House Mouse
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The House Mouse body 3-4 inches long with the tail being an additional 3-4inches. The house mouse weighs 1/2 to 1 oz. It has a pointed nose with small eyes and large ears.
Adults are sexually mature in 35 days. Females produce about 8 litters per year, each averaging 6 young. Adults live about 12 months. Their senses of smell, taste and touch (by whiskers) are exceptional. They have poor sight and are color blind. They cannot see well past six inches. They can climb straight up a roughened wall or get through a hole the size of a dime. They can jump about 12" high and survive falls or jumps from as high as eight feet. A mouse requires about 1/10 of an ounce of food per day, preferably grains or cereal. They do not require an open water source because they meet that requirement from their food. They produce about 50 droppings per day. They are very inquisitive and explore new objects in their territory very quickly. This explains why they damage multiple packages or products when they feed instead of opening just one. Their foraging area is small; usually 10-20 ft from their mouse nest. They are nocturnal and feed at dusk and just before dawn. Preferred nest sites are areas where there plenty of nesting material available which include paper products, cotton, insulation and other fabrics.
Mouse Control is usually achieved by methods in four different areas. These include good sanitation, structural and exclusion practices, glueboards, mechanical traps and baits. It may take measures in more than one area to achieve control. Good sanitation includes keeping areas clear of spilled or damaged food items, removing excess water and storing goods in warehouses at least 12 inches off the floor and 12-18 inches from the wall. Structural and exclusion practices include sealing all holes, gaps and cracks larger than 1/4 inch around doorways, windows and other openings with sheet metal, 1/4 inch hardware cloth, caulk or expanding foam. Door sweeps should be installed if necessary to minimize rodent access through entryways.
Glueboards come in different styles such as the
Trapper Rat Glueboards 2pk,
Trapper LTD Glueboards 72ct box,
MB72 Peanut Butter scent 72ct box,
Catch Master MB72 Peanut Butter scent 8/pk. Also available is the
Trapper Pest Monitor Box which holds a
Protecta MC GlueTrap which is available in a 6ct package. When dealing with glueboards, check which the rodent got stuck and back track from that point. You may find an entryway you did not know about. If so seal it up to minimize entryways.
Snap traps include the following:
Victor Mouse Trap Expanded Trigger M326 12ct box or
each and
Kness Snap-E Mouse Trap. A couple of helpful hints about snap traps include placing the trigger toward the wall along run ways and if you have a really stubborn mouse, try placing bait or nesting material on the trap but not setting it for the first two nights to let them get used to the trap, then set the trap on the third night. Most of the time, this does the trick.
Mechanical multi catch mouse traps serve a good purpose when you want to capture multiple rodents at one location. These are usually set up on the interior sides of doorways or long wall runs. The traps are usually inspected on a weekly or monthly frequency. Some popular traps include the
Kness Ketch-All or
Victor Tin Cat.
Some helpful facts about rodent bait we offer at Do It Yourself Pest Control Supply include: The bait is an anti-coagulant which means the rodent dies of internal bleeding when blood vessels break internally and cannot be repaired through normal healing. The bait takes about 24-48 hours to produce control, so this does not allow bait shyness to occur. The tale of bait making mice thirsty so they leave to find water is not true. Mice do not require open water; they get it from their food, where rats do require open water. There is no bait that dries the rodent carcass so it does not smell. The smell is gasses emitted during the decomposition process, which is just a biological process. Some deodorizers / neutralizers will minimize or eliminate mouse odors and the odor of decomposition through an enzyme process. These products include
Epolean N7C .5 gal or
4 oz size,
Epolean NnZ .5 gal, and
XO PLUS ODOR NEUTRALIZER & CLEANER 16 OZ. BTL or
case. These are concentrates with a pleasant fragrant scent. The Epolean products are mixed to desired strength or used at full strength. Other products are deodorizers such as
Rat Sorb 1oz. and
Earth Care Odor Remover Bag.
There are many varieties of rodent baits including block, meal and cereal as well as different styles of bait stations. We carry these in many different types. They include
Contrac All Weather Rodent Bait Blox 12 qty pkg,
Contrac All Weather Rodent Bait 4lb Pail,
Contrac All Weather Rodent Bait Blox 18lb Pail,
Final All Weather Rodent Bait Blox 9lb Pail,
Contrac 8oz Super Size Rodent Bait Blox,
Contrac 8oz Super Size Rodent Bait Blox 40/case and
Contrac Pellet Rodent Bait 1.5oz pk, 6pks/bag.
It seems there are just about as many types of bait stations are there are baits to go in them. These include
Protecta Landscape Sandstone,
Protecta Landscape Granite,
Protecta LP Rat Bait Station Gray,
Protecta LP Rat Bait Station Green or
6/case,
Protecta LP Rat Bait Station Black or
6/case,
Protecta Rat Bait Station Green or
6/case,
Protecta Rat Bait Station Gray or
6/case. The LP stations are considered tamper resistant because they require a special key to open them. You can use a screw or even a small padlock to secure the Protecta Station. Non-tamper resistant equipment includes a
4oz Rodent Bait Tray 10pk,
Rodent Baiters which is a plastic station that snaps together.
The
Ready To Use (RTU) Stations or
12/box are small bait stations in the shape of a triangle that fit into corners or can be placed flush against a wall or other straight surface.
Always read and follow label directions. For additional information call Do It Yourself Pest Control Supplies at (972) 562-9999, (903) 891-8818 or toll free (866) 552-8999.
