To find out how many mice are in your house, seal all entry points outside and trap the remaining mice inside. This is the only way to know how many mice are inside of your home. Otherwise, more mice can infiltrate your home, so you’ll never get an exact count. Most people catch about five or six mice before calling a mouse exterminator. Moreover, setting ten traps inside a home for mice is enough for most homes. While there are extremes for any pest infestations, most homes will have ten or less mice inside.
How Fast Will Mice Reproduce Inside My House?
Most mouse infestations in Cleveland, Ohio are deer mice.
Deer mice are larger mice with white bottoms.
And these mice reproduce slower than you would imagine. From spring through fall, each female produces two to four litters. They are pregnant for about a month. And the average litter size is five or six. So, on the low side one mouse can have ten offspring per year. On the high side, a mouse could have around forty.
Since most people catch around six mice, is it likely that a single pregnant mouse comes in? Or does an entire litter move in? Maybe a handful of random mice entered. It is interesting that the average litter size is also the amount that most people catch inside.
The scary number of mice is when you factor in the offspring having their own offspring. If one mouse comes in and has 5 female offspring, and those 5 females have 5 offspring, you get a lot of mice. Rampant population growth with subsequent generations happens under ideal conditions. Some houses have this problem. It is uncommon though.
Why You Do Not Have a Hundred Mice Inside Your House.
- Mice are prey animals. You will find them at the bottom of the food chain. Thus, the mice inside your house will travel outside and get eaten by something.
- It is unlikely that your home has enough food for that many mice.
Many people think cats will keep mice out. In reality, mice and cats share the same food dish.
Once I saw someone with cat food consistently left in the basement. In that case, house mice reproduced quickly. Most people only have a few crumbs at best for mice to forage on. Or grease residue on the stove.
- Deer mice do not reproduce as fast as you think. Yes, they can have up to ten offspring in one litter. But that litter would take another three months to have their own litter. That is, if they survive that long. By then it will be the end of summer. Is it likely that you will let mice run rampant in your house for that long? No, that is not very likely.
- Mice are easy to detect and easy to control. Mice poop wherever they go. They have no control of that. When mice are around, you’ll notice their droppings. Additionally, mice are inquisitive creatures. They are going to inspect new objects in their territory. And they inspect their entire territory nearly every night. As a result, you will catch almost every mouse within three days if you do it right.
What To Do When You Have Mice Inside Your House?
Do not get sucked into the idea that you will always have mice because your house is old. You have mice because there is a hole outside that they are entering. And the hole(s) needs to repaired. If you control mice without repairing the entry points outside, you will get more mice. It is as simple as that. Otherwise, you will be stuck in a never-ending cycle. You will have an infestation Contamination will build. Then you will gain control. Then more mice enter and the cycle repeats. Over time, more and more contamination builds up inside your home. Resulting in allergies or diseases for occupants.
When you have mice, seal the entry points outside and control the remaining mice inside. This is the way. And if you do not know where mice are getting in, call Lakewood Exterminating. We are highly skilled mouse exterminators. Sadly, few pest control companies in Cleveland will know how to mouse-proof your home. But, Lakewood Exterminating has mouse-proofed thousands of homes on Cleveland’s West side. Mouse control is our specialty.
If you want to find out how many mice are inside your home, call us to do it right!
We are taking mouse calls. Call us for a home visit. (216) 466-2486
Find out what to expect during your mouse control service by clicking here.
