 Scout checking out a fox scent post. Winter time and especially if there has been fresh snow in the last couple days is the best time to get outside and follow some animal tracks. The Pandemic may have people feeling trapped in their homes. This is our suggestion of how to get outside, get some exercise, fresh air, learn and even check out if there is any creatures invading your home.
You don’t need to own a large property as I’m sure you will find some tracks even on a small lot. Start around your house. Look down, look for tiny tracks, large tracks, dirt stains, trails, or even tunnels in the snow. If your finding many of these or what looks to be large concentrations of trails or tracks, this might be something worth looking into. Check around doorways and cracks or penetrations through the foundation. While your out check to make sure all dryer, furnace and stove vents are clear of snow and able to run properly. Next look up on your roof. Don’t venture onto a snow covered roof, a view from the ground is more than sufficient. Look for tracks on the roof. Is something is jumping off a nearby tree or pole? Is something digging down possibly entering a roof vent? If there is snow on some parts of your house and not on others you may want to look into your attic insulation. It could be a result of heat loss. Now that you have checked around your house venture a little further out. Check out trees, bushes, flower beds, fence and tree lines. You will find a larger variety of tracks in these areas. Are any of these tracks heading towards your home? Check out bird feeders. Are there tracks leading from the feeder into or nearby your home? That might be another spot to investigate further. If you still have some energy to burn look for tracks in open fields and woods. There’s no telling the amount of tracks you will see and things you will learn about your local wildlife. You will be able to tell different animals apart. How many there might be and different sizes easily. Look for animals that might be sliding through the snow, or dragging something like the tail or a tree limb. Looking for animal dens or beds and scent posts along trails. Enjoy the time outside. Feel free to share with us any unique finds. If you any questions on what some tracks might be please send them to us!  Exclusion and Repairs is the number one way to prevent mice, voles and shrews from entering your home. If exclusion is not possible trapping is the next best solution.
We recommend trapping compared to other control methods because it is much easier to target a specific species. There is no downfall towards other wildlife. We can track our catches to know if we are reducing the number of problem animals. We also don’t have animals die in wall voids or other inaccessible areas. Trapping mice and other small rodents inside your home is recommended, even if exclusion and repairs have been done. This lets the homeowner know if any holes have been missed or if something has changed and a new hole has been opened. Areas of the home that traps should be set first begin with the basement or crawl space and attic. These areas are often the first place the mice or small rodents enter your home. They are also easier to access than wall voids. Mice can enter these areas and travel through the walls back and forth relatively easily. These areas are also less traffic than other areas of the home. Under the kitchen sink or other holes through the walls are the next best places to set. These areas are often easier to check than the attic or basement. Under the kitchen sink especially, is usually more crowed and sometimes harder to actually set. Setting traps in your living area of the home is only done if the mice or rodents are not accessing other areas of the home. The living area is higher traffic. Pets and children are often present and the traps are more noticeable by others in your home. Trapping mice and rodents outside your home is often a great solution if exclusion or repairs can not be done economically. Trapping outside catches the problem animals before they enter your home. It is often the easiest places to check. Trapping outside can lead to catching more non-target wildlife. For this we recommend always setting the traps inside boxes with specific size holes for the problem animal. This will reduce the non-targets caught and protect the trap. We can help you to remove mice and other rodents from your home and keep them out. Contact us now to schedule an appointment.  Eastern Ontario is once again in lockdown. With families at home more during the pandemic we noticed a definite increase in the amount of people with animal related disturbances. We are still operating during these difficult times but to do our part and to hopefully reduce the need of to enter our customers homes we decided this would be a good place to start with some basic tips and tricks. The mouse trap is one of our most basic tools but we commonly see it used improperly. A short overrun of the parts of the mouse trap will help homeowners in how they use the mouse trap. This is not the only mouse trap on the market but is the most commonly used one. There is more easily used or longer lasting traps available from wcscanadastore.com
We will go over the best places and other ways to set the mouse trap in another blog post. Trapping the mice will eliminate the problem for now, but a more long term solution is exclusion. If you would like a mouse trapping program set up at your home or structure or would like it sealed to prevent mice from getting inside please give us a call. |
AuthorNWC INC Archives
February 2021
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Spencerville, ON Canada
Phone: 613-658-2223 Fax: 613-658-2224 Office Hours Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm |
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