PESTS
Please Call: 631-654-0110 or 516-593-7770

Question: Are they a health threat for my family?
Answer: Yes, mice can damage / destroy materials by gnawing contaminating stored food products, transmitting diseases as carriers or vectors. Some examples of diseases that can be spread by rodents are Salmonellosis (acute food poisoning), Rickettsia pox Hantavirus (via droppings), tapeworm, infectious jaundice, etc.

Question: How can I tell if House mice are in my home?
Answer: The easiest way to determine if mice are in your home is the presence of fecal material (droppings). Mouse droppings are commonly black in color and resemble grains of rice. A mouse can drop approx. 50 fecal droppings per day.

Question: Is Arrow and its personnel licensed and insured?
Answer: Yes. Arrow and its personnel are fully licensed and insured.

Question: Where are they found in the U.S. ?
Answer: They have worldwide distribution and they are found throughout the U.S.

Question: How can they enter my home?
Answer: Mice can enter through very small openings (1/4 inch or larger). They can enter around garage doors, pipe conduits entering or leaving walls and basement windows that do not seal correctly.

Question: If I do have mice in my house, how fast can they multiply?
Answer: The house mouse is a prolific breeder, they reach sexual maturity in 35 days. The average litter size is 6 young, with about 8 litters per year. The average lifespan is normally less that 1 year, but mice have been known to live as long as 6 years.

Question: How do I get rid of these pests and assure myself that I did everything possible to keep new mice from entering my home again?
Answer: Of course you can try to catch them yourself. But your best bet is to contact a professional pest control company, like Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc. We offer a large selection of rodent removal and rodent prevention programs. For further information or for a free estimate contact us at 516-593-7770.

House Mouse

Adult head and body length 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 " . Tail 2 3/4-4". Weight about 1/2 oz. Color is usually dusty gray with white or light gray belly. Colors may vary depending on location. Its muzzle is pointed, eyes are small, and ears are large with hair. Droppings are 1/8 " to 1/4" long with a rod shape and no ridges. The house mouse are not only a nuisance, they also damage and destroy materials by gnawing and eating stored foods causing contamination. They reach sexual maturity in 35 days. Pregnancy lasts about 20 days. Her average litter size is 5-8 with up to 8 litters per year. A female can have a new litter every 40-50 days! It is not uncommon to find more than one litter in a nest at once. Mice live only about 1 year but have been known to live up to 6. Mice have keen senses, exept for sight (they are color blind.) They are terrific climbers and can scale most roughened walls. They can jump 12" high and can jump down from 8 feet. They can adequately survive in a facility at 14 degrees. They require only 1/10th an oz or food and 1/20th an oz of water per day. Each mouse will produce about 50 droppings per day. Over a years period a pair of mice will eat 8 pound of food, produce 36,000 droppings, and make 1 1/2 pint/24oz or urine.
Diseases associated with mice include: Salmonella (a food poisoning spread through droppings), tapeworms, rat-bite fever through bites, infectious jaundice/leptospirosis/Weil's Disease through urine in food or water, Favus of the scalp by indirect contact or through cats, Tickettsial pox though mites, and the most publicized disease Hantavirus which is spread through urine.

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Rats

You haven’t examined those boxes in your storage room in several years. Today’s the day! You reluctantly open a box and find eee gads! It looks like confetti! Something’s been nibbling into the box and its contents. Mice!

The house mouse is the number one household rodent pest in all parts of the country, urban and rural areas as well. The meaning of the word rodent is to gnaw and rodents are well equipped to carry out this activity. Sharp, constantly-growing upper and lower pairs of chisel-like incisor teeth are their gnawing equipment. Mice are notorious nibblers, eating very little at one time, but they can chew what looks like a lot of materials when preparing a nest.

The house mouse can produce 8-10 litters each year and each litter contains give to seven young mice. Within 21 days, the young are active outside the nest and within 42 days are sexually mature and ready to reproduce. This exceptionally short life cycle explains why seeing one mouse (or a sign of a mouse) suggest that several are hiding behind the scenes.

Mice aren’t long-distance travelers. They stay very close to their nest if food and water are present and, contrary to what you may have hear, they eat very little only about 1/10 of an ounce a day. Their preferred menu includes seeds, grains and generally any food materials they contact. When they do move about, it’s usually under the cover of night.

You may notice signs of mice in your home during the fall when they naturally enter to escape cooler weather. You can take several precautions to prevent mice from entering your home.

1.Be sure all screens and doors fit tightly and that there are no gaps. Check the space under the door as well. A mouse can enter a hole only 3/8 across.

2.Eliminate any grain materials from your storage area or house. This includes fall door decorations containing wheat or corn that you may have stored.

3.Keep shrubbery and vegetation trimmed away from the house to remove natural pathways into your home. Plants serve as shelter and food for these culprits.

4.Seal up any holes on the outside of the building that may allow mice to enter. This includes points where utility lines enter the structure such as conduits for water, electricity, air conditioning, drain pipes and vents.

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