Hi, I’m a mouse that likes to hide, but where am I most likely to be… in the home I like to hide in locations where I can’t be seen such as behind cupboards or behind the wall voids, beneath the sink via the pipe chase holes or even in a pantry that has access holes. I only need an opening the size of your small finger to move quickly from location to location in your home. I like to stay near my nesting area where I build up a comfy spot to have my babies.
I also enjoy leaving urine trails and like to poop in corners and along edges. These little small shaped ‘football’ poops can be dangerous if you find them in locations where deer mice are present. Do not disturb this type of fecal matter as it may have hantavirus present in it and if your aerosol the fecal matter and breathe it in it could kill you. So please soak down the fecal matter with a 50:50 water bleach mixture; let it sit for 15 minutes and you better wear an N-95 mask, rubber gloves and goggles to clean it up and disinfect the area. In the home, it is unlikely to be a deer mouse but it’s always best to be careful if you do not know whether I’m a house mouse or a deer mouse.
All I need to survive and propagate is a little water, a food source and a location to hide. I really like to hide behind stoves and fridges as food stuffs and water can be there and provide me a great place to hide. If you have open food, spilled food stuffs or even an open bag of dog or cat food will give me the chance to grow, reproduce and create even more of a mess in your home.
So how should you keep me out? Well exclusion at this time of year is key! Fill, seal, repair any crack, hole or crevasse that I can fit through. Also place bait stations or Ketchall’s or snap traps or sticky traps along walls where you are seeing evidence of my presence. Calling the professionals at Poulin’s will help give you the best defense of keeping me out of your house in the fall because this is the time of year I want in.