People say that when you see one mouse, there are many more in the shadows. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a mouse infestation. But in my 17 years of being a licensed animal control specialist, I can confirm that this saying is true. Many people don’t understand that mice breed rapidly, The average female can give birth to about 10 litters per year (each litter contains 6-8 babies) and now imagine that inside your home. Hundreds of little mice scampering under your floors, between your bedrooms, darting across your kitchen floor. It’s because of this reason that it is so vital to contact an exterminator or animal control specialist as soon as possible.
Mice can do all sorts of damage to your home, things you wouldn’t typically think of. Because mice live in nests, they will chew and rip up anything that could be used to build their home within your home. Anything from wood, installation, and even electrical wiring. Mice have no respect for your belongings, they will chew through furniture, appliances, walls and anything in between. Structural issues become a very real problem if a mouse infestation gets advanced enough. The material items are the least of your worries.
On top of being incredibly destructive, mice are known for carrying all sorts of diseases and germs. Sure, from a distance mice are super cute and fluffy. With their small plush bodies, and their small eyes and adorable ears. But if you look at them from a biological standpoint, they are the ultimate breeding ground for bacterial and viral infections. From rat-bite fever, to the plague, even Leptospirosis. These dangerous and even deadly diseases transfer even faster if the mice get into your food and you living areas. This is why it’s so important to contact a proper specialist so they can make sure to sanitize and clean properly. So please, keep yourself and your families safe from these hidden figures
Tag Archives: mice in house
Mice in the Pantry
Quitting my diet cola drink is hard enough. The headaches, mood swings and general feelings of “unwell” are evidence that those little cocktails of carbonated water, caffeine and chemicals are not exactly healthy for the human body. When I’m going through diet soda withdrawals, normal life is difficult enough, and then today I discovered mice in the pantry.
Life’s been full of big changes for me lately. I just graduated from a masters program in business administration, I just got laid off from my job, my boyfriend and I just got engaged, and I’m putting my townhome on the market while looking for a house with my fiancé. So, of course, I think it’s a great idea to quit drinking diet soda and start an exercise routine so I can look and feel my very best on my wedding day. I’m stressed, on edge, even though most of my life changes are mostly for the good. Well, except for the job loss, of course. That’s a special kind of stress.
After a frustrating wedding planning session with my mother, I decided to clean out my kitchen in preparation for the upcoming move. I’ll admit, I haven’t been in that pantry for a good, long while, subsisting through the last few months of the masters program on take-out and vending machine food. I had no idea there were mice in the pantry until today.
I pulled items out, wondering what those little black things were on the shelves and the tops of the cans. I finally realized those little black things were mice poop around and on top of my food when I saw little holes chewed into pasta and cereal boxes. That’s really put me over the top today. Mice in the pantry! Right when I’m trying to sell the place. Crap.
I easily got the pantry emptied out by throwing everything away. I called Allstate Animal Control to get rid of the mice from the pantry. And, I am now enjoying a heavily caffeinated diet soda. Fine. I can quit some other day.
Mice in the House
Decorating for the holidays is not one of my favorite things to do, especially when you make the discovery you have mice in the house at the same time.
I wish I was one of those women who look forward to the holidays, who has the house perfectly decorated by the night of Thanksgiving, who constantly boils apple juice and cinnamon sticks and cloves just to make the house smell nice, who passes out all the Christmas goodies to her neighbors by the first weekend of December, and who has all the Christmas gifts purchased and wrapped by the end of October. I’m just not that kind of woman.
I’m more the type of person who gets annoyed at all the unnecessary parties I have to plan or attend, and at the loss of every single weekend in December. I have an Oh-Crap moment about the second week of December and pull out the dusty holiday decoration boxes that are completely disorganized after last year’s desperate holiday clean up attempt in the middle of January. I have a second Oh-Crap moment about the third week of December when I have to finally finish all my holiday shopping, and end up getting gift cards for more than half the people on my list.
So, when I pulled out the box containing the pre-lit Christmas tree, I sighed for about the hundredth time that day. I would have to rearrange the furniture in the front room so I could somehow fit this tree in there. I would have to assemble the tree and make sure all the lights still worked. I’d have to fluff out the branches in a sad attempt to make it look like a real tree, while trying to avoid scratching my arms too badly. I’d have to sort through my tree decorations, toss the ones that broke during last year’s packing, and make it look festive enough. I did this so my kids could enjoy Christmas. I did not personally enjoy it. So, I did the basic decorating while the kids were at school so they wouldn’t see my “Bah Humbug” attitude.
I reached in the box to pull out the first part of the tree, and gasped when my hand touched something soft that moved. Then I had one of those delay-screams. You know, when you scream after you realize what exactly happened, and then you have to wait until you have enough breath to get the scream out. I’d touched a mouse. Matter of fact, I’d touched several mice. There was a nest in my Christmas tree box!
The mice were just as terrified and surprised as I was, because they jumped out of the box and scattered. I now had mice in my house. I continued screeching as I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Plunging my hand into water as hot as I could stand, I realized my cell phone was in the other room. I’d have to brave the mice just to call for help. Hopefully, I could get someone to my house before the kids came home so we could get rid of the mice before they had to know about it.
Merry Christmas.
I’m not decorating next year.
Get Rid of Mouse
I thought I knew how to get rid of a mouse. As a high school junior, I have no problems being in charge when both my parents have to go out of town on business trips. I’ve been watching my younger brother and sister for years whenever both Mom and Dad are gone. It’s been great, too. I get paid for doing what I normally do at home, and all I have to do is make sure they both get their homework done, they’re ready for school in the morning, and make dinner at night. The rest of the time, I can have my friends over, watch TV, do my homework, text my friends, and just do what I usually do. Easy, right?
Sure, it’s easy. Until something weird happens. Like the time my little brother had one of his friends over, and his friend got really hurt while they were jumping on our trampoline. But, I’m a great babysitter. I helped calm my brother’s friend down, called his mom to pick him up, and made up new rules about the trampoline. It’s never happened again.
Or, like the time my little sister stuck a bead up her nose while she was playing in the toy room. I have no idea where she got the bead. But, she stuck it up there pretty far. I managed to help her get it out, though. I just plugged up the other nostril and had her blow. After like two tries, that little sucker shot right out of her nose, all gooey and sticky. See? Problem solved.
So, last night I saw a mouse in the house. It ran right across the floor in front of us while we were watching TV before bed, and ran under the couch where I was sitting. My brother screamed, and my little sister tried to chase it. It was so gross, but I’m pretty sure I know how to get rid of a mouse. I got my brother and sister out of the room and ready for bed. After they were in their bedrooms, I marched back down to the living room and looked under the couch. Yep, it was still there. I have no idea what it was doing, or why it was just sitting there, but there it was. I could get rid of a mouse, one stupid little mouse.
I grabbed up our cat, Deacon, tossed him in the room with the TV and the mouse, and closed the door. Done. Deacon would get rid of the mouse by the morning.
This morning, I opened up the door to the TV room right before school. Deacon ran out and headed outside. Then, the mouse came tearing across the room and disappeared under the TV console. Great. Just great. Guess I don’t know how to get rid of a mouse.
So, I texted Mom, and she told me to just call Allstate Animal Control. They’d know how to get rid of a mouse. Guess I don’t know everything, but I’m still a great babysitter.