Christmas is a time to welcome friends and family to your home. However, you could have uninvited guests in the form of mice. Mice do not hibernate, but they do not tolerate cold weather well either, so when winter comes, they look for shelter indoors. A mice infestation can grow quickly, so if you see signs of rodents in your home, you should call for pest mice control in Vaughan immediately.

Unfortunately, some of your most treasured holiday traditions may be attracting mice to your home. You may need to make some changes to prevent this from happening.

1. Leftovers

Many families celebrate Christmas by preparing a large feast to share with friends and relatives. Unfortunately, the leftovers may be drawing mice to your kitchen, where they are likely to make themselves at home after your family has finished eating and gone to bed.

Any leftovers that need to be refrigerated should be put in the fridge as soon as possible after eating. This also helps to prevent food poisoning. The refrigerator is an excellent place to keep leftovers safe from mice, but not all of them may fit. Leftovers that do not need to be refrigerated should be stored in sealed containers that mice cannot chew through, such as hermetically sealed glass jars or metal tins. 

Once the leftovers are out of the way, you should do the dishes right away and clean up any crumbs that may remain after the holiday meal.

2. Sweets

Mice are omnivores and opportunistic feeders. They can and will eat anything that is available, which is why it is important to put away your leftovers as soon as possible after you are finished eating. However, they are particularly attracted to sweet things.

For example, a plateful of Christmas cookies makes an attractive decoration as well as a tempting dessert. However, you should not leave a plate of cookies out overnight or you could soon have mouse problems on your hands.

You may think that hanging candy canes on your Christmas tree would serve as a mouse deterrent because mice are supposed to be repelled by peppermint oil. In the first place, the scientific evidence for peppermint oil as a mouse deterrent is inconclusive, and even if it were true, the sugar in the candy could counteract that effect. Keeping candy canes in their plastic wrap may help deter mice, but it might be better not to hang them on your tree at all.

3. Christmas Lights

It’s not actually the lights themselves that attract mice; it’s the wiring. Rodents such as mice have front teeth that never stop growing. Therefore, mice are always looking for hard things to gnaw on to wear down their teeth, and electrical wires are among their favourites.

If the lights on your Christmas tree aren’t working because mice chewed through them, it may be an early sign of a mice infestation. Once the Christmas lights are put away, mice may start gnawing on the electrical wiring of your home, so heed this early warning.

4. Presents

Again, mice do not necessarily have any interest in the contents of your packages, unless they contain something that a mouse can eat. What draws mice to Christmas presents is the packaging itself. In addition to food, mice are constantly searching for materials that they can use to make nests. They love to rip up cardboard boxes for nesting material, and if you don’t dispose of the wrapping paper when you are finished with it, you are actually helping the mice by pre-shredding their nesting material for them.

Call Truly Nolen for Pest Mice Control in Vaughan

Even if you’ve done everything in this list, mice infestations can still happen. Luckily, Truly Nolen can help save Christmas by getting rid of mice with our professional rodent control services. Find out about our process in more detail.