Mouse Control in Richmond, VA

Mouse in House and in Richmond Homes

If you've been hearing strange noises at night, such as squeeking, scurrying and scratching, you may have a mouse in your house, mouse in walls, mouse in attic, or mouse in kitchen. Mice may be tiny, but they can pack a punch when it comes to destructiveness. Damaged insulation, chewed wires and odors are a few problems related to mouse infestations. Critter Control of Richmond has trained professionals that can safely and humanely remove mice in house, mice in walls, mice in kitchen, mice in attcs and other rodents from your home. We thoroughly inspect your home to detrmine points of entry and can seal holes and repair damage. Call our office today!

Introduction

There are two different types of mice which enter buildings in our area. The first are white-footed mice, which many people refer to as “field mice.” These mice are native to Virginia and are common in our fields and woods. Relatively speaking, they are large mice, with adult body lengths of 4-4 ½ inches (tail not included). The second type is the house mouse. These mice are native to Central Asia. They spread to Europe, and from there settlers brought them to North America. Over time the house mouse has adapted to live with people. In fact, they are never found very far from human activity. The house mouse is about one inch smaller than the white-footed mouse. Both types may live in the same building.

Biology and Habits

Mice commonly enter buildings near ground level through preexisting holes. Common places for entry are where pipes or wires pass through a foundation wall, through vents with damaged screens, attached garages or sheds, and loose or damaged crawl space access doors. Once entry is gained, mice can move throughout the building, including vertically by climbing up the insides of walls and may end up nesting in crawl spaces, attics, floor voids, or inside walls. Mice can reproduce very rapidly. House mice will have five to ten litters per year, with four to six young per litter. White-footed mice generally have three to five litters per year. To make matters worse, a mouse is ready to breed at only two months of age. Mice generally eat grains and seeds, but will eat just about any type of food. Mice are nibblers, taking small samples of food, then moving on. House mice eat food as they find it. White-footed mice will hide some food in nests and other secure places. In some cases mice will use the building as a place to live, but go outside to forage for food, so just because mice are not getting into food in the house does not mean they are not in the building. This behavior is especially common with white-footed mice.

Control

Mice are most commonly controlled by putting out poison baits for them to eat. Generally speaking, these baits contain poisons called anticoagulants (blood thinners) which kill by inducing internal bleeding. To be effective, small placements of ½ to 1 ounce of bait need to be made 10 to 20 feet apart in the areas being used by the mice. Mice die 4-7 days after eating the bait. There is no way to control where poisoned mice will die. However, in most cases a mouse that dies in a wall, attic or crawl space will not create enough of an odor to be smelled inside the building. Mice can also be trapped. The advantages of trapping are faster results, and control over where the mice die. The main disadvantage is that it is more time consuming, and therefore more costly. We have found the snap trap to be the most effective type of mouse trap. Homeowners interested in trapping mice can bait snap traps with peanut butter or lunch meat (especially salami), and place traps along walls in areas the mice use. Mice are usually easy to catch. Regardless of the control method used, efforts must be taken to eliminate any food the mice are feeding on in the building. Food items should be removed, or placed in metal containers. This is especially important with high value food items such as birdseed and pet food. Control efforts may fail if the mice have these other food sources.

Management

To the extent possible, potential mouse entry points into the building should be located and sealed. On some buildings this is easy to do, and virtually eliminates future problems. On other buildings this is nearly impossible. (Most building fall somewhere in between.) It may be necessary for us return on a regular basis to re-treat for mice, and we can set up such a program, if needed.

Testimonials

Julia

12/6/2023

Tom Hanson is awesome! We're renovating and the roof is opened up, so here come the rats. So gross. I contacted Critter Control via their website, got a call back within the hour, and Tom was on property the next morning. He studied our situation and gave thorough, thoughtful advice—which did not include using their services! Instead, he taught us how to manage the situation until we can deploy a more permanent solution. When the house is sealed up again, Tom and Critter Control will return to ensure the complete removal of all unwanted creatures. Thank you, Tom and Critter Control. We appreciate your great service!

Melissa

12/5/2023

Cooper was punctual, knowledgeable, and reassuring. His trained eye noticed things we would not have seen. His investigation was thorough and answered all of questions. Highly recommend.

George

12/5/2023

Terrific. Kind, quick, reliable, reasonable. Knowledgeable and professional staff. Highly recommend. Thank you for your work on our properties. S

Kathleen

12/4/2023

Critter Control has solved my problems for several years. I would recommend them to everyone. Their representatives are always prompt, knowledgeable, courteous and very helpful in solving problems.

Chris

12/2/2023

Raymond was very pleasant and knowledgeable. He paid attention to detail. Good Job!! Thankyou!!

Connie

11/28/2023

I am so glad I had Critter Control come and inspect my house! The problem was located and fixed immediately and since then I have not had any more problems with bats. Money well spent!!!

Jack

11/21/2023

I connected Critter Control Orlando and was surprised, though elated that an actual person quickly answered. She was pleasant and efficiently scheduled a visit to my house to solve my varmit problem. The appointment was the next day. As arranged, I got a call from Ryan the next morning to tell me his eta. He arrived right on time and after explaining the procedure, got right to work. After a survey of our attic, he told us the problem and gave us a price to fix it. He explained exactly what would be done and an approximate number of visits it would take. I found Ryan to be easy to communicate with and an excellent customer relations person. I will be recommending Critter Control to my friends and neighbors.

Bruce

11/17/2023

We had a raccoon in the attic and this team of professional workers caught him after days of detective work. It was a pleasure working with them and having them at my house. I especially want to thank John and Kenzie!

Kari

11/15/2023

After months of fighting moles in our yard ourselves and with the help of a landscaper, with no success, Critter Control caught a mole within a week. Very reasonably priced and very thorough. They’re the experts! We should have called them a lot sooner.

Brett

11/8/2023

Justin was very professional and he and his team did the work quickly and thoroughly. This is a nice company to work with.