Mouse Proof House

Summary: Rats and mice can enter your home or workplace through a passageway smaller than you can imagine. They can jump, climb, swim and wind their way through nearly any man-made barrier.

The first question pest management professionals hear when we are called in to eliminate rodents from a house or building is “How did they get in here?” There seems to be a great misconception about the size entryway that is required for a mouse or rat to successfully get past man-made barriers.

Let's make it really easy. To achieve a mouse proof house figure a mouse can get past anything larger than a dime and a rat requires a hole only the size of a quarter. “No way!” everyone shouts. How in the world could an animal the size of a rat get through a hole so small? Rodents have the unique ability to elongate or stretch their bodies so that they need only worry about squeezing the bone structure of their heads through the holes they are trying to navigate.

If you look a comparison pictures of rats and mice it is easy to see that their heads are streamlined and certainly much smaller than the rest of their bodies. Noses are pointed and ears fold backwards, giving them a sleek appearance.The whiskers on their noses give them instant feedback as to whether they will fit through or not.

If you can see light coming from under a door threshold it is time to put on new door sweeps or entirely new threshold. Close up holes where pipes come through walls using quick setting concrete or hardware cloth.

Remember! Give a rodent an inch and he'll…..squeeze through it.