Mice do not hibernate, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that they and other rodents seek shelter during the winter months. Finding shelter from the harsh winter weather proves necessary for their survival.  This also means that your home or business could be the shelter Mice and other rodents aim to move into for the next several months.

Do you have the sneaking suspicion that your house has become an ideal winter home for mice? Here are a few telltale signs to let you know if that feeling is more than a hunch:

• Mouse Poop: The number one sign of mice being present in your living space will be finding their droppings, or feces, around your home. Mouse poop looks like a blackish-brown grain of rice. Popular spots to search for left-behind droppings first include inside cupboards, along baseboards, and in closets. Mice will poop while they are moving and can leave behind 60 to 75 pellets per day. The amount of droppings you find could relate to the size of your problem.

• Strange Noises: Mice are most active during the night.  If you hear scratching noises seeming to come from inside your walls, under floorboards, in the attic or down in the basement, it could be mice. They tend to do a lot of exploring, scratching at everything to determine whether or not it can be used for nesting material.

• Smell: Mice pee a lot. Their urine has a strong ammonia-like scent. If the scent is strong, you are close to where most of their activity is taking place.

• Chew marks:  Mice will test any surface by scratching and chewing. They will gnaw at anything to see if it could prove useful to them. If you notice bite marks on plastic containers in the garage, attic, or basement — or on furniture, doorways, or ledges — it could be a sign of mice.

• Mouse Marks: Mice have exceptionally greasy fur, and it will leave stains on your baseboards or walls. Mice have very distinct patterns of movement, often times sticking as close to a wall as possible. If you suspect you have mice, check your baseboards and walls on the lower levels of your home.

• Pets acting Strange: Your pets could also be key to uncovering whether or not mice are in your home. Do you notice your dog or cat becoming agitated in the evening, seeking something that seems to not be there? It could be that they hear the mice moving around — a dog or cat’s hearing is five times better than that of a human. If your dog is constantly running around with its nose to the ground, keep in mind that its sense of smell is nearly 10 million times that of a human. If you already suspected an infestation, this behavior could be an indicator that you were correct.

• Seeing a live mouse: We know, this one seems pretty obvious. However, since mice are most active at night. If you see one during the day it could mean there is a large-scale infestation.

If you believe that you could have unwanted winter house guests, contact us.  We will send one of our trained pest control technicians out to inspect your home, free of charge!