Pests We Treat Photo Album: Mice find multiple entries into Ocean Township, NJ home.

An Ocean Township, NJ, homeowner contacted Cowleys because of a likely mouse infestation. Although he did not see any mice, which is quite common since they do most of their foraging at night and are quite skilled at staying out of sight, he did see the tel-tale sign of a rodent infestation: droppings. Here, the homeowner found droppings in a cabinet between the oven and dishwasher. Mice can contaminate food and kitchenware with their urine and droppings, so it’s a serious problem. Mice should never be “tolerated.”

Searching for the entry points.

Next, I moved to the dishwasher, a common harborage area for rodents because of the heat and moisture. Looking underneath, I found more droppings, and behind the dishwasher, I located even more entryways. Suffice it to say, there was no shortage of access points for mice to make their way into the kitchen. I cleaned up these droppings as well, sealed these openings, and placed another bait station in the back

Mice exclusion in hard to reach areas.

With mouse infestations, the rodents usually enter home through gaps, cracks, and openings around the foundation, first making their way into the basement or crawl space. Gaps around pipes and wires entering the home are common entry points

Pulling the stove.

Here, I pulled the oven away from the wall and found a couple of potential entryways. After cleaning up the droppings, I filled the entry points with an expandable foam to seal up the holes, and also placed a rodent bait station against the wall. Mice travel on the same pathways and placing a station right where they travel is highly effective.

More mice droppings.

Mouse droppings are small, about 1/4" and pointed at both ends. It is often said that they resemble grains of black rice. Particles of droppings can become airborne when the droppings have died out and are disturbed.

Mice droppings in kitchen.

Inhaling their contaminated feces can cause trigger serious, potentially lethal diseases, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Mouse droppings are a biohazard and appropriate precautions, such as using masks and gloves, must be taken when cleaning up areas where there was mouse activity.

Rodent exclusion.

Injecting foam to close up gaps. Once inside, they travel through wall voids to forage for food and water, usually making their way to the kitchen where there is often plenty of food debris for them to eat. During an inspection, I try to determine how the mice are making their way into the kitchen.

Close up mice droppings.

Particles of droppings can become airborne when the droppings have died out and are disturbed.

Chewed sheetrock.

Finally I went into the crawl space area directly below the kitchen and placed two more bait stations. Now, any mice will be blocked from entering the kitchen and the mouse population will drop dramatically with the bait stations in place.