Mice are very common in kitchens across Ontario. They crawl under doors and squeeze through openings merely 6mm wide to reach the pantry and the crumbs on the floor. Kitchens are full of food and hiding spots, making them the perfect room for mice to invade. If you suspect that there are mice in your kitchen, you should act quickly. Mice breed at an alarmingly fast rate. The problem you have now may quickly get out of control, putting you and your loved ones at risk of illness.
Mice are drawn to kitchens for their warmth and abundance of food. They can smell what is stored inside and come in through the tiniest of openings. Once in the kitchen, they usually nest in walls voids, floor voids, cabinets, and appliances. If you spotted a mouse in the kitchen, there are probably several more nearby. As a nocturnal species, they are most active at night. You may have seen them scurry across the kitchen floor or heard scratching and squealing in the walls after sundown. Mice also leave droppings behind them, which look like dark grains of rice.
To get rid of mice in the kitchen, you must first remove what is attracting them in the first place. Empty out your cupboards and do a deep clean. Wipe all surfaces down, then store your pantry goods in sealed containers. Pull out your appliances and clean the surfaces beneath them as well. Fix leaky faucets and get in the habit of vacuuming and mopping on a regular basis. You can then set traps along the backs of your cupboards, where you won’t step on them accidentally. Bait the traps with a pea-sized amount of peanut butter, cheese, or gum drops. Check these every day.
Once you have cleaned up the kitchen and set your traps, you will need to block out entry points. This will stop any more mice from coming. Using a silicone caulking, seal any gaps you found in the kitchen cupboards, walls, or baseboards. Check your window frames for cracks and seal those as well. Fix or replace your torn window screens and make sure they fit well. Attach a floor sweep to the front door and check if the weatherstripping on the garage door needs replacing. Move firewood and foliage away from the walls of the home and consider blocking out weep vents with stainless steel covers.
Getting rid of mice requires patience and a lot of hard work. You will need to keep the kitchen as clean as possible and trap as many mice as you can. For results you can count on, hire a professional pest removal company. A technician can determine where the mice are coming from and block entry points for you. He or she will also set professional-grade traps and place them in the most strategic locations. Many pest removal companies also provide warranties with their services, so if the mice come back, so will they.