Deer mice are small rodents that cause frequent problems for home and business owners in rural areas or even in urban neighbourhoods close to parks, forests, or other dense vegetation.
These small mice can invade indoor spaces through cracks and crevices in walls and other entry points.
When an infestation breaks out indoors, the deer mice are capable of ruining foodstuffs, chewing food and wiring, and spreading diseases like hantavirus.
So in this article, we will show you how to identify deer mice, how to eliminate an infestation, and how to prevent further infestations from breaking out.
Step 1: Identification
The first thing you should do in any pest control plan is identify what exactly you are dealing with. Careless identification can lead to the wrong treatment methods, costing you time and money.
Deer mice are small rodents commonly found outdoors but will occasionally invade indoors in search of food, water, and shelter.
Their bodies are two to three inches in length, and their tails add another 2 to 3 inches. When compared to other rodents, deer mice have large ears and large black eyes.
The top side of the fur can range from different shades of brown.
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Step 2: Inspection
Once you know what your pests look like, check around your property to confirm their presence or find active hot spots.
When looking for deer mice, start indoors in the kitchen, bathroom, attic, basement, and garage. Check cabinets, behind appliances, and any storage.
If you are looking for deer mouse activity, which may also include the mice themselves, look for poops, chewed openings, fur on the ground, and smear marks along the walls.
When inspecting, note any foul odours and look for their droppings. Mouse droppings are about a quarter of an inch in length with pointed ends.
After inspecting indoors, check outside for any rodent burrows, trampled-down grass, paths of flattened grass, etc.; these are evidence of where rodents have travelled.
Also note, any openings in fences where pests can invade your property.
Step 3: Treatment
After identifying your pest and inspecting for activity on your property it is time to start treatment.
Before starting any treatment, put on your protective equipment or PPE, wear a face mask and safety glasses to protect yourself from harmful contaminants, and wear gloves to avoid leaving your human scent on any product you will handle.
To eliminate a deer mouse infestation, use traps designed to make rodent control easy and effective like the Solutions Easy Set Snap Trap which offers a quick kill.
Simply pull back on the trap’s pressure plate and simply pull back on the upright bar until the trap unlocks in two places.
There are many foods that rodents are attracted to, but it is best to use something sticky like peanut butter so the mouse cannot leave the bait.
When set properly any rodent that activates the trap will be killed instantly. Indoors set traps in areas where rodent activity has been observed.
Outdoors we recommend you pair this trap with a Solutions tamper-proof bait station. The bait station will safely house the arms trap without posing a danger to any non-target animals.
We also recommend you use Pro Glue trays as an additional method of trapping rodents. These traps are pre-painted with peanut butter scent to lure rodents to its powerful and sticky glue.
To set up Pro Glue trays simply remove the trays from the package, pull the trays apart, and they are ready to place.
The glue tray’s flat design even allows it to be placed underneath furniture for more discreet trapping.
Use both types of traps not just to cover more ground, but to also get around bait shyness which can be observed in many rodent species.
Most households may need about 12 of each for effective control. Be sure to set traps about five to 10 feet away from each other where you have seen rodent activity.
Check traps once a day to see if cleanup is necessary. After setting up traps and bait, it may take several weeks to see a noticeable reduction in pest activity.
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Step 4: Prevention
Even after applying control methods, the best way to stop pest activity is to ensure it can not happen for the best results.
These prevention strategies should be employed before or soon after you set up traps to further prevent deer mice from coming indoors.
- First, make your property less conducive to rodent activity. Trim away overgrown shrubbery and regularly mow your grass to its proper height to reduce any possible pests.
- Seal away, any pet food or bird seed into airtight containers as well as any other food.
- Clean and organize your storage spaces by removing items from the floor and placing them onto shelves away from any rodent’s reach.
- Once your property is cleaned look around the perimeter of your home or property and seal any entry points.
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Conclusion
You may find deer mice can fit through small openings and even chew their way in. Mice can fit through holes as small as a dime. Any tight cracks crevices and voids can be sealed with Pro expanding foam or Copper mesh.
With these professional tips from @pestclue, you can stop deer mice and other rodents from nesting in your home.
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