You’re sleeping in your home. You wake up and hear a noise. Sounds like tapping, but it’s not coming from your window or door. It’s coming from your walls. You check the other rooms. The house isn’t settling, and nobody has broken in… But what’s that noise? You wake up the next morning and go into your living room. There are what looks like chunks of dirt scattered throughout your home, mainly in the corners. Well, that’s not dirt and the noises you heard last night were someTHING breaking into your home, not someone. A mouse – but how do you know that it’s just “a mouse,” and not “mice?”
There are a lot of Droppings
The things that you see in your home aren’t dirt; instead, they’re mice droppings. Mice have an irregular eating schedule and tend to navigate a house based on where they smell food. They also go to the bathroom a lot, so you’ll notice more of these droppings around an area where food may be stored. The difference between one mouse and a few? More droppings. A mouse uses the bathroom a lot as we said, but you’ll know when there’s more than one, because of the number of droppings.
You’ll Smell It
A single mouse doesn’t produce a strong odor. However, a mice infestation will create a very heavy smell. This is due to the amount they use the bathroom, mixed with the mice’s nesting habits. Mice tend to nest in small areas, close together or even on top of each other. As you can guess, they all get filthy from going to the bathroom and eating in such conditions. The result is a very foul smell.
You Can Hear Them
As we spoke about in the beginning – you’ll typically be able to hear the mice moving in your home. They usually travel along the foundations of the walls, or inside of them. However, they usually do this at night to avoid you. Since nighttime is also often the quietest time, you’ll be able to hear them moving, chewing or “talking.” Remember: more mice make more noise.
There are a lot of other factors when it comes to determining if you have a mice infestation. To be honest, without professional help, you can’t decide whether you have one mouse or several. If you think you may have a problem, let us save you time and money: call us today for a free inspection!
