Detective work finds multiple mice entry points in Fords

Before	After

I arrived at a home in Fords, NJ to inspect for possible rodent activity in the attic. The homeowner, who was hearing light “pitter-patter” noises in the wall voids and attic at night, suspected a mouse infestation. 

I’m often asked why attics such a popular location for mice to live and breed. Well, from their perspective, this “penthouse” location offers everything that a mouse could ask for in a home — it’s warm, dry, small, dark, safe, and out-of-the-way. Also, there is little human traffic up there. Other than using the attic to store clothing and other household items, a home’s occupants rarely venture up there, so mice have the place all too themselves. Attics also offer mice a ready supply of comfy insulation that they use for nests, and there are a virtually infinite number of nooks and crannies to explore and hide in. 

Once mice infest the attic, they not only destroy expensive insulation with their droppings and urine, but they can also chew on electrical wires, creating a potential fire hazard. Mice in the attic are a health hazard for the entire home. While mice may live in the attic, they are scavengers that venture throughout the entire home in search for food. And they inevitably find their way into the kitchen where they bore through cereal boxes and other cardboard containers, contaminating food and spreading disease. Mice are especially attracted to homes where pet food is left out all day. For a mouse, there is nothing better than a continuous supply of food left out in the open for the taking. 

While in the attic, I observed several areas with the most obvious sign of a mouse infestation: distinctive pellet-shaped mouse droppings. A single house mouse can deposit up to seventy-five pellets daily. Multiply that by a dozen or more mice and it doesn’t take long for these filthy droppings to accumulate. I also observed rodent burrows, those little tunnels and runways, in the insulation. Finally, during my inspection, I look for potential access points. In this attic, there were gaps and open voids around electrical lines and pipelines, giving them easy potential entry points.

I started my treatment by setting a tracking powder inside all rodent burrows, pathways and entry points. Mice may hide in the attic, but they have to leave in order to feed. Mice come into contact with the tracking powder because these creatures of habit use the same runways and entry points over and over. This potent powder, which adheres to a rodent’s fur and paws, is ingested when the rodent grooms, killing them soon thereafter. I also sealed and patched the rodent entry points with copper mesh. Finally, I set up rodent bait and snap traps in the attic. After finishing my interior service, I moved to the outside of the home, inspecting for possible entry points. I found a large potential rodent access point around the A/C unit lines going into the home. I sealed that opening and treated around the area. Finally, as an extra precaution, I set up some exterior rodent bait stations.

I explained my findings and treatment to the homeowner. He was pleased that he was well on his way toward having this troublesome mouse infestation permanently resolved.