Pest Experts Seeing More Mice Infestations This Fall

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As the weather turns cooler, we're all spending more time indoors -- including the critters we'd rather keep outdoors.

Mice are working their way into homes around the metro. It's so bad, one company says their calls are up 35 percent over years past.

Mike Misk with Rainbow Pest Experts said calls are up because the wet spring produced a lot of seeds and insects. Mice can reproduce very quickly with a good food source.

"A mouse can become pregnant at an early stage of life; they can start reproducing after 2 months. Six mice can become 36 mice in six months," Misk said.

For the last two months, Desiree Jacobson and her family in Minnetonka have tried to keep out the unwanted house guests.

"They're pesky, too. They're hard to get rid of," Jacobson said.

Jacobson can't see them in the daylight hours, but knows mice are sharing her home.

"We've bait and set our own traps. We've caught a few on our own, but we're not getting them all," Jacobson said.

So, on Monday morning, she brought in the professionals to help and she's not the only one dealing with mice in her home.

Scott Dorn of Rain Pest Experts said he can barely keep up with the service calls.

"It's been worse than I've seen it in 16 years," Dorn said.

The tiny rodents only need an opening the size of a pinky to make their way inside. Left unchecked, mice can quickly reproduce and cause damage to a home, chewing through insulation and wiring.

Dorn spent the morning searching the exterior of Jacobson's home, trying to figure out how the rodents are getting inside.

"Sealing up the holes is really the only way to deal with it," Dorn said. "If you're just baiting and trapping, you're creating a condition where mice are going to continue to come in. They're going to get the bait and die in the walls."

The key to controlling infestation is prevention. Dorn recommends eliminating the hiding spaces. Keep bushes and flowers about a foot and a half from your home. Be aware of the type of food you use in a bird feeder, because it attracts more than just birds.

You also want to look at the trees around your house. Cut back any branches around your roof. That's an easy way for mice to get into the attic.

"They have the same abilities as a squirrel. They can climb any textured surface," Dorn said.

Access to Desiree's home is now cut off and she hopes it's the start of the end to her pesky problem.

"It's just not a friendly thing to have in your house," she said.