Natural House Mouse Control For Your Virginia Beach Home

Want to know how to get rid of mice in Virginia Beach and keep mice out of your house permanently? You'll find some great information here. Hawk Mosquito & Pest is dedicated to providing you with environmentally friendly tips to help you do your own pest control. Of course, if you'd like help with the hard work, your Hawk MP technician isn't afraid to roll their sleeves up and help. We don't just come over and lay down a few traps. Our technicians tackle difficult tasks, such as exclusion work, crawlspace clean-outs, and attic sanitation. All-natural house mouse control isn't easy work. So, whether you're here to get tips to help you control mice in and around your home or you need professional rodent pest control in Virginia Beach, you've come to the right place. Jump to our contact page if you need service or read on to learn how to detect signs of a mouse infestation, problems mice cause that might surprise you, how to get rid of mice naturally, and how to keep mice away. Does that sound like a plan? Great. Let's get into it. 

Signs You May Be Dealing With A Mouse Infestation

There are many ways you may detect mice in your home or on your property. Some are obvious. Others are subtle. Use these tips to help you figure out whether or not you have house mice.

Droppings: The best way to tell you have mice is to look for their tiny black droppings. Mouse droppings are distinct. Look for them in secluded spaces in your home and also around your exterior. When you find droppings, clean them up. Doing so will allow you to return to the area later and see if mice are still active in that location. You may also determine how active mice are by examining the droppings. Moist, black droppings are fresh. Dry, gray-looking droppings are old. When you examine the droppings, don't touch them with your hands, and wear a mask to guard yourself from disease transmission. 

Urine: Mice use their noses to help with navigation. They create a map of the smells around them. One of the smells they map out are the droplets of urine they leave around them. The more mice you have, the stronger the smell of urine will be.

Holes: Mice create tiny holes. A full grown mouse can fit through a hole as wide as a dime. Inspect weatherstripping, door sweeps, door and window frames, baseboards, food packages, stored furniture, stored boxes, and other items in your home.

Nests: Mice make soft nests out of building materials and soft natural items. Use a flashlight to check recesses in your attic spaces. You might find nests up there. While you search your attic, look for black droppings sprinkled on your insulation.

Noises: Why didn't we put this one first? Isn't this the best way to tell that you have mice? While hearing noises is a common reason we get phone calls to come and address mouse problems, it isn't the best way to detect mice. The reason it isn't great is that mice rarely make noises you can hear. They are "as quiet as a mouse" after all. If you hear those mice making annoying noises in your walls, you might want to thank them. Mice noises will drive you crazy, and also drive you to take steps to get rid of mice rather than put your mouse control off for another day. 

It is never good to delay mouse control. While they're tiny rodents, they are no tiny problem. Let's quickly look at a few ways mice can cause trouble for you. Some are likely to surprise you.  

The Problems Mice Can Cause Inside Your Home

How bad can one little mouse be? Our answer: pretty bad. Why do we have such a dire opinion of house mice? It isn't because we want to scare you into getting rodent control. If that were the case, we wouldn't provide these articles to help you control rodents on your own. The reason is that mice can present a serious threat.

• The worst outcome of a house mouse infestation is probably a house fire. Mice nibble on wires and gas lines. Experts estimate that 20 to 25 percent of fires that are unexplainable are likely caused by rodents. There is a strong link between rodent behavior and the potential for a structural fire. 
• Another serious concern is disease. You might immediately think we're referring to Hantavirus, which is a serious respiratory condition transmitted through inhaling airborne particulates from mouse feces, but we have another source in mind. Mice spread ticks. A single mouse can have as many as a hundred seed ticks on its tiny body. Some ticks spread dangerous diseases, such as Lyme disease, meat allergy, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These are far more common than Hantavirus.
• Mice can pick up harmful bacteria and parasitic worms. If circumstances allow, salmonella, E. coli, hookworm, and other microorganisms can become a threat. The ability to spread germs is what puts mice on the wanted list of U.S. health inspectors.
• Mice chew holes in your home and in your stuff. They also soil items with their feces and urine. If you have valuable keepsakes in storage, a mouse infestation may present a threat to those irreplaceable items.

There is more to say on this topic but you see the point. Mice are not harmless little furry woodland creatures. They're urban pest rodents that harm us by behaving in ways they shouldn't.  

Getting Rid Of Mice In Virginia Beach

Now that we've laid a foundation, it is time to get into pest control tips. These tips require work, but it is work that will pay for itself ten fold. All-natural mouse management controls a long list of pests, not just mice. Here's what works and why.

• Control indoor food sources. Why? Because mice eat 15 to 20 times a day. Clean your home, manage trash, store food in sealed containers, and take other steps to remove any food a little mouse might eat.
• Control indoor water sources. Why? Because water is a building block of life. While mice can derive all the moisture they need from the food they eat, they will prefer to live in a home that has water resources. Fix faucets, showerheads, and pipes.
• Reduce clutter. Why? Because mice use clutter to navigate. A clean attic space is somewhat resistant to mice.
• Seal gaps, cracks, and holes. Why? Because mice don't prefer to do the hard work of chewing through a baseboard or the building materials of a wall. We strongly recommend sealing around the pipes under your sinks and all baseboards.

Did you find some nice tidbits of information in there? All-natural mouse control is about controlling food, water, and access. There are more examples we could give, but those will get your started.

Natural Ways To Keep Mice Away From Your Home

Once the mice are out, how do you keep them out? The same principles apply outside your home. When you reduce attractants, such as food and water, and limit access, your chances of a mouse infestation are significantly reduced. These tips will also help you prevent future infestations if you've recently paid for professional rodent control.

• Do some home repairs. Why? Because mice don't know you have food in your home. The reason they often get inside homes is that they see entry points and they explore them. They may also explore a hole if they smell food or feel heat coming out on a cold winter day.
• Stay on top of yard work. Why? Because mice use leaves, sticks, dense vegetation, tall grass, and yard clutter to hide from view. They also use these as navigation.
• Manage your trash. Why? Because the scent of decaying organic matter is a promise of food for an urban mouse.
• Trim branches way from your roofline and put wire mesh in your downspouts. Why? Because mice are impressive climbers. They can climb right up your downspouts or use a tree to get onto your roof. Once up there, they are likely to find many vulnerabilities to get into your attic.
• Get rid of your bird feeders or move them away from your home. Why? Because the primary dietary staple of a house mouse is seeds.

It isn't easy work. We know. But there is no easy way to control mice. And we don't recommend using traps and other direct control methods because they can make mice trap shy or unnecessarily harm the mice. 

For mouse control, let Hawk Mp help. The services we provide are comprehensive and effective. We can help you proactively keep mice out of your home or address a current mouse infestation. Not only do our technicians do the hard work of exclusions and sanitation services, we deploy state-of-the-art methods, such as trained dogs, to locate mouse entry points. Connect with us today for exceptional rodent control in Virginia Beach. Once the mice are out, how do you keep them out? The same principles apply outside your home. When you reduce attractants, such as food and water, and limit access, your chances of a mouse infestation are significantly reduced. These tips will also help you prevent future infestations if you've recently paid for professional rodent control.

• Do some home repairs. Why? Because mice don't know you have food in your home. The reason they often get inside homes is that they see entry points and they explore them. They may also explore a hole if they smell food or feel heat coming out on a cold winter day.
• Stay on top of yard work. Why? Because mice use leaves, sticks, dense vegetation, tall grass, and yard clutter to hide from view. They also use these as navigation.
• Manage your trash. Why? Because the scent of decaying organic matter is a promise of food for an urban mouse.
• Trim branches way from your roofline and put wire mesh in your downspouts. Why? Because mice are impressive climbers. They can climb right up your downspouts or use a tree to get onto your roof. Once up there, they are likely to find many vulnerabilities to get into your attic.
• Get rid of your bird feeders or move them away from your home. Why? Because the primary dietary staple of a house mouse is seeds.

It isn't easy work. We know. But there is no easy way to control mice. And we don't recommend using traps and other direct control methods because they can make mice trap shy or unnecessarily harm the mice. 

For mouse control, let Hawk Mp help. The services we provide are comprehensive and effective. We can help you proactively keep mice out of your home or address a current mouse infestation. Not only do our technicians do the hard work of exclusions and sanitation services, we deploy state-of-the-art methods, such as trained dogs, to locate mouse entry points. Connect with us today for exceptional rodent control in Virginia Beach. Once the mice are out, how do you keep them out? The same principles apply outside your home. When you reduce attractants, such as food and water, and limit access, your chances of a mouse infestation are significantly reduced. These tips will also help you prevent future infestations if you've recently paid for professional rodent control.