Mice

Calgary Mouse Removal Specialists

We Inspect The Exterior To Find And Close Entry Points.
6 Month Warranty Period.

At Lavellan Pest Solutions, our investigators are rodent control experts. As a top Calgary pest control company, we utilize the best tools, resources, and scientific research available in the pest control industry, and along with our trained, licensed, professional investigators, Lavellan Pest Solutions is able to provide unparalleled service when it comes to exterminating mice in Calgary.

Think you might have mice in your home? Are you finding black, rice shaped droppings at the back of appliances, cupboards, or drawers? Hearing strange scratching or chewing inside the walls or ceiling? Or have you seen a mouse run across the floor? If you think you might have a problem with mice, our experienced pest investigators can give you the peace of mind that you’re looking for.

With an exterior inspection to find and close entry points, and a six month warranty period, Lavellan’s mindful, professional, and timely rodent treatment services will have you mouse-free and breathing easy.

We are a proud Calgary business, locally owned, locally operated, and community minded. Thank you for supporting local!

Mice In Calgary

Mice are quite opportunistic and are always on the lookout for new food and shelter opportunities. They can fit through some very small spaces, and they are great at using scent and air flow as a means to discover weak spots through which they can gain entry into a structure.

Mice are generally nocturnal creatures in the wild, but this is primarily because the cover of darkness affords them the best chance of survival. Once they are living inside a human habitat, they have been known to adjust their awake/sleep schedule so they are awake whenever most humans are asleep. Once they have been living indoors for long enough, and their population increases, they can be found to be active at any time of day.

Mice are excellent climbers, able to climb most surfaces short of smooth plastic, polished steel, or glass. They can jump nearly a half meter, and they are very fast.

Mice can create a large mess, and their droppings and urine can contaminate a number of objects and surfaces with harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The average house mouse will produce a single dropping about every 30 seconds when they are sitting still. Mice urinate in small amounts as they move through their environment. Their urine contains pheromones which, along with other pheromones produced by glands in their skin, is one of the ways they communicate with each other. Mice urinate in such small amounts that you will seldom see urine puddles or markings except around nesting sites where they have deposited urine over and over again, or in cases of pregnant or elderly mice, who can leave small puddles of urine. If mice have been in your pantry, or on your dishes, you need to wash or wipe everything down with disinfectant wipes. Containers made of cardboard, or other porous material that cannot be wiped clean, should be discarded.

Hantavirus is the most dangerous virus that is currently spread by Deer Mice, but there are many other viruses, bacteria, and parasites that can be spread by mice. Some of these can be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces, some can be transmitted through the air, but most are transmitted through ingesting contaminated food. There are over 140 known food-born illnesses that are spread by rats and mice coming in contact with food, or cookware.

Signs Of Mice - What To Look For

Mice can be very quiet, and they are really good at hiding. It is possible to have mice in your home and not even realize it for quite some time.

Common signs that indicate the presence of mice include:

• Mouse Droppings

• Gnaw Marks In Open Food, Or Food Missing From Chewed Wrappers

• Chewed Food Packaging

• Torn Up Bits Of Paper, Fabric, Or Cardboard (Often With Droppings Present As Well)

• Small Holes or Tunnels In Walls, Baseboards, Or Insulation About The Diameter Of A Nickle

• Collections, Or Piles, Of Dry Pet Food Under Furniture Or Appliances

• Light Scratching/Gnawing Sounds In The Walls, Floors, Or Ceilings

• Actual Mouse Sightings (Typically Darting Across The Floor, Or Along The Edge Of A Room)

• Pet Drops A Dead Mouse At Your Feet, As A Gift

• Pet Stares At Wall, Furniture, Or Appliance For Long Periods Of Time (Also May Whine, Or Scratch At Area)

• Pet Suddenly Refuses To Eat Dry Food From Food Dish

Getting Rid of Mice

There are two parts to getting rid of mice from your home.

1. Exclusion - You need to inspect the exterior perimeter of the home and assess where mice may have entered. Close off any holes and make any repairs needed.

2. Extermination - You will need to eliminate all the mice currently in the home.

Mouse Exclusion / Mouse Proofing

This step is important as it will cut off access to the outside, and prevent any new mice from entering the home. The most common entry point for mice is actually through doors and windows so they should be the first places inspected. Are screen doors in place? Do doors seal properly when closed? (If you can see daylight around the door when it’s closed, then it's not sealed properly.) Do windows have screens in place? Are window screens free from rips and holes? If you have an attached garage, don’t forget to include the garage doors and windows. After doors and windows, the rest of the exterior perimeter can be inspected. Check any place where anything penetrates the foundation or house wall to ensure that it is sealed properly. Air intake vents, gas pipe, AC wiring, electrical, and exterior water taps are all great places to inspect.

Exclusion efforts should be concentrated on the exterior of the home to prevent mice from entering the structure. Sealing holes on the interior of the house will do very little to solve an existing mouse problem and will do absolutely nothing to prevent more mice from getting inside the home. Sealing holes on the inside when you already have mice also runs the risk of trapping mice inside walls or ceiling areas. If the mouse can’t find a way out (because you blocked it), it will die there. There is nothing quite like the smell of rotting rodent coming from inside a wall or ceiling.

NOTE: When sealing holes, avoid the use of expanding foam. Even the type that is marketed as “Pest Proof” or “Pest Resistant”. Expanding foam has many negative qualities when it comes to pest control. It can be easily chewed through (yes, even the pest proof stuff), it is porous and cannot be properly cleaned, it can create harbourage for insects, mites, and bacteria, and it is also messy and difficult to control. If applied incorrectly (which is easy to do), it can actually create larger holes or displace siding, bricks, or plastic molding because it continues to expand while it dries. Silicone or Polymer based caulking is best for sealing small gaps. Larger gaps can be stuffed with stainless steel wool or copper Stuffit, but nothing beats having the area properly repaired by a contractor, or proper maintenance personnel.

Mouse Extermination / Mouse Removal

There are two basic methods of elimination, trapping and poisoned bait.

Trapping Mice

There are many different types of traps on the market, but all of them will either be kill traps or live catch traps. Whichever traps you choose to use, you will want to check your traps daily. If you are using live catch traps, then you will have to decide what to do with any mice that you catch. NOTE: If you are catching live mice in the house and releasing them into your yard without first doing a proper inspection and mouse proofing, then those mice are likely coming back into the house within the hour. Also, if you are using glue traps, please know that you are sentencing the mice to die in a most cruel and torturous manner.

You can either bait traps with food (cheese, peanut butter, bacon grease, pet food, etc…), nesting material (cotton, string, cloth, fiber fill, etc..), or you can leave traps set without any bait at all. Mice are naturally curious, and will typically investigate anything they can climb into. Mice are very aware of their environments and quite cautious whenever they encounter food. So, sometimes you can have better luck trapping mice with nesting materials as bait, or with no bait at all.

Regardless of the type of trap, or the type of bait being used, most mice will get trap smart very quickly. Traps are excellent ways to monitor a rodent situation, but you can rarely solve a rodent infestation using traps alone, unless you are very lucky. Statistically, only 10-25% of a rodent population will fall victim to trapping.

Trapping works best when it is used in combination with poisoned baits.

Poisoned Bait

There are a number of baits available on the market, but they are not all created equal. Poisoned baits are basically made up of two different parts, the active ingredient (the part that actually kills the rodent), and the inactive ingredients (that part that attracts the rodent). Unfortunately, a lot of the bait available to the general public works very slowly or doesn’t work at all unless the mice have no other food source.

All baits are designed to kill rodents, which means they will also affect any other mammals or birds who ingest them. As a measure to help safeguard non-target animals, the lethal dose of most baits is based on body mass. Baits all come with specific instructions for use. It is important to follow all instructions to ensure the health and safety of any people, pets, or other non-target wildlife.

Poisoned bait is the fastest and most effective way to eliminate a rodent population when set up and monitored by a pest management professional (PMP). PMPs have access to commercial grade bait, they have specialized training to optimize bait placement and proper quantities, they can assess contamination and health hazards, and ensure that all people, pets, and non-target animals are kept safe and out of harm’s way throughout the entire process.

Our Methods

At Lavellan Pest Solutions, we use commercial grade, anticoagulant baits in special, tamper resistant bait stations, placed out of reach from children, pets, and non-target animals. Our rodent programs include a minimum of 2 services so that we can properly assess the situation, bait quantities, bait placement, and level of infestation. We include a comprehensive inspection of the exterior of the structure looking for possible entry points, and we fill any small holes or gaps right on the spot. Our rodent control programs come with a 6 month warranty period.

Common Questions And Concerns About Mice

Q: How much Does A Professional Rodent Control Program Cost?

A: A typical rodent control program will cost between $300 and $600, depending on the size of the property and the length of the program required.