We’re getting a lot of calls these days to remove mice and rats from our clients’ South Palm Beach homes. Let’s talk a bit about mice…

Unlike other parts of the country, mice are year-round residents here in South Florida. If you see one mouse in the house, it’s most likely that more have already entered openings and entryways and delved through the walls, and other warm crevices of your home. A mouse can slip through holes and gaps as small as 1/4 inch – much smaller than appears possible. And if it’s not big enough to squeeze through, the mouse can gnaw it until it is big enough.

Mice are much more common and cause a lot more damage than rats. Rodents are known to reproduce quickly, and a female mouse can start reproducing as early as two months old, having up to 150 babies every year.  And while it can be unpleasant and disgusting to see a rat or mouse in the house, but even worse than that, rodents can cause damage with their gnawing, nest-making, and urinating, and they also can spread disease; a house mouse produces between 40 and 100 fecal droppings each day.

These little critters can eat up to twenty times a day, preferring to eat cereal grains and plants, but they will feed on almost anything.

Mice are good jumpers, swimmers and climbers. Don’t think a package of cookies on top of the refrigerator is out of reach!

Here are some easy tips to rodent prevention:

• Repair damaged door and window screens.
• Install door sweeps on all outside doors.
• Seal up cracks and fix holes on the exterior of your home, including areas where utilities and pipes enter the home using caulk, steel wool or a combination of the two.
•  Store food in sealed containers.
•  Keep attics and crawl spaces dry and well ventilated.
•  Eliminate moisture sites, including leaky pipes and clogged drains that provide breeding sites for pests.
•  Inspect items such as delivery boxes, grocery bags and other packages brought into your home.
•  Keep landscaping trimmed with bushes cut back from the house.

If you see evidence of mice or rats such as droppings, nests of shredded paper, fabric, or dried plant matter, or notice a foul smell call Haggerty Services.  We don’t Mickey Mouse around!