You know about the health risks and property damage associated with an infestation of mice, so you are probably diligent about prevention methods to keep them out of your main building. However, if you have storage areas on your property, you may have overlooked them in your prevention efforts. An infestation of storage sheds can be just as dangerous, especially because it could spread to the main building. You can deal with an infestation on your property with mice removal, but it is preferable to keep them out of your shed in the first place.
1. Remove Any Sources of Food
If you or your employees are keeping any food in your storage sheds, you should dispose of it immediately and refrain from bringing any more out there. If there is a garbage can in the shed, you should empty it regularly. In the interim, line trash cans with heavy-duty plastic bags and keep them covered at all times. This helps to reduce the smell, which helps to draw mice to your shed. Another way to reduce the smell is to clean the trash can itself from time to time.
However, mice feed on more than just human food and garbage. As omnivores, they can feed on many things that humans can’t, such as grass seed. Therefore, if you keep anything of this nature in your shed, you should store it in containers that the mice cannot get into.
2. Keep Your Shed Tidy
As prey animals, mice don’t like to be out in the open. They like hiding places that provide plenty of cover. If you organize the contents of your shed and remove any necessary clutter, you deprive mice of places to hide. They are unlikely to hang around out in the open, and even if they do, they should be fairly easy to spot.
Tools in your storage shed should all have their own specific place to hang on the wall. Any storage containers should be made of a material that mice cannot chew through easily. A mouse may make a nest in a container it can get into easily, and then you could have an unpleasant surprise when you open it back up again.
3. Keep The Shed Doors Closed
This might seem fairly obvious, but animals such as mice don’t like to go out of their way to get food. They can go to great lengths to get to it if there is no other alternative, but given the choice, they will always take the path of least resistance. Therefore, you should not make it easy for them by leaving the doors open.
Take a look at the bottom of the door of your shed. Is it flush against the floor, or is there a sizable gap in between? In the latter case, it may be worthwhile to extend the bottom of the door by putting an extra board or a sweep of some sort along the bottom. Another alternative may be to install a new, larger door.
4. Seal up Cracks or Holes
If mice can come into your shed through the door, they will, but if that is not an option, they will not rest until they find another way in. Mice can fit through smaller holes than you might realize. A hole just has to be big enough for them to fit their skull through; they can compress the rest of their bodies. You should inspect your shed frequently for any cracks or holes and seal them up if you find any. Anything the diameter of a dime or wider should be sealed up or it could potentially let mice in.
Call Truly Nolen for Mice Removal
Our commercial pest control in Milton is a comprehensive process that involves sealing entry points, removing rodents, and then sanitizing and decontaminating. This is an important step given the diseases mice can carry and spread to humans. Our technicians are well trained and can find long-term solutions. Find out more about our rodent control services.