Imagine for a moment that you are walking into your bathroom. You turn on the light and lift the toilet lid. To your surprise, a mouse leaps from the bowl and onto the floor, scurrying across the tile and out into the hallway. While you should immediately dial a service specializing in pest control in Oakville, you are dumbfounded, wondering how the mouse got into your toilet.
First, take a deep breath. While a rodent exiting your toilet is possible, there are many more credible and likely ways for mice to enter a home. However, the animal using your plumbing as an entry or exit point is not far-fetched.
Tiny Openings Are No Match for Rodents
Mice can squeeze through an opening no wider than a quarter of an inch. Small rats can fit through an opening no larger than a quarter. Therefore, it does not take much to believe a mouse or rat can fit into a drain pipe.
Once in the drain, a rodent can navigate the pipe until it finds another opening of adequate size. However, mice and rats do not have to travel inside your pipes; they can travel on top of them. Too many homes have poor seals where plumbing enters the property. A determined mouse can squeeze through these openings, get inside, and then find a good place to establish a nest.
Mice Can Swim
Many people balk at the idea of rodents using plumbing to enter a home, thinking the animals are not proficient swimmers. However, rats are excellent swimmers. They can swim in open water up to a half-mile, and they can hold their breath for up to 30 seconds.
While mice do not like to swim, they are capable. A mouse can tread water for up to three days. Even more impressive, a mouse can hold its breath for up to three minutes. As you can see, travelling through plumbing and into your home is not an issue for rodents.
Drains and Plumbing Make for Good Highways
When you think about your plumbing, you can see the appeal to critters, right? Your plumbing acts as the highway through your home. Whether travelling inside of it or on top of it, rodents can follow your plumbing to some of the best locations in the house, including the kitchen.
By navigating the plumbing of your house, a mouse can find food, nesting materials, and shelter. They can work through your cabinets to bread drawers or cereal stashes. They can find their way into the laundry room for lint and materials for bedding. The plumbing highway leads almost everywhere a mouse or rat would have any interest going.
Pest Control To the Rescue
If you have seen mice scurrying around your home, or if you have had the unfortunate experience of finding one swimming in your toilet, call a pest control specialist. When you see one rodent, there are most likely many others lurking in your walls, ceiling, attic, or basement.
Mice reproduce at a rapid rate. If you fail to take action, you can see a rodent population soar into the hundreds in a matter of months. Pest control specialists have the tools and expertise to manage and remove an infestation without risking the structure or integrity of your home.
Do you believe your property requires mice removal? If so, contact Truly Nolen, a leader in pest control and removal. The company will schedule a property assessment with one of its technicians to better understand your problem. After the evaluation, the technician will provide you with options and an estimate for the job. Our highly trained technicians will communicate with you the whole way through until the job is complete.