Large gap provides easy entry for mice - Mice removal and control in Hazlet

A homeowner in Hazlet contacted Cowleys after finding a mouse infestation in his basement. Once temperatures drop, mice and other overwintering pests try to make their way into our homes to shelter themselves from the harsh winter elements. 

Mice are nocturnal creatures that do their foraging in the dead of night, so they tend to stay out of sight. More often than not, you’ll notice signs of mice activity well before actually seeing one of these scampering pests. If you do see a mouse during the day, it may be a sign of a heavy infestation. The most common sign that you have a mouse problem is their small and dark droppings that they leave behind, often inside cupboard tops or along skirting. While mice and the size of their droppings are small, the quantity of droppings is a whole different story — a single mouse can produce upwards of 70 droppings a day! Mice also leave behind hairs, rub marks along regularly traveled routes, and track footprints in dusty places. Besides their droppings, other signs are smells (the ammonia-like smell of urine and the stench of a dead rotting mouse carcass are particularly pungent), and scratching noises, which often heard at night when they are moving about.  In addition, you may find easy-to-shred nesting materials and track footprints in dusty places.

Whenever I am dispatched to resolve a mouse infestation, after talking to the homeowner to get an idea of where the creatures are nesting and harboring, I first perform a thorough inspection. During the inspection, I meticulously do an inch-by-inch inspection of the interior and exterior perimeter of the home in order to find possible access points. Mice entry points can be easily overlooked and are a challenge to locate — they only need an opening about the size of a dime to squeeze their way inside. My inspection includes checking all of the utility lines and pipes entering the home to ensure sealed tight and that their are no gaps. With this particular job, even after re-tracking my steps at least three times, I could not find a single possible entry point around the foundation. From my early pest control days, I knew that a common access point was the garage door area. I checked the garage and the weather strips and garage door jams were perfectly intact. Finally, I checked around the home’s siding. And bingo - I found a very obvious entry point that would lead the mice into the garage, and from the garage into the basement. 

I sealed the gap in the siding. In the basement’s interior, I placed RTU bait stations that automatically lock once a rodent enters, and placed LP (low profile) bait stations around the exterior of home along with a dozen snap traps. I was confident that this internal-external trapping arrangement would capture most of the mice, if they were still around. After a three day follow-up, I returned to the home. No mouse activity was found other than a deer mouse caught in a snap trap. 

Two weeks later, I followed up once again, and still there was no activity. At this point, there was no longer an active infestation and mice were not gaining access into the home. I told the homeowner to always be on the lookout for mice activity, and if there was a problem, we’d be back to handle it. Mice infestations are not a one visit and your done problem. You often need to set additional traps and re-inspect, so it may take a few visits by the pest control tech to make sure that these pests are out of your home for good.