Expert Mice Control And Removal By Midway Pest Management
Here at Midway Pest Management, we want our clients to live safely and with total peace of mind in a mouse-free home. Our pest control services include comprehensive solutions which ensure that no mouse will come back to your home after the extermination.
For expert mice control and removal services, to get a free inspection for your property.
Where To Find A Good Mouser
If you live in or near a rural area, look for a farm with a litter of barn cats. Plus, many states have barn cat relocation programs, so check the Internet for an organization near you. These kittens will have learned to hunt by watching their mothers and are more likely to have a few kills under their own belts. An adult barn cat is an ideal choice if you can provide it with an appropriate environment but may not adjust well to city life.
Your local animal shelter is probably overflowing with cats. Most animal shelters will cheerfully allow you to interact with the cats to make a good adoption decision. When you go, take a toy mouse with you and see how the cats react to it.
In a cat of any age, look for lots of energy and a playful disposition. While shelter fees can be fairly steep, they generally include vaccinations and spaying or neutering. Speaking of which…
Cats that play fierce hunting games
How To Get Rid Of Mice Without Killing Them
If you can’t bear the idea of setting traps, you might like to try a natural method although they’re likely to be less effective, giving the mouse population more time to build up.
Still interested? Mice apparently dislike some strong smells, with peppermint essential oil, moth balls, ammonia and cat litter both known to be deterrents.
Peppermint oil is probably the safest, most environmentally friendly way to get rid of mice that many people report to actually work. Simply soak several cotton balls in the essential oil and throw them in the areas mice frequent, such as behind the cooker.
Tumble dryer sheets are another option try stuffing them into cracks or laying them around the areas they’ve been known to visit.
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What Should You Do If Your Cat Has Already Eaten The Mouse
In this situation, you have no choice but to monitor your cat and see how they react to this. Because you have no idea where this mouse has come from.
You should lookout for the following symptoms:
- Generally out of character.
This is a general guide of what to look out for, but in general, you should look out for anything that causes concern or is different from the norm, are you with me?
If you detect any of these symptoms or anything else that concerns you then I would advise that you contact your vet as soon as possible.
In fact, even if your cat does not display these symptoms and you have any slight concern, the best practice is to go ahead and contact your vet. Even if its for general peace of mind.
Do Cats Eat The Mice They Catch
Everyone who has ever had a cat has had the gruesome experience of waking up to finding a headless mouse as a gift from the cat.
If eating mice is so important to a cats survival, why did it leave the mouse for you to find? If your cat is bringing live mice into your house, click here to learn how to kill mice.
Check your cats food dish. If theres food remaining in it, then theres a good chance your cat wasnt hungry. If Mr. Whiskers has an all-you-can-eat buffet of delicious kibble and pate, why would he eat a mouse?
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How Cats Hunt Mice
Indoor cats love to chase laser pointers, bugs, and pretty much anything else that moves. Mice are no exception. If your cat sees a mouse, chances are they will show off their natural hunting prowess and leap into action.
Its not unusual to see a cat chasing a mouse across the floor, going suddenly alert when they hear a mouse rustling around, or batting at a mouses favorite hiding place.
But, contrary to popular belief, most indoor-only cats wont kill the mouse.
That doesnt mean that they wont chase it out of the house.
You see, indoor cats already have access to all the food and water they need if theyre properly taken care of. There isnt much reason for them to chow down on a mouse, especially if they havent ever eaten one before.
Their instincts tell them to hunt mice, just like they hunt other moving objects and animals. But they dont necessarily realize that the mouse represents a possible meal. Its more like a living toy. Interesting, tons of fun, but thats about it.
However, if your indoor cat does accidentally kill a mouse, or wound it in a way they can taste it, chances are they will do it frequently. Once cats know that they have a tasty meal on their hands, theyre more likely to want to repeat the experience.
But, indoor cats might not be very neat eaters so that you might have a little bit of a mess left behind. Some cats even develop a preference for certain parts, so you might find the same kind of leftovers consistently.
How To Prevent Your Cat From Smuggling Mice Into The House
If youre tired of finding dead mice in your home, here are some things you can to prevent your cat from bringing dead mice into your clean abode:
- Dont let your cat go hungry. If your cat is getting plenty of food from you, its less likely to go on the prowl for mice.
- Dont let your cat get bored. A bored cat is a killer cat! Get some toys for your cat to play with, and if you get interactive toys that you can use to play with your cat, even better! Cat toys are generally inexpensive, so stock up on a wide variety to keep your kitty entertained.
- Dont let your cat go outside! Cats belong indoors, and the outside can be very dangerous. Going outside increases the risks of your cat from getting attacked by wild animals, contracting diseases, or getting injured by an oncoming car.
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Certain Breeds Of Dogs
Many homeowners are surprised to learn that certain breeds of dogs were actually bred to catch rats. This is especially true of terriers, who are fast, full of energy, and skilled at digging holes to chase down rodents. They were even bred to have short, thick tails so their owners could easily pull them out of a deep burrow if they got stuck. In addition to terriers, dachshunds and German pinschers are also well known for being great ratters.
However, the same words of caution about cats apply to dogs. In our modern households, dogs are pets, not workers, and relying on them to take care of a rodent problem isnt exactly safe. Again, if you already have a dog, be sure to keep your dog food safely stowed away otherwise, youll simply be inviting more rodents to come visit.
Cats Cant Seal Up Your Home
Even if your cat has caught a few mice, thats not solving the root of the problem. The mice are getting in somehow and its probably small cracks in your foundation, gaps where pipes enter your home or even the space under your entry doors. Until you completely seal your home against rodents, they will continue to come back year after year.
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Are Cats Effective In Keeping Mice Away
Cats are loved as pets because they are intelligent creatures who can take care of themselves. They can clean themselves up and hunt small prey, like mice, for food. This makes them a helpful pet when it comes to keeping the mice at bay.
However, this is not the case all the time a severe rat infestation in a home may be too much for a single cat to handle. For a more effective solution to a mice problem at home, calling a professional exterminator is still the best option.
What Causes Interdigital Cysts In Dogs
When your dog has an irritation between his toes, he obsessively licks, which pushes the hairs into the skin and other layers. Licking breaks down the outer layer of skin and causes ruptured hair follicles. The result is inflammation and the formation of a cyst or cysts.
Ingrown hairs or foreign bodies that get trapped in the webbing between the toes are common causes of interdigital cysts in dogs.
This irritation is also common in dogs with atopic dermatitis. This is also known as eczema and can be caused by allergens like pollen, as well as stress, dry skin, and infection. Even household soaps and cleaners can trigger this type of flare-up and cause persistent licking.
Another theory is that hair between the toes splits from walking on hard surfaces. Then these split hairs create inflammation that causes irritation and cysts.
Other causes of interdigital cysts in dogs:
You dont need a vet to diagnose this but you can visit if youre really not sure or if you want further diagnostic tests. Shell use the symptoms and a clinical examination to confirm that its an interdigital cyst, clinically called an interdigital furuncle. Chronic cases may result from other skin conditions and even hypothyroid issues.
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How Do I Get Rid Of Mice Without Harming My Cat
How do I get rid of mice without harming my cat?
Is there a mouse poison safe for cats? Mouse and rat poisons wont harm dogs or cats.
The most common rodenticides cause one of three things: internal bleeding, brain swelling, or hypercalcemia . Keep mouse and rat poisons well out of reach of pets.
How do you get rid of mice but not cats? Electronic traps are another option for safely ridding your house of mice. When a mouse crawls inside these traps, they release an electric current that kills the mouse instantly. The great thing about electronic mouse traps is they are small and enclosed, so they cant harm cats or dogs.
Will mice leave if they smell a cat? It all comes down to their mouses sense of smell. Stowers explained that odor molecules may indicate the presence of danger in mice. For example, if mice smell cat urine, mice are likely to leave the area to avoid the predator.
Don’t Provide Mice With Nesting Areas
If your home is surrounded by lots of foliage you might, inadvertently, be providing mice with handy places to hide and nest.
Lining the gap between the house and the foliage with a heavy layer of gravel will discourage burrowing, but regularly checking around the outside of the house to remove debris and weeds and nests if you find them should mean the mice go elsewhere.
Keeping the garden neat, front and back, will make it easier to spot nests in future.
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How To Train Your Cat
If your cat is failing to be a proper mouser, there are things you can do to help teach it how to do its one job properly. If your cat doesnt catch mice, youre going to have to step up into the role of momma cat and show him how to catch them.
To teach your cat how to hunt mice, here are a few things youll need:
Your job is to set up a reward-based system for catching and killing mice. Youll start with wiggling a crinkly cat toy to trigger your cats curiosity and hunting instinct.
Once you know your cats interested in playing, then you can move onto using a live mouse. If you need more information on how to catch a mouse, click here. Set it free in front of your cat, and if he catches it, give him a treat or a good petting.
How Mice Enter Homes
Chances are, if youve seen a mouse in your home, its the common field mouse. Your first instinct may be to place a mouse trap to kill the mouse, but this is only a temporary fix if you havent found where the mice are entering the home.
Mice are crafty, and theyll be able to enter your home through:
- Improperly sealed drainage pipes
A gap in your homes foundation or even a small hole in your roof can let mice in. Pests are rather resourceful and will work diligently to find a way to get in your home. If you want to know how to keep mice out, the answer is simple: seal any gaps or holes.
A mouse exterminator is worthless if there are still entryways into the home.
More mice exist I can promise you that. Easy entry into your home is just as good as an open invitation to mice to come and build a nest in your home.
Sealing the following will help keep mice at bay:
- Unsealed drain pipes
Cement or metal will be needed to seal all of these gaps to keep the mice out.
This is the key most important thing you can do as a homeowner to keep pests away from your home. Everything from bugs to mice will enter your home through these gaps, so its time well spent when sealing all of these entryways.
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Best Cats To Get Rid Of Mice
All cats hunt mice, but certain domestic breeds are more likely to do so than others. Just keep in mind that, even if your cat is one of the breeds listed here, this does not guarantee that your cat will get rid of mice in your house.
Each cat has its own unique temperament and personality. This may affect its likelihood of hunting in the first place. Domestic breeds known best for hunting mice include:
Are Mice Afraid Of Cat Sounds
A mouses sense of hearing is important for determining where its predators are located. The common mouse hears a much wider frequency of sounds than a human.
To compare, mice can hear a frequency range of 1 kilohertz to 70 kilohertz. Meanwhile, humans can only hear a frequency range of 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz. This means we cannot hear certain sounds that mice can since they can hear noises at a higher frequency. Cats, however, have one of the broadest hearing ranges among all mammals, hearing an average range of 48 hertz to 85 kilohertz.
According to the Journal of Veterinary Science, the average frequency of a cat meow is 45 hertz to 64 kilohertz. Meanwhile, the average frequency for a cat purr is 25 hertz to 150 hertz. This fits into the hearing range of the common mouse. Therefore, mice can hear cats meowing and purring, if not more.
This can be used to detect where cats are relative to where the mouse is, resulting in a fearful response within the mouse that hears it.
Below is a summary highlighting these hearing ranges and if a mouse can detect them:
- Human:20 Hz to 20 kHz
- Cat: 48 Hz to 85 kHz
- Mouse: 1 kHz to 70 kHz
- Cat Meow: 45 Hz to 64 kHz
- Cat Purr: 25 Hz to 150 kHz
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Get Rid Of Mice Without Risk
For many pet owners suffering from mouse infestations, the go-to mouse solution is to buy the best mouse poison or to use traps to kill mice. However, using mice traps and deadly mouse poison can cause harm to your pets. Thats why you should seek a mouse control solution that doesnt harm pets, and that wont put your children at risk.
We often say as curious as a cat, but other than being inquisitive, cats and dogs are also territorial animals. This makes them want to investigate every new thing in their home which can include mouse bait boxes. Dogs are omnivores and are particularly at risk. Young puppies that havent been trained are more inquisitive and are at a greater risk of getting harmed.
Check The Garage For Mice
You’ve tried everything, but they’re still coming in? What might be happening is the mice are nesting in your garage , making occasional trips inside for food.
Check all your storage boxes and shelves, and even inside your car in the boot and under the car hood. Remove anything that could be tempting them and store anything that can be nibbled in plastic storage boxes. They love finding materials for nesting, so keep these out of harm’s way.
- Not got your garage in order? Give it a clear out and organise it to avoid any mice from making it their new home with our guide to garage storage ideas.
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Stop Mice From Getting In In The First Place
Start by mouse-proofing your home in other words, stop them getting in. There might be some obvious cracks around door frames, drainage pipes, across an airbrick or drains that you can block up, but you should know that mice can squeeze through the smallest of gaps if you can fit a pencil into the crack, a mouse can get through it.
Where airbricks are the only obvious point of access, fixing a fine wire mesh across them might slow them down. Otherwise, use steel wool and caulking to block gaps and cracks or weather strips around doors mice will chew through plastic, rubber and wood pretty quickly, so keep an eye on any previous fixes you’ve made.
Bear in mind that gaps in floorboards mean that mice beneath the house can get up into ground floor rooms, too.