My wife and I own an import business and we have a small warehouse that has a chronic mouse problem. It seems like we get rid of them inside the warehouse only to have an outbreak again a few weeks later. What are we missing? We check the incoming shipments so I don’t think mice are getting in that way.

B. V., Sandown, NH

It seems likely that your mice are being re-introduced into the warehouse from outside. You probably have (1) a good-sized population of mice around the exterior of your building, and (2) openings that allow mice into the building. Consider that young mice only need a slotted opening about 3/8-inch wide, just slightly larger than the thickness of the average pencil.

Change The Exterior Conditions That Attract Rodents

The best way to keep mice or rats out of a warehouse (or any other building) is to stop them at the perimeter. Eliminating conditions that attract rodents to the outside of a building can reduce mouse problems inside the building. Walk around the outside of your warehouse and look for these conditions that will attract mice:

• Garbage stored closer than 50 feet from doors
• Food or spillage around dumpsters, compactors, delivery trucks, loading dock doors, or railroad tracks
• Open lids on dumpsters and garbage cans
• Odors from garbage or wild animals
• Warm, sun-reflecting walls in fall and winter
• Piles or stacks of trash, building materials, pallets, etc.
• Equipment stored outside, especially in weedy areas
• Dense, low-growing shrubs around foundations that provide cover and hide burrows and food trash
• Tall weeds, grass, or vines
• Weed growth along fencelines
• Fruit trees or crops within 300 feet of the building
• Large stones or rocks near the building
• Railroad tie edging
• Ditch, canal, pond, or other standing water near the building
• Areas of loose soil
• Gravel areas with rock of large diameter, instead of small diameter
• Guard dog house or penned yard
• Neglected shed, garages, or other outbuildings on the property

Here’s something else to consider. When servicing warehouses, we often find that mice are coming inside through doors that staff prop open, either for ventilation, or so they can reenter after a cigarette break.

Let Colonial Pest Solve Your Mouse Problem

If it all seems overwhelming, give Colonial Pest a call. We can point out conditions that are contributing to your mouse problem and can set up an exterior baiting or trapping program. We’re also experts at rodent  exclusion. Our trained technicians can find and eliminate all of those openings that outside mice are using to get into your building. Correcting conditions on the outside and sealing openings to the inside should solve your mouse problem. Give us a call today!

Photo credit: Tim Green aka atoach / Foter / CC BY