Fall Clean Up Can Help Prevent Mice from Invading Your NJ Home

Posted on 11.30.11

With a thorough fall clean up, your NJ home can be free of mice all winter long!

Mice do not hibernate. They are active year-round. Even when it’s cold and snowy outside, New Jersey mice are scurrying around under and over the snow, nibbling anything they can sink their teeth into, including your favorite perennials. Mice will build cozy burrows in wood piles, under piles of leaves and mulch, underground, even beneath undisturbed snow. To keep warm, these small rodents line their nests with leaves, twigs, mulch and odd scraps scavenged from yard debris.

Naturally, mice consider your toasty home a much warmer and, therefore, much more desirable nesting site than any chilly outdoor burrow. NJ pest control experts warn that if mice can find a way to get in, they will invade your home in the fall and spend their winter in relative luxury, nesting under your cabinets, snacking on Rover’s dog food and spreading dangerous diseases and parasites with every step they take.

A thorough outdoor fall clean-up can help reduce the possibility that you’ll be sharing your New Jersey home with mice this winter. To help keep mice out of your home, NJ pest control companies recommend taking the following fall clean-up procedures

Clear fallen leaves and branches from your yard
Remove plant debris from gardens.
Trim branches and shrubbery away from walls and windows.
Scrape mulch away from the foundation of your house to discourage nesting.
Relocate wood piles away from the house and do not keep stacks of wood on your porch or deck.
Check sill plates on doors and add weather stripping if necessary to close any gaps.
Fill and repair any holes or cracks that could admit a mouse.
Check places where pipes and wiring exit your house and replace any damaged seals.

If you find signs of mouse activity in your home or garage, call a NJ mouse control specialist. And remember, mice are prolific breeders and very hard to get rid of.

Tags: pest control nj | mice | mice infestation | get rid of mice | NJ pest control