If you’ve found a mouse in your house, you might be wondering: are there more?
It all depends. Chances are that if you see one mouse in an active part of your home during the day, that you only have one mouse in your house at that given moment. This is because the mouse may have been trying to escape a predator and found an escape route through your home.
But this is not always the case. When you do see a lone mouse running through some part of your house, you should do a thorough search to see if there are more than one hiding out or making their own home in a dark corner of your house.
Is It Possible To Only Have One Mouse In The House?
The good news is that yes, there is a possibility of only having a single mouse in your home. It does happen from time to time, but do not count on it happening in your home. You may be the exception to the rule.
There is a way to tell approximately how many mice your home has welcomed. Check out the mouse droppings you see on your floor, counters, or furniture. If you find only 5 or 6 mouse droppings, that is a good sign, as that few droppings will tell you that there is only one of those Northeast Georgia rodents scouring about indoors.
On the other hand, if you see a lot of droppings, and those are not hard to miss, then you know you have more than just one mouse. Exactly how many you have will be hard to tell as you do not know how many droppings each mouse has left behind.
Now, if you saw a mouse at night and in a very obscure location inside your home, chances are you do have more than one mouse living with you. Mice moving about at night and acting normally indicates there is a colony of them somewhere in your home.
Does Finding One Mouse Mean An Infestation?
Yes and no. That is the best answer that can be given as it is hard to tell how many mice are living in your home without spotting the nest.
Sometimes, one mouse simply means there is only one mouse in your home. Other times, a single mouse represents a whole colony and that colony is full of female mice reproducing on a regular basis. One mouse could be the start of a colony and infestation or it could not be.
Even if you only have a few mice in your home, it only takes them 5 to 8 weeks to reach reproduction maturity. Once that happens, they will start reproducing at larger numbers and adding to your mouse problem.
With an average litter of 6 to 8 little mice pups, and the possibility of 5 to 10 litters per year per female mouse, one mouse in the house is enough to raise an alarm and see how big the problem is.
Don’t forget that each litter can start having their own babies after 5 to 8 weeks. If you let the problem go on, it can add up into a very big mice problem for you and your family.
Common Signs You May Have A Mouse Infestation
The good news in all of this is that you will see the signs left by mice telling you that you have an infestation. The large number of mouse droppings is just one sign and it will not be the only sign you will see.
Here are some more signs to let you know that you have a rodent problem in your home:
- You often hear scratching or squeaking sounds coming from inside your walls, ductwork, crawlspace, or other hidden areas.
- There will be gnaw marks on your baseboards, drywall, furniture, electrical wiring, and just about any other place the mice may visit.
- You may smell an ammonia-like odor in different parts of your home where you did not use ammonia for cleaning. That smell comes from mouse urine which is either normal bathroom relief, or the mice have decided to divide your home up into their own personal territories.
- There will be holes in walls, corners, cabinets, baseboards, and other easy-to-chew spots. These holes tell you the path the mice are using to go to their feeding sites and back to their nests.
- You find nesting materials that have dropped on your floor, counters, etc., as the mouse carries them to their nesting site inside your house structures. Those nesting materials can be cloth, fiberglass, paper, cotton, cardboard, and more.
When you see these signs, they tell you two things. One, that you have a mouse problem, and two, the mice have an easy access point into your home that needs to be sealed.
If you’ve seen mice in your Northeast Georgia home, even if it’s only a single mouse, it’s important to call a pest control expert. This is because there is a high chance of having a larger infestation. These rodents carry various diseases and contaminate food storage, thus, eliminating them as soon as possible should be your priority.
American Pest Control offers a wide range of services for rodent trapping, removal, and control in Northeast Georgia. One of our experienced technicians will thoroughly inspect your house, checking for evidence like mouse droppings, gnaw marks, or nesting materials. He’ll also make exclusion recommendations to prevent more mice from entering your home. So pick up your phone and call us today and get started on our effective pest control services in Northeast Georgia.
Our certified pest experts will work with you to find the best solution for your needs. Simply fill out this form for a free, no-obligation estimate.
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