Common Home Invading Mice Around Chicago
Chicago, like most large cities, is known for having trouble with mice. Fortunately, not all species of mice regularly invade homes. In our area, two are much more common than the rest: house mice and deer mice. Despite their slight differences in looks and size, these two problematic rodents share many things in common including:
Their Sharp Front Incisor Teeth: All rodents have incredibly sharp and strong incisor teeth. House and deer mice use their teeth to chew through walls, ceilings, boxes of food, electrical wires, utility piping, and other important things around homes.
Their Agility: Rodents are generally agile and speedy. It is not uncommon for mice to use their agility to climb the exterior of a home or jump from close hanging branches to gain access to entry points higher up.
Their Wits: Mice are hyper-intelligent creatures. They prove their cleverness inside homes with how they navigate wall and ceiling voids. They also have an innate ability to set off traps without getting hurt after observing how they work.
The Serious Dangers Of Mice
Pet mice are not dangerous, so long as you keep them inside a clean cage and feed them store-bought pet food. When mice are allowed to their own devices, however, they become much more dangerous. In the wild, these pests contract a variety of harmful bacteria, pathogens, and parasites.
These disease-causing organisms are then spread around homes and threaten homeowners with sicknesses like salmonellosis, hantavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and tularemia. Another threat mice pose to humans and pets is the transmission of fleas and ticks. These small blood-feeding pests use furry creatures like mice to get into homes and then threaten homeowners with their list of dangerous diseases including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and murine typhus.
Why You Should Avoid DIY With Mice
Nine times out of ten, DIY is not the right answer for a mouse infestation. Chemical-based pest control products are dangerous when used in the wrong amounts or the wrong locations. Smell-based deterrents only deter mice from areas until they grow used to them. Many store-bought “solutions” for mice are only effective when used in a precise way.
If your home has a mouse infestation, here is what we recommend. Start by evaluating your problem. If you only suspect there is only one or a couple of mice, try traditional mouse traps. Use gloves when handling them, use peanut butter as bait, and place them in areas around your home you suspect mice are traveling frequently. If your problem goes away in a week, great! If not, get a professional involved.
To ensure the mice around your home get out and stay out for good, let the experts at Aerex Pest Control help. We have the training, equipment, and pest control products needed to effectively handle rodent infestations of all shapes and sizes.
Call us today to schedule your Chicago property for a thorough pest inspection.