Mice

Mice are one of the most common pests affecting homes across the UK. They are known to spread diseases such as salmonella and listeria in their urine, droppings and bedding. The risk of food contamination with these pests is high due to their nature of marking their runs with urine. If you think you may have a mouse infestation, these most common signs of mice will help you know where to look.

8 Signs of Mice in your Home

1. Scratching sounds in walls or cavities

Your first step to getting a mouse-free home is to get your Sherlock Holmes hat on try and work out where the mice are getting in from. Mice only need a 5mm gap to gain Mice are often heard at night when they are most active, you may find you can hear scratching sounds from wall voids, under floorboards, basements or lofts. This is a tell-tale sign you may have mice in your home.

2. Mice Droppings

Mice will leave around 80 droppings per night. These will be small, black and a similar size to basmati rice. The most common places to find mouse droppings will be under the kitchen sink/cupboards, around boilers and in roof spaces. Droppings are one of the easiest ways to differentiate between rodents and tell whether it is in fact mice rather than rats.

3. Urine pillars

Heavy infestations of mice can result in urine pillars being created. This is when grease, dirt and urine build up over time and combine into a urine pillar. These pillars can be up to 4cm high and 1cm wide. 

4. Strong Smell

Mice urinate frequently and their urine has a strong smell like ammonia. This is often one of the first signs people notice when they have a mouse infestation, particularly in the mornings. This smell can linger even after the infestation has cleared.

5. Smear Marks

Sometimes referred to as grease marks; mice will leave behind grease-like marks on walls or pipes where they are frequently using the route and rubbing against the sides. Mouse fur contains oil to keep their coats in good condition, this is mixed with the dirt in their environment and often gets transferred onto surfaces they rub against often leaving behind dark grey marks.

6. Damage to furniture or food

Mice are continually gnawing to keep their teeth from growing too long. You will often find gnaw marks on materials such as wood, carpets, pipes, electrical cables, paper and furniture. This can cause damage to your property and can be a fire hazard if left unchecked. Mice will also use their teeth to gnaw holes in boxes in order to obtain food like cereals.

7. Nest

Mice will create nests using materials such as cloth, paper, and wool. You may find a nest in a roof space, under floorboards or in wall cavities. Mice will look for a location that is safe, warm and with a good source of food nearby.

8. Sightings or track prints

If you spot a mouse, especially during the daytime, this could be a signal of a heavy mouse infestation. You may also see tracks of footprints or tail marks in hard-to-reach places that have accumulated dust and dirt. 

How to get rid of mice?

If you think you have mice in your home, and you have one or more of these signs of mice, you may be wondering what to do next. Our helpful, friendly teams are here to help you at each step of your journey to a pest-free home. Contact us today at 0208 355 3443 and one of our dedicated customer service team can give you advice and book a local technician to clear your mouse infestation.

Having mice in your home can be a very distressing and difficult time for anyone. Mice are known to carry and spread diseases such as Salmonella and Listeria through their urine, droppings and bedding. If you have noticed signs of a mouse infestation, it’s important to act quickly. Mice are prolific breeders and can have up to 12 pups each breeding cycle which can make clearing an infestation tricky. Use our 7-step guide to dealing with house mice to help you regain control of your home and learn how to get rid of house mice. If you’re facing a persistent mouse problem that seems impossible to tackle on your own, it may be time to enlist the help of a professional mouse exterminator.

Our 7 Step Guide: How to get rid of house mice

1. Identify the Source of Your Mouse Problem

Your first step to getting a mouse-free home is to get your Sherlock Holmes hat on try and work out where the mice are getting in from. Mice only need a 5mm gap to gain entry, as a rule of thumb, if you can fit a pencil through the gap, a mouse can get through. It is also important to identify the pest to ensure you are in fact dealing with a house mouse. Use our helpful rodent identification tool to help. 

2. Seal holes and entry points

Prevention is better than a cure so even if you don’t have a current mouse infestation, we always recommend homeowners and tenants carry out proofing to prevent entry to mice. Sealing holes with wire wool and quick-setting cement is the most effective form of pest prevention. Proofing is a long-lasting solution for mouse control and can be undertaken at any time. Focus on low-level holes or gaps first as these are the most likely culprits for mouse ingress. If these are all sealed and you still have ongoing mice ingress then consider higher-up vents or gaps.

Mouse mesh and vent covers are well used in pest control and building maintenance, particularly in urban areas like London where pest infestations are common.

Mouse mesh, also known as wire mesh or wire netting, is a finely woven metal screen typically made from materials like stainless steel or aluminium. They are designed to prevent rodents and other pests from entering buildings through small openings such as gaps in walls, vents, or pipes. Mouse mesh is highly effective because it’s durable, resistant to corrosion.

3. Restrict access to harbourage

Mice will build nests near food sources and will mark their territory leaving a strong smell. This means removing nesting materials is important to prevent mice from making themselves comfortable in your home. Clearing overgrowth and piles of wood or debris from your garden and making sure the mice can’t access your bins will help. Ensure your bins have tight-fitting lids and there are no holes in the base.

4. Remove food sources

Mice will eat almost any human food but prefer grain-based products. Mice are reliant on food and, if necessary, can go a month or more without water by extracting water from food sources. Whilst restricting access to food and water may not kill off the mice infestation, your home will be much less inviting for the mice. Mice will eat little and often so sweeping up crumbs from the floor and under cabinets is important. 

5. Install door sweeps or bristle strips

If your external doors have a 4mm gap, it would be a good idea to have bristle strips installed to prevent mice from gaining entry through the door. 

6. Use traps

If you have mice inside your home, you will need to still use mouse traps or poison to prevent the population from growing and eradicate the infestation. We recommend for amateur use; break back traps. 

*Use of over-the-counter poisons is restricted, and we know from ongoing research that mouse populations in London and some other cities are showing resistance to traditional rodenticides making these poisons ineffective. There is also a risk of secondary poisoning of birds and other creatures if used incorrectly. 

Break-back mouse traps should be placed near the mice activity (where you have seen the mice or found droppings). Ironically, cheese is not the best bait for most mice. We find mice prefer peanut butter, nutty chocolate, raisins or similar attractive foods. 

WARNING: When placing traps be sure to place them out of reach of non-target animals, children and pets.

7. Call the professionals

We always recommend using a professional pest controller to get your problem dealt with quickly, effectively and safely. Our local technicians have vast experience in dealing with mice in homes and can support you in clearing your mouse infestation and will give you advice and recommendations to prevent future mouse ingress. Our technicians have access to commercial-grade rodenticides if necessary which are effective for mouse extermination. They are trained to ensure the baits are placed in a safe way to protect non-target species, children and pets. 

Contact us today at 0208 3553 3443 to book a technician and resolve your mouse problem once and for all

Do you have mice in your home? Look out for these signs of mice and be in control of your home.

Mice tend to come out when it is quiet resulting in them being more active at night. They live for around 12 months, are pregnant for only 3 weeks and a single pair can be responsible for producing hundreds of mice within one year. As they produce around eighty droppings in a day and urinate wherever they run they can soon contaminate a large area. Like rats, they have teeth that continually grow and need to gnaw to wear these down in size resulting in a lot of damage.

1. Droppings
You are likely to see dark brown droppings, approximately the size of a grain of rice. A mouse can leave up to 80 droppings a day so don’t be surprised if you see a lot of droppings. Places to check are under kitchen kick plates, in the cupboards under the sink, and in corners.

2. Smear marks
These marks are harder to identify if you are not sure what you are looking for. Smear marks are a build-up of grease, hair and body fat which a mouse will leave as they travel around. They look like dirty smears and are normally signs of a heavy or prolonged infestation.

3. Damage
Rodents have to continually chew to keep the size of their incisors down to a manageable size. This means they will chew through packaging, wood, plaster, and cables. This chewing can be a serious risk as chewing cables has resulted in fires.

4. Noise
You may hear rustling noises in the walls, under the floors or in the ceilings. Once in a property mice will travel around the building looking for food and nesting materials. They quite often use the pipework for water and gas as a run. This enables them to travel under flooring and above in ceiling voids.

5. Nests
Mice use easy-to-shred materials such as cardboard, paper and tissue to make their nests. The nests will be un-disturbed areas so if you are having a spring clear-out and come across a pile of shredded paper it could be mice.

If you think you have these signs of mice in your home then call a professional pest control company. Although you can do it yourself, a professional pest control company will help you identify the entry points to prevent re-occurrences in the future.