Residents of Tulsa are not unfamiliar with mice. There are different types of rodents in Oklahoma, and one of the most common is the house mice. These tiny creatures do not look very menacing, but they can cause significant damage and risk.
Mice are one of the primary pest control in Tulsa concerns. These tiny rodents do a lot of damage and create health risks inside your home. Mice like being close to humans because humans provide them with warm, dry places to live and an abundance of food.
Mice Can Squeeze Through Very Small Holes
The two main types of mice in Tulsa that residents deal with are the field or deer mouse and the ordinary house mouse. These tiny rodents move into homes to find shelter and food. They can enter your home through a hole that is no larger than a dime or through a crack or gap that is no wider than the average pencil. Once these little rodents enter your Tulsa home, they set up housekeeping. They like dark, confined spaces and can live in walls, attics, basements, cupboards, storage containers, and dresser drawers.
One female mouse will give birth to as many as six babies every month or so. That means that one female mouse can produce 60 to 70 young mice each year. They are old enough to breed four to seven weeks after the young ones are born. Suppose half of the young are female, and they can each have 60 to 70 additional young each year. In that case, you could look at a population surge of hundreds of mice that starts with just a few.
Mice Can Consume Food
You would think that something as tiny as a mouse could not possibly eat much. Mice usually eat at dusk and again before dawn, but it is common for them to snack between meals. They typically consume about fifteen percent of their body weight each day.
That does not sound like much food until you factor in the sheer number of mice that may be inside your home. They will often chew into several food packages in your pantry in a short period. They will eat just about anything, but grain products are their favorites.
While gnawing their way through your home, they can damage shelves, drywall, cables, pipes, and other building components. They can even put your family at risk of a house fire if they chew into electrical wiring and expose the hot wires generally concealed in the protective coating. The presence of mice is more dangerous than most people realize.
Mice Carry Pathogens Everywhere They Go
One of the main things Tulsa residents need to know about these small rodents is that the diseases mice carry can be severe health problems for their families.
Some of the diseases spread by these rodents are:
- Leptospirosis
- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM)
- Tularemia
- Salmonellosis
- Rat-bite fever (rare)
- Allergy and asthma complications
The pathogens that the mice carry are distributed wherever they crawl and onto whatever they touch. Humans may contract the salmonella that mice carry after eating foodstuffs that have been contaminated. Salmonellosis may cause fevers, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain. It can be hazardous to children, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system or breathing conditions like asthma. Individuals who contract salmonellosis may have to seek medical treatment.
The urine droplets the rodents leave around your house may cause allergy problems for children. Cleaning up the feces from the rodents can expose you to dust that causes allergy problems or asthma flare-ups.
On top of all the pathogens, rodents can bring other problems into your home in the form of lice, mites, and fleas. The fleas and lice bring even more health concerns and issues into your household.
Top Reason To Buy Professional Rodent Control
Rodent control in Tulsa is not as easy as seeing one mouse and getting rid of it. If you have seen one, you will likely have several living with you. DIY methods are ineffective because they usually target the one rodent you saw, leaving you with all the others.
If you want to eliminate a mouse problem and prevent future issues, contact Montgomery Exterminating. Our trained technicians will come to your home and perform an inspection, then treat the house and return to do follow-up services to prevent mice from returning. Call Montgomery Exterminating today if you want to stop worrying about mice and the damage they can do, and learn more about about our residential and commercial pest control services in Tulsa.
