By admin 
At night, sometimes during the day, your walls seem to be animated by cavalcades? Small black grains are scattered in certain corners of your kitchen? A nauseating smell of ammonia has been tickling your nostrils for a few days? No doubt, even if you have not yet accidentally encountered this small, discreet animal, a mouse has definitely taken up residence in your home! As charming as it is in nature, this small rodent represents a danger to your health and can damage electrical conduits, walls and furniture in your home. Who is this little intruder who shamelessly squats in your home sweet home? What are your obligations as an individual in the face of this invasion? What are the best solutions to scare mice away from your home?
Know the invader to better get rid of it
Rats, dormice, mice, so-called “harmful” animals are numerous in appreciating the sweet comfort of our homes to build their own. And, when they have settled in, you have to act quickly, because their rapid reproduction can quickly complicate the actions to get rid of them. Before hunting mice, you need to make sure that it is indeed this small mammal, and not a rat or a dormice that has taken up residence in your home.
The rat, the largest rodent that can besiege your home
Murids of different sizes and colors, the rat often refers to many species in the world. It is recognized by its round ears, its pointed snout and its long, hairless and ringed tail. A nocturnal mammal, it can climb walls and settle in attics or roof frames. Their sharp, pointed teeth allow them to create long galleries in the walls of a house to store their food. Preferring night to day, you are unlikely to catch it in person, but you will hear it gnawing and galloping at night.
The dormouse, a lover of attics and lofts
Belonging to the Gliridae family, the dormouse is the largest member of its family, reaching up to 20 centimetres. Nocturnal, it most often hibernates at the first frost and resumes its activities in the spring. Due to its weight, it is much less discreet than the rat or mouse and loves to feed on plant or mineral wool. However, it will not hesitate to visit your home if it finds nothing to eat. It can be recognised by its round ears, its grey or brown fur and its white plastron. Its hairy tail, often ending in a pompom, measuring 10 to 18 cm long, is a sure sign.
The mouse, a discreet murid, and just as problematic in the house
Belonging like the rat to the muridae family, our common mice are most often brown or gray in color. They measure 7 to 10 cm and have a tail of the same size, often hairless. Capable of slipping into a hole of only 5 cm, they are more useful in nature where they support the gardener in his fight against snails than in our homes. Rodents above all, mice, like rats and dormice, can cause a lot of damage in homes. They appreciate soft places like laundry or will settle in paper before doing their shopping in our kitchens to feed on dried fruits or foods rich in fat. Outbuildings, basements, places where food is stored are attractive to this small rodent which will dig galleries in the walls to accommodate its broods and store food.
If by chance it finds no seeds, cereals, fruits or flour, the little mouse can also devour your soaps, candles, wood or plaster to feed itself. The most invasive species in the world, the mouse mainly settles in the cellar or attic. It can just as shamelessly squat in laundry rooms, ducts, frames and even the walls of the house.
Although it is not strictly speaking dangerous for humans and prefers to flee as soon as you turn on the light in the room, the mouse, like the rat and the dormouse, carries:
Infections transmissible to humans.
In addition to transmitting various diseases through their urine, excrement or saliva when bitten, small mice multiply very quickly and can endanger an entire infrastructure.
A strict legislative framework to combat the appearance of rodents
Faced with the public health problem that the appearance of rodents in homes as well as in private or public establishments can represent, the circular of August 9, 1978 imposes on everyone, individuals and companies, the obligation to take measures in the event of the appearance of pests. A ministerial decree of 1995 supplements this obligation for any establishment selling food or public structures by imposing a rodent control plan and specifications highlighting various obligations such as:
List the names of the products that will be used;
Mention safety and hygiene advice regarding pest prevention;
Name the premises that will be treated;
Include the plan of the locations where the traps will be set;
Provide the history of interventions by pest control professionals.
Each department or municipality also imposes other obligations that may vary from one territory to another, and some of which are found automatically. Thus, individuals or professionals have the obligation:
To avoid the accumulation of waste;
Owners and tenants of a condominium are responsible for the cleanliness and hygiene of the building;
When an infestation is noticed, everyone must take the necessary measures to rid the area of rats and disinfect it.
A small number of mice can quickly turn into a colony of several hundred individuals. The more their number grows, the more the damage and the risk of contracting an infection increases. It is therefore imperative to eliminate the charming mouse – which is probably not alone – as quickly as possible when you notice traces of its presence.
What are the best solutions to get rid of mice from your home?
Once settled in its cozy nest, it can become very difficult to make the intruder disappear. The more time passes, the larger the colony becomes, causing a lot of damage. Indeed, mice reproduce throughout the year and the 5 to 15 annual litters count up to 21 mice. Even if the average is only 9 young, the colony will soon grow and gnaw at the electrical cables, walls and cause irreparable damage. In addition, the more they proliferate, the greater the risk of contamination of food and the spaces where they roam, endangering your own health and that of your family. It is sometimes very difficult to get rid of mice, the best weapon remains above all prevention.
Preventing mice from taking up residence in your home
There are several tips to help you prevent small rodents from settling in your walls:
Seal potential entry points to prevent mice from entering. To prevent mice from entering your home in winter and also benefiting from the warmth of your home, seal cracks in the foundation and joints around pipes. Install anti-intrusion grilles if necessary.
A sweet aroma of food and here comes a first mouse. Seal the food tightly and keep it tightly closed in your cupboards. Sweep up leftovers every day and opt for a plastic or stainless steel bin rather than a bag. As soon as it is full, do not delay in throwing it away or taking it to the containers provided by your municipality.
Maintain your garden by cutting tall grass and leaving no food residue that could attract them.