House Mice and Disease

This time of year you may run into the common house mouse. This is because temperatures have been getting very cold at night. Mice are mammals and seek warm places in order to stay alive. Your walls, attics, and garage look very attractive to a cold mouse.

Once a mouse gets into your home and finds that it is hospitable it will do everything it can to stay. It will evade capture at all cost. It will search for food and water sources in and around your home. It will claim your home as its territory. This is why prevention is important.

Ways to prevent mice from getting into your home are as follows:

1. Seal any holes in screen doors or in the structure of your home.
2. Do not leave potential food sources around home, ie.,  fallen fruit, garbage, kids snacks etc.
3. Do not provide potential fresh water source, ie., leaky hoses, overwatering yard, pooling water from runoff drain.

Diseases that Mice Carry

Here are some of the diseases which mice carry with them:

1. Salmonella – You already probably know about this harmful bacteria. It can cause a person to get very ill and possibly die. The mouse can carry this disease in and out of your home.
2. Rat Bite Fever – If a mouse bites you then you can be infected with this. RBF (or Haverhill fever) causes illness to the victim by introducing Streptobacillus moniliformis (found in the U.S.) and Spirillum minus (found in Asia) into their bloodstream.
3. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM) – The lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is transmitted by house mice and can cause flu-like symptoms and even neurological damage. Up to 5% of all house mice carry this virus.
4. Hantavirus – This virus can cause a deadly disease called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in humans. It is transmitted in rodent droppings and is inhaled in particle form by the would-be victim.

Pest Control

You have the option to lay mice traps and pest poison yourself. Sometimes these solutions can work if the infestation isn’t very bad. But remember, for every mouse you see there may be dozens more hidden from view. It is probably a good idea to get a professional pest control agent to take a look at your property and give you an idea of what is going on behind those walls.