Are you experiencing problems with mice in your home this winter? Rodent infestations increase during the winter months, because these pests look for warmth and shelter during cold weather just like we do. Although you may feel embarrassed to have mice in your home, thinking it indicates that you do not keep a clean house, do not let this prevent you from seeking professional mice extermination in Portland, OR. Mice really do not care whether your home is neat and tidy--or a candidate for a cable TV show on hoarding. They infest any home where they can find a place to make a nest and food to keep them full.
Mice are small gray or brown rodents, reaching only a few inches long when they are full grown. They have long tails, which are hairless, and rounded ears. They may squeak when excited. Mice enter your house by crawling underneath doors and through holes in roofs or walls. Once inside, they look for a place to set up a nest. They prefer areas that are out of the way so that they are not easily disturbed as they mate and have babies; this could be a box in your garage or old blankets behind your dryer. They will seek both human and pet food that is easily accessible.
Mice reproduce rapidly, which is all the more reason to take action as soon as you think you may have some running through your house. Females become able to bear young at just 6-10 weeks of age. The gestation period is only about three weeks, so one female can have five or 10 litters per year that yield anywhere between 25 and 60 babies per year. As these babies also become able to reproduce, the number of mice in your home increases exponentially.
Mice can destroy property in your home. Mice like to line their nests with shredded paper, so if they can access your old tax records in an unsealed box in your garage, you may find them in pieces on the ground. Mice also chew and gnaw all the time, and they are indiscriminate about whether or not they are wrecking something important to you. They will chew through cereal boxes, bags of rice, and stereo wires. They also take no care to where they urinate or defecate; you may find droppings on your countertops or kitchen floor. You may find boxes in your closets or pet blankets that have urine soaked into them. This is a big reason for the strong, unpleasant odor that indicates a mouse nest is nearby.
Mice also bring disease to you and your family members. These tiny pests are responsible for such dangerous diseases as hantavirus (which itself can take the form of several serious medical syndromes) and bubonic plague. Leptospirosis can be transmitted simply through handling something on which mice have urinated. Lymphocytic chorio-meningitis (LCM), a serious neurological disease caused by a virus borne by the common house mouse, can be spread by breathing dust from the droppings of mice. Salmonellosis, an acute gastrointestinal disease, is also spread by mice; you can contract it by eating or drinking anything that has been contaminated by their droppings. Clearly, just having these rodents in your home puts the health of your household at risk.
Trying to get rid of mice yourself is not always successful. You can probably catch a few by using glue or metal traps, but as they reproduce so rapidly, you are not likely to get them all. Quick action is needed if you are going to eliminate these rodents before they multiply beyond your control. A professional exterminator will be able to use the best equipment to eradicate the mice completely. He will also be able to tell you how the mice likely entered your home so that you can prevent reinfestation. You can visit a website like http://www.americanextermination.com/ to find a professional. If you think you have more than one mouse in your house, call a professional for an inspection today.
