Having any number of mice in your home is not a good thing, but there is a big difference between just one rodent resident versus an infestation with dozens of mice or even more. Obviously, getting control over just one mouse is easier than if you have many of them. But it can be very difficult to tell how many mice are in your house unless you are a trained professional and know what signs to look for.

From your local pest control experts, here are some tips for how to know if you have just one mouse or a mice infestation, and then how to deal with problem regardless of how big it is.

The Situation of Just One Mouse

Although it is rare, it is possible to have just a single mouse living in your house. A lone mouse could wander inside your home in search of food, shelter, and warmth while staying mostly hidden during the day. If you have a single mouse, you’ll likely only see a small trail of fecal droppings rather than many droppings in multiple locations.

But a situation to be aware of the pregnant female mouse who comes inside alone to find a safe place to give birth but then produces up to 12 babies per litter in just a short amount of time. What starts out as just a simple mouse problem could quickly evolve into something much bigger without you even realizing what’s going on.

Signs of a Larger Mice Infestation

There are various kinds of mice that live in New Jersey and that tend to stick together and gather in households. You might have more than one mouse and a mice infestation if you see many droppings, hear loud scratching noises, or find large quantities of nesting materials.

Lots of items chewed through in your house could be a sign of an infestation as well, such as packaged food boxes and wires. Larger mice problems may cause your household pets to act strangely, especially in the evening hours when mice are more active.

What to Do with Mice in the Home

Whether you have just one mouse or many mice, it’s important to find where they are coming in from the outside world. It is common to see holes chewed through walls, smell urine, or notice greasy streaks on the walls in areas where multiple mice are getting inside.

Chimneys and holes in siding are other common places where mice enter a home. A professional exterminator can seal up mice entry points so that more mice don’t get inside and join the ones already living in your home.

Your Local Mice Infestation Experts

Being faced with a mice infestation is an unsettling experience because of the dangers mice pose, such as damaging electrical wiring and carrying diseases that make humans sick. Therefore, the best way to determine how many mice you have in your home is to call a professional to do a free inspection and assess the situation.

Precise Termite & Pest Control provides effective, prompt, and affordable mice control solutions to keep your home mice-free now and in the future. Contact us to schedule your inspection and take advantage of our discount on new annual contracts for mice control.

There are many different kinds of mice in the world, including quite a few distinct species right here in New Jersey. One of the common types we encounter is deer mice, which mostly live outdoors but can also find their way into homes.

Here is some information about deer mice so you can understand these pests and prevent an infestation in your house.

Why They’re Called Deer Mice

Deer mice got their name because their coloration actually resembles that of white-tailed deer. These mice have brown backs and white underbellies, legs, and tails. They also live in wooded areas, just like deer.

Where Deer Mice Live

You will mostly find deer mice in outdoor habitats and rural areas, and they are typically less likely to inhabit homes than other types of mice. However, it is very possible to find deer mice living in farmhouses, rural vacation homes that are seldom used, barns, and sheds.

In the winter, you can even find deer mice in residential neighborhoods looking for warmth in attics, basements, crawlspaces, and garages. Hollow tree stumps, old fence posts, and piles of debris are also favorite places for deer mice to take up residence.

What Makes Deer Mice Unique

The appearance of a deer mouse is very small and about three or four inches in length. They often go unnoticed because of their camouflaging colors and ability to move quickly and hide in the forest. Other characteristics of deer mice are large ears with minimal fur, black beady eyes, a pointed nose, and short tails.

Their favorite things to eat are nuts, seeds, berries, and insects. These are nest-building mice that forage for food and build nests out of fur, weeds, seeds, paper, and other debris they find in their habitats. They live between two and 24 months out in the wild, and have two to four litters (of usually three to five babies each) per year during the warm months.

Risks of Deer Mice

One of the biggest concerns about deer mice is how they carry Hantavirus and can spread this disease to humans. People can get Hantavirus by touching a dead deer mouse body or even just by breathing in air that contains urine droplets of Hantavirus-infected deer mice. The feces, saliva, and contaminated dust in the air can also cause Hantavirus in humans, which can be fatal.

Lyme disease is another concern when you have deer mice on your property. It is caused by a deer tick and transferred between mammals to cause flu-like symptoms, rashes, and joint issues in humans. Beyond transferable diseases, deer mice can cause structural damage in a home and also damage your garden as you prepare to grow vegetables and flowers for spring. Preventative measures are best for avoiding costly repairs due to damage caused by deer mice.

Get Professional Help with Deer Mice

Because of the serious disease risks and the elusiveness of deer mice, it is highly recommended to call a professional exterminator if you suspect these pests living on your property. We offer safe, effective, and humane mouse control solutions to rid your home of deer mice and keep it mice-free.

If you think you have seen deer mice on your property or noticed droppings or damage around your house, contact Precise Termite & Pest Control at 866-971-2847. We offer free inspections and have over 30 years of experience with rodent control in Northern New Jersey.

Once you notice evidence of mice activity in your house, there are a few different approaches you can take to get rid of them. But when comparing mice traps, mice poison, and all-natural mice repellents, it can be confusing to know which tactic will work the best. This is an especially important topic to discuss in the winter when mice seek shelter indoors.

Here’s an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of various mice control solutions and some tips for which ones to try based on your level of mice infestation.

Tactic #1: Mice Traps

Mice traps can be quite effective when you have only a small number of mice in your home. It’s important to place the traps close to walls, in dark corners, and other places mice like to hide. Snap traps, live-capture traps, and electrocution traps are all options if you are fine with killing the mice instead of removing them alive.

Tactic #2: Baits with Mice Poison

People use mice baits to lure mice to specific locations so that they can eat poisonous foods mixed with enticing treats and eventually die. Mice baits can be dangerous to have around the house if you have small children or pets around who might get into them. Baits with poison are only effective as a supplemental pest control method, and the need to continuously use baits indicates that better sanitation is needed in the home.

Tactic #3: Glue Traps

Glue traps work in a similar way as mice traps or flypaper that hangs to catch flies. Mice get caught in glue traps and die, but you’ll need to have plenty of them set in strategic locations in the house and garage to be effective.

Tactic #4: Mice Exclusion

The most effective approach for how to get rid of mice is exclusion, which means blocking entry points in your home so they can’t get in. This includes closing up gaps and cracks, checking for openings around pipes and vents, and making sure that doors and windows fit securely in place.

Tactic #5: Household Pets

Some people rely on their dogs and cats to keep mice populations under control. While these pets may occasionally kill mice, this is not an effective long-term solution because they can rarely kill all of them during an infestation. Meanwhile, mice often feed from the food bowls and dropped food from pets around the house.

Tactic #6: Professional Mice Control

But by far, the most effective solution for how to get rid of mice is to call the professionals at Precise Termite & Pest Control. We specialize in mice control and know which tactics to use for every kind of infestation situation. Every home and mice population are unique, and our extermination professionals have tools and techniques that go beyond any standard DIY attempt.

Contact us for a free mice inspection at 866-971-2847.

No one wants to think about mouse poop or rat poop in their house, but it’s important to know what rodent waste looks like so that you can address the problem early-on. From the extermination experts at Precise Termite & Pest Control, here are some tips for identifying mouse poop and also tips for getting mice out of your house.

Identifying Mouse Droppings

Mouse droppings are best described as small, pellet-shaped objects that are dark brown in color and have pointed ends. The fecal droppings of mice are usually around ¼ inch in length. While newer droppings will be darker and shinier, older droppings are drier and chalkier in appearance.

However, there are different types of mice that exist in our region, such as house mice, deer mice, and white-footed mice. There are slight differences in the poop of these types of mice, but they all look pretty similar to the untrained eye and can be accurately associated with mice when addressing a household infestation.

What Does Rat Poop Look Like?

Although rat poop resembles mouse poop in some ways, it also has distinctive characteristics that you can see as a homeowner. Since rats are larger than mice, rat poop is larger too. It is more like a ½ inch long and even up to one inch in length.

The droppings from rats are cylindrical in shape and usually found in groups. They can even resemble raisins or coffee beans, versus mice poop that looks more like chocolate sprinkles. Yes, these things are gross to think about but very helpful when trying to figure out what type of rodent has taken up residence in your home!

Why Understanding Mouse Poop Is Important

If you can identify mouse poop in your house and even determine how old or new it is, you have a much better chance of figuring out how mice are getting into your home. It is common to find mouse fecal droppings around entry points, along with holes chewed through walls, greasy marks on walls, and the smell of urine.

The appearance of mouse poop can help you know if the droppings are new or old, which is useful to determine whether mice are currently inhabiting a certain area or it’s been a while since they’ve been in that location.

Get Extermination Help for Mice and Rats

Whether you have mice or rats, Precise Termite & Pest Control can help you identify the pests that have taken over your home and get rid of them for good. We have been providing excellent pest control services for more than three decades and pride ourselves on our quick, efficient, and affordable service provided by top experts in the extermination industry.

Since mouse poop and rat poop carry risks of spreading disease, we recommend having a professional exterminator handle fecal droppings left behind in your home. Not only will we clean up the mess, but we’ll also use various techniques to get existing mice out of your house and deter them from coming back in the future.

To learn more about our rodent removal processes or to schedule your free inspection, please call us at  866-971-2847 or contact us via online form.

If you’ve discovered small brown pellets on the floors, countertops, cabinets, and other places around your home you might have a pest infestation on your hands. Mice, rats, and other rodents leave fecal droppings behind in places that they move into, which is a major cause for concern. Not only are mouse droppings unsightly and unsettling in your home, but they also put your health at risk because they can transmit disease.

Here are some tips for how to clean up mouse droppings with a DIY approach and by calling in a professional for help.

Health Hazards of Mice and Rat Poop

Since mice and rats love to find unsecured food supplies, you’ll often find droppings in and around dry goods that you have in the cupboards and pantry. These are dangerous locations because serious diseases can occur if the droppings are accidentally ingested or even if you touch them with hands that will later come in contact with food.

Common diseases spread by rodents include salmonellosis, tularemia, Lassa fever, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Hantavirus is also spread by rodents and can result in serious symptoms, including shortness of breath, coughing, diarrhea, and even death.

DIY Cleaning Up After Mice

If you choose to clean up mouse droppings yourself after an infestation, make sure to ventilate the area by opening up windows and doors for about an hour before starting to clean. Put on some disposable gloves and spray the droppings with a mixture of one part bleach and 10 parts water to disinfect the space.

With a paper towel, pick up the droppings and toss them in the garbage. Then you’ll need to clean the area with a bleach solution on floors and countertops or by steam-cleaning carpet and furniture that has been exposed to rat poop. When you’re done, make sure to thoroughly wash your hands with warm water and soap.

Professional Help with Mouse Droppings

But seriously, why deal with the disgusting and potentially dangerous situation of mouse droppings if you don’t have to?

To reduce your risk of disease and leave the dirty work to experts who know how to handle mouse droppings, give Precise Pest Control a call. We are rodent control specialists who not only know how to get mice and rats out of your house, but also how to best clean up after them when they’re gone. When you hire us to get the job done, you’ll reduce your exposure to contamination and have peace of mind that your house is clean and sanitary.

Contact us to learn more!

So, you’ve found evidence of mice in the house – perhaps a chewed-through wire, scurrying sounds from the ceiling, or droppings in the corner. The next logical question is where they are coming from and how to block the entrance for future opportunists.

Here’s how to find where mice are coming into the house and advice about who to call once you’ve found the spot or need some help locating the entry point.

How Do Mice Get in a House? 

Mice are experts at squeezing through tight spaces and getting into places that offer warmth and food. They often make their way indoors through cracks in a home’s foundation or walls. Mice often enter through attics and basements too.

Gaps in piping and wires can be inviting to a mouse seeking shelter as well because mice can fit through the size of a dime. A drainage pipe that isn’t sealed right can invite mice to crawl though and enter through a household drain, for example. Check the screens on your windows and doors to ensure there aren’t any holes here that mice could fit through.

Common Signs of Mouse Entry Points

Entry points are sometimes the most obvious places to determine if you have a mouse infestation. Around entry points, you might notice the smell of urine or see holes chewed through the wall. This is also a common place to find mouse fecal droppings or see greasy marks on the walls where they have squeezed through.

Mice Entry Extermination and Prevention

Fortunately, the solution to preventing mice from entering your home can be resolved by a pest control professional, so it only takes one quick call to address the issue right away. It’s important to get a handle on mouse entry points early-on because mice can carry diseases and put your family at risk of health issues.

Precise Termite & Pest Control can help you stop mice from entering your home by strategically placing bait, traps, and other mouse control solutions to keep them away from your house. We also know where to look for various entry points and can seal them up so that no more mice are able to find their way indoors.

For a free inspection or to learn more about our mouse extermination and prevention strategies, give us a call at 866-971-2847 or fill out our online form.

On our pest control blog, we’ve focused a lot of attention on keeping mice out of the house since this is an issue that so many New Jersey homeowners deal with. But as winter transitions into spring, you might be wondering how to protect your garden from mice so that they don’t damage your beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables.

Here are some tips for how to get rid of field mice in gardens so that you can enjoy your outside space without the burden of unwanted pests.

Field Mice v. House Mice

There are various types of mice that live in New Jersey, so it’s a good idea to know which ones you’re dealing with to effectively address the problem. Field mice commonly affect gardens because they live in fields, grass, and weeds. They are also referred to as deer mice and pose risks of carrying Lyme disease. Field mice are usually brown in color but have white feet, legs, and bellies. However, house mice are almost always solid brown or gray. Field mice have tails that are dark on top and light underneath, compared to house mice that have hairless tails. Another difference between the two types is field mice hoard crumbs of food by their nests while house mice rarely exhibit this behavior.

What Do Field Mice Eat?

Field mice eat both plants and meat and are skilled at thriving in the wilderness. They commonly eat seeds, mushrooms, berries, and insects that they find in the outdoors. However, these mice also love feasting upon root vegetables and young plants in gardens.

How to Get Rid of Field Mice in the Garden

It is very easy for field mice to enter a garden and find abundant food to live off of. Signs of mice in your garden include tunnels in the dirt, mice droppings, and new seedlings that disappear overnight. Field mice love certain areas of the garden, such as compost piles, garbage bins, bird feeders, and piles of wood.

Your first step in controlling mice should be to remove these prefered shelter spots by moving things around and discarding what you can. You can seal up small holes in the ground to prevent mice from getting too comfortable here and place tubes around new seedlings to prevent mice from eating them.

Get Professional Help with Garden Mice

If these measures don’t help and you are still battling mice in the garden, call Precise Termite & Pest Control for support. We can help you prevent and get rid of field mice so that you don’t put yourself or pets at risk and also so that you don’t prevent beneficial wildlife from entering your garden. You deserve a beautiful outdoor space this year, so don’t let mice ruin it for you!

If you’ve ever had an issue with mice in your house before, someone has probably suggested that you get a cat. But how exactly do cats help with a mouse problem, and do they really eat mice?

This article explores the effectiveness of mousing cats and the best cats for catching mice if you want a household companion with useful pest control skills.

Do Cats Eat Mice?

The thought of your cute and cuddly kitty actually devouring a mouse might make your stomach turn. However, cats are natural hunters and have instincts that make them want to approach prey stealthily and pounce on their food.

Wild cats are very skilled in hunting and excel in catching mice, which is why farmers often allow stray cats to stay on their property. Domesticated cats are more likely to just be interested in hunting a mouse and playing with it rather than actually eating it…especially if there is a delicious bowl of food sitting just around the corner. House cats often play with a mouse until it dies and then either leave it behind or bring it to you as a “gift.” However, some domestic cats will actually eat mice they catch. Cats can get sick from eating mice if they are infected with disease or if the mice ate poison left out as bait.

How Mouse and Rat Hunting Works

Stray and wild cats are better at mice and rat hunting than domesticated cats, but even common house cats’ senses get triggered at the sight and sound of a mouse. This is hardwired into a cat’s brain and makes a cat want to slowly stalk a mouse and then pounce unexpectedly to catch it off-guard. Common hunting strategies of cats include crouching low to the ground to watch prey and pulling the back legs beneath them to leap and seize.

The Best Cats for Catching Mice

All cats are different and unique, which is why we love them! But your cat’s typical behaviors, overall demeanor, and where it grew up can affect its ability to catch mice. Also, some cat breeds are naturally better at hunting mice, including the American Shorthair, Maine Coon, and Siamese. Other good mice-hunting cats are the Burmese and Persian.

Who to Call If Your Cat Needs Assistance

Having a cat around the house can definitely help you catch mice and give your pet a fun hobby at the same time. However, some mice infestations are beyond the capacity of a single house cat and require professional help. At Precise Termite & Pest Control, we can supplement your cat’s hardworking efforts and get rid of mice quickly, effectively, and affordably. Better yet, we specialize in pet-friendly pest control to keep your cats safe so that they can continue to help us with our mission of keeping Northern New Jersey pest-free.