Article
Do Mice Return To The Same Place
Published October 7, 2020
Mice are relentless and would keep on investigating their surroundings whatever their circumstances. Even though they would find nothing of interest, they would return at a later time to check if the situation changed and that something of interest just appeared.
When carrying out pest control mice treatment I would normally find a mild level of infestation. There would be some droppings spread under the kitchen units, possibly at the back of some furniture. There is a clear pattern that often comes through where we can see a concentration of droppings. And that is a clear indication the mice do return to the same place over and over.
2- It is a suitable hiding place where the mice can feel safe whenever someone intrudes into the area inadvertently. I often have clients saying they saw the mice run at the back of the fridge. As you would pull the fridge out, there would be droppings as evidence that mice were there but not necessarily any gaps/holes. The same can often be seen behind a sofa or even a bed. I know many pest control technicians would place baits wherever they see droppings as long as the baits are out of reach of children and pets.
3- The mice found a “mountain of cheese”, the holy grail for all mice to live and grow strong. Of course, by a mountain of cheese, it is often a steady supply of pet food, either the bag inside an exposed cupboard, or either the left over debris from the pets. In other instances, it can be a bag of rice or seeds that had been forgotten at the bottom of a cupboard. But when things turn ugly, it is often as a result of mice eating their way through a generous bounty of freely available food over a long period of time without the residents taking notice.
After all the worse job I ever did was in a one-bedroom, kind of studio flat. The gentleman living there had mental issues and had died. As we walked in we saw rubbish and take away over 1 meter high in some areas. As we started decluttering the flat, we saw mice running in every direction. After 3 days, most of the mice had run away. After a week the flat was empty and clean, we place bait everywhere to take care of any residual activity.
In the process, the decluttering and later refurbishment had caused a major outbreak within this block. When do mice come out ? Whenever they need to? Should it be looking for food, looking for shelter, or looking for safety?
And There are 3 Main Motivations Behind This Behavior:
1- There is an active access point that is the primary route of entry into this particular area. So basically mice always have to go through it the same way our cars would all need to take the bridge to cross the river over. Another telling sign is the formation of smear marks that can often be seen on electric cable, or on the kitchen kickboards.
2- It is a suitable hiding place where the mice can feel safe whenever someone intrudes into the area inadvertently. I often have clients saying they saw the mice run at the back of the fridge. As you would pull the fridge out, there would be droppings as evidence that mice were there but not necessarily any gaps/holes. The same can often be seen behind a sofa or even a bed. I know many pest control technicians would place baits wherever they see droppings as long as the baits are out of reach of children and pets.
3- The mice found a “mountain of cheese”, the holy grail for all mice to live and grow strong. Of course, by a mountain of cheese, it is often a steady supply of pet food, either the bag inside an exposed cupboard, or either the left over debris from the pets. In other instances, it can be a bag of rice or seeds that had been forgotten at the bottom of a cupboard. But when things turn ugly, it is often as a result of mice eating their way through a generous bounty of freely available food over a long period of time without the residents taking notice.
After all the worse job I ever did was in a one-bedroom, kind of studio flat. The gentleman living there had mental issues and had died. As we walked in we saw rubbish and take away over 1 meter high in some areas. As we started decluttering the flat, we saw mice running in every direction. After 3 days, most of the mice had run away. After a week the flat was empty and clean, we place bait everywhere to take care of any residual activity.
In the process, the decluttering and later refurbishment had caused a major outbreak within this block. When do mice come out ? Whenever they need to? Should it be looking for food, looking for shelter, or looking for safety?