Needing a mouse exterminator in CT is not unusual. With the onset of fall and colder evening temperatures mouse season begins and your home may be at risk of becoming a mouse hotel. Following these steps as well consulting with a pest management professional can lessen the amount of time these creatures live with you and your family rent free.
As a homeowner you can help yourself by doing an exterior evaluation of your home. During this evaluation you will be looking for areas where mice can gain entry. The size hole you’re looking for is about the size of a nickel. The most common areas to find these holes are garage door frames, utility entrances, dormers (remember mice are great climbers) and gaps under your siding.
Once you have identified these holes they are best closed using copper mesh, steel wool, caulk or weather stripping. Foam can also be used, but beware rodents can chew through foam quite easily. Pest control companies that perform mouse exclusions may use foam, but in high traffic areas it is best to use wire mesh or a foam mixed with a hot spice additive to prevent reentry.
Another method of prevention is the use of exterior perimeter bait stations. These stations can be hidden under and behind the landscape at the exterior perimeter of your home. The stations are secured and filled with a palatable bait that the rodents will consume. After 3-5 days the rodents will succumb and hopefully die outside before gaining access to the interior of your home. There are plenty of safe rodenticides on the market, a professional should be able to guide you to what bait is best for your situation.
Believe it or not the best interior choice for humane control of rodents is the snap trap. The key to success with snap traps is to use enough of them. If you’re going to do it yourself then plan on an average 2500 sq ft house needing at least 10-15 traps in the basement, garage, attic and other areas of activity. The more opportunities you have to catch a rodent the better off you will be. The best type of bait to use is peanut butter, but if you have a hard to catch mouse tying dental floss or cotton balls to the traps trigger will work great. The rodent tries to use the product for nesting material and when they pull on the item they set off the kill bar and meet their demise.
In conclusion, rodents are filthy creatures that are linked to all sorts of nasty diseases. Every year pest management professionals are asked if there are other ways to remove them from homes. Unfortunately, there is not; baiting, trapping and exclusion is the center of any good pest management program.