to be sealed), crumble a piece of paper and stick it in the hole. If the paper is pushed out, you know a mouse is using that pathway.
Traps definitely help. They are both a monitoring tool to point to where house mice are, and as a capture device. Use the information on where you are catching mice to focus inspection efforts. Look for sanitation issues, food sources, and potential nesting areas. Since it is winter and cooler, remember to look for “warm” spots. Behind appliances, next to furnaces, and inside insulation are all prime spots for house mice to take up residence. To help save you time, use one of the best mousetraps around, the EZ Snap Mouse. The two traps, contained in a station, have a colored indicator tie to let you know if the trap has been triggered. You don’t have to open and check traps that are still set, just the ones that have been triggered. The time you save can be spent talking to the customer about sanitation and exclusion issues.
Pro-Tip – You don’t necessarily need a trap on either side of the door. Look at how the door opens or where the seal is broken, and then what pathway the mouse will use to get inside. Place a trap on that side.
Baiting will give faster results. Once a customer discovers a house mouse problem and calls you, they want it gone yesterday. Bait traps with small pieces of food items to further entice the mice into the traps. If you know what they are feeding on inside the site, use bits of that. If you choose to use rodenticide, use a locking and secured bait station. Always read and follow all label regulations when using rodenticides. The MBS Mouse Bait Station is a great choice for professional pest control companies because it is small and fits into those tight areas mice may be inhabiting.
Pro-Tip – Mice also like to collect nesting material. Instead of food bait on all the traps, try securing small bits of string, cotton balls, or even a piece of tissue on some of the traps.
Preventing house mice from entering a structure is always preferable, however, we know that they do get in looking for warmth, protection, and food. Once they do, reacting quickly with the best rodent traps and potentially bait in the right areas can shorten the time it takes to remove them. Don’t forget to work with the customer to deal with sanitation and exclusion issues so the problem is resolved quicker and is prevented in the future. For more on house mice and the best products for managing rodents, click here!
