Are you hearing noises overhead, smelling an unusual, bad smell, or seeing signs that you may have mice in your attic? It isn’t surprising. Mice love attic spaces for many reasons. Let’s take a look some of those reasons, and see if we can find some real solutions that will work to keep your attic rodent-free.
Why do mice like my attic?
There are many ways for a mouse to gain entrance into a home. When mice climb up downspouts, jump down from tree branches, or access your roofline in some other way, the first location they will find in your home is the attic. So, the first reason they like your attic is convenience. It just happens to be the first place they found.
- Mice prefer to be near food sources. It’s not likely that you store food in your attic, but mice may sneak into your holiday decorations and find edible treats.
- Mice often come into a home to escape the cold weather outside. Since heat rises, an attic space can be one of the warmer places inside a home. This can make it perfect for mice.
- Mice are timid creatures that prefer locations that have lots of safe places to hide. If you store boxes in your attic, you will make it ideal for mice. Mice run along boxes with one side brushing against them. They hide in the gaps between boxes. And they love to chew their way into boxes.
- Even an empty attic is ideal for these timid critters. Mice like secluded places where humans and pets don’t frequent.
- Insulation. One of the first things a mouse will notice about your attic is that there are all kinds of fluffy material for them to make a place to lay their head. They’ll also create tunnels and pathways through insulation to have quick escape roots and safe pathways to get to wall voids.
What are the signs of mice in my attic?
One of the first things you’ll notice is the noise. Not the noise coming from the attic, particularly. It is the noise you’ll hear in your walls, just as you’re laying down to go to sleep. Mice are primarily nocturnal creatures. Their eyesight is suited for darkness. When night falls, mice will become active. If you have mice living in your attic, it is likely that they are traveling down through your wall voids to access areas of your home that have food or water sources. This is the noise you’ll hear: scraping, scrambling, bumping, thumping, and sometimes, squeaking.
If mice find a pathway that does not go by your bedroom, you may never hear them. This actually happens quite often. The first sign of mice is usually the presence of mouse droppings in the backs of kitchen drawers. Mice chew out of wall voids and gain access to kitchen drawers and cabinets from the back, but droppings don’t appear only in your kitchen. They can also be found in the attic where mice are living and exploring.
When you do a search for mouse droppings, do a search for nests as well. Nests will look like matted down material, and will usually be tucked away in hard-to-get-at spots. There will also be droppings around the nesting sites.
Mice dribble urine as they travel. It’s how they direct other rodents to the food sources they’ve found. If there are enough mice in the house, you may detect an odor when you visit the attic. If you look closely, you could also see urine on countertops and other surfaces they travel across.
How do I get rid of mice in the attic?
If you have mice in your attic, or anywhere for that matter, it is best to call a professional pest control company to take care of the problem. Not only are mice difficult to get rid of, it is important that all the mice are completely removed and their entry points discovered and sealed.
Adam’s Pest Control is a QualityPro-certified pest control company that services Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area as well as communities throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Our team of highly trained professionals specialize in rodent control and are here to help you get rid of mice that have infested your home. Contact us today to learn more!
