There is one saying that ‘prevention is better than cure’. After the mice infestation, it may cost you a fortune and a lot of energy to deal with these rodents. Even after that, the chances of their coming back and invading your house are very high.
It is advisable to prevent mice from getting into your house in the first place. The mice infestation nightmare can start with just only one female mouse. Every three weeks, a dozen babies can be given birth and your house will become their new home.
Rodents put your home at risk for electrical fires with gnawed wires. Rodents put your family’s health at risk for transmitting harmful viruses like Hantavirus and Salmonella. Rodents put your
garden at risk for damaging bulbs, plants, vegetables, and fruit.
So what can you do to keep the mice out of your house and prevent their invasion right from the start?
Before coming to the top prevention tips, let’s find out why these crawling creatures keep attacking your house.
Reasons For Rat and Mice Problems
1. Poor Sanitation
The first and foremost reason for an infestation might be due to the lack of adequate sanitation. Because poor sanitation provides the basic source of food and water for these rodents, which is more than a welcome for them to move in and create a nest inside your house.
This unhygienic conditions might be available inside and outside your house. Just to make sure look for these signs. In the outer area of your house, the overgrown bushes, shrubs, and foliage, the stacked pile of wood, lumber, and pipes, the accumulation of unused furniture items provide favorable breeding sites.
In your attic and basement, the scrap building materials are perfect for building a nest and raising the pests’ offspring. The scattered bits of garbage around your house are another source of food for unwanted guests.
2. Food
As rodents seek for food in the human homes, they are easily attracted to all the foodstuffs even the smallest morsels of food. The grains and nuts in the open containers, pet food, and bird seeds should be taken into consideration as the food source. Finally, look out your dining tables, cookers and kitchen area for crumbs and tiny pieces of food.
3. Shelter
Apart from food and water, rats also constantly search for ideal places to give birth and raise their offspring. The favorable environment for the rodents is warm, narrow and dark areas. Because of their frequent eating habit up to 20 times a day, their nest is often pretty close to the food source.
Kitchen cabinets, inside the walls, under the oven or fridge, attic and basement are the common places for nesting. Besides, leaf piles, deep mulch, debris pile and farm fields outside your house can also attract unwelcomed houseguests.
4. Rotting Vegetables and Fruits In the Garden
For the fruit and veggies gardeners, you have to pay extra attention to the rotting vegetables and overripe fruits. Abundant food source which is right next to the ideal nesting site, such as the piles of leaves, makes your garden appealing to mice more than ever. They will invade your garden and then chew through the wood wall and attack your house.
You waste so much time and energy to have a fruitful garden which is easily destroyed by these disease carriers. They just take a bite or two out of the tomatoes and then move on to the others. What is worse is that we don’t know how far their saliva travels. You have to read the signs and get rid of them as soon as possible.
When it comes to dealing with mice infestation, you can count on natural remedies, traps or professional’s help. However, prevention is always the top priority. Here is the list of
proven tips to keep mice away.Top Prevention Tips
1. Remove Attractants
Knowing the reasons for attracting the mouse to your house, you can basically remove them for better prevention. The rodents won’t visit your house and garden if you pay attention to:
- Food: clean up the scattered food after meals in the kitchen and the floor. Keep all food packages tightly sealed or put them in airtight containers. Put the pet food and bird seed in storage containers. Discard the rotting veggies and check up regularly on the fruit in your garden. If possible, replace your old trash can with a new one which has a tight-fitting lid.
- Water: wash the dishes right after the meals. Don’t put off this mundane task as it can spread germs around the house and invite mice with the water in the sink. Leaking pipes or broken spigots should be repaired immediately. You should also fix water pooling in yard and other drainage problems as well. These pools act as the mosquito and rodents magnet.
- Harborage: with the unused cardboard storage boxes, selling them for reuse is better than popping them in the compactor. Clean your attic or basement by putting materials or items on the shelves, not the floor. Remove debris, woodpiles in your yard. Regularly trim your shrubs and bushes
2. Fix the Cracks and Crevices
Even when your house is an ideal place for mouse nest, it couldn’t be invaded if the rodents can’t find any entrance to exploit. Don’t let these creatures take advantage of your house! Take a walk around your house and fix these places:
- Wall: cover any cracks and holes with the self-adhesive mesh patch. However, to the weep holes for moisture control purposes, you can simply use a coarse fabric mesh. Do a regular check up on these holes as mice can slip in through a dime-sized hole.
- Doors, windows: The problem with the loose-fitting door is the gap between the door and the floor. You can invest in self-closing devices for the main doors or fill the gap by some sealant. To the sliding windows, you can easily install a screen to prevent flies, insects, and bugs.
- Pipes drains, and vents: the most overlooked areas, which usually are around gaps between piping and the wall/ floor, are great entry points. These gaps can be patched up by using concrete or pipes sealants.
It is unavoidable to pour your time and money into making your house a mouse-proof castle. All the listed tips above are a mix of easy and complex steps. Just remember to block the possible entry points, keep your house clean and put the food source in airtight containers.
When the
winter comes closer, the rodents are more likely to invade your home. Take all these prevention steps so they can’t spread diseases to your whole family.
