Deer Mouse Pest Control

As a professional exterminator company, we take mouse and rodent activity seriously. Deer mice have been found in rural King and Snohomish counties and are common east of the Cascades. The deer mouse is an especially harmful mouse species that typically take up shelter in the cold, winter months. Suspected mouse infestations should be treated with caution.

Deer Mice Characteristics

Deer mice are similar in appearance to the house mouse, but there are some distinct differences within the mouse species. Coming into houses, buildings, and structures through small openings and cracks, if you see a mouse in the basement, garage, or attics with the following characteristics, you need pest control services.

• Size – Round, slender bodies average 6 inches including tail.
• Color – Fur varies between grayish brown to golden brown with white feet and underside
• Tail – Average 2.5 inches that are darker colored on top and white underside covered in short hair
• Head – Black, beady eyes with a pointed nose. Ears are large with little fur, and whiskers are long and prominent.
• Habits – Nocturnal, though these pests are sometimes active in the early evening. During the day, these rodents spend in burrowed in nests. Deer mice are also agile climbers. They will cache foods indoors, including fruits, berries, seeds, and more.
• Habitats – Commonly found in heavily wooded, vegetated, or protected areas such as rock or firewood piles. The mouse will seek shelter in houses when cold weather hits in the winter months, building nests in house attics, basements, crawl spaces, and garages. More typically seen in rural areas, suburban and urban homes & buildings may see the if close to parks or fields.
• Diet – Consists of seeds, nuts, fruit, berries and small insects
• Lifecycle – living from 2 months to 2 years. Females have 2-4 litters with an average of 4 pups per
  litter.

Signs Of Deer Mice

Deer mice infestations are serious rodent issues as they are carriers of hantavirus. If you see any of the following signs of a deer mouse infestation, please call a pest control service specializing in rodent extermination immediately.

• Mouse Droppings – Similar in size and shape to rice, they are about a quarter-inch or less in length. These rodent droppings are dark in color, smooth with pointed ends. Deer mice feces are found on floors, cabinets, and baseboards.
• Food Caches – Deer mice are more likely to cache their food and store it near their nests. Typically their piles of food include nuts, berries, seeds, and fruits.
• Urine Smell – Deer mice will also leave behind urine, creating a musky smell in houses.
• Damage – Homes may see damage to upholstered furniture, mattresses, clothing, paper, or other materials as these rodents and mice build their nests in homes.
• Nests – Another sure sign of mice are nests – although rarely seen in houses. They typically build their mouse nests in drawers, wall voids, floor voids, false ceilings, and undisturbed areas of debris. Deer mice and rodents stay close to their food sources.
• Noises – If you hear noises at night in your walls, basement, garages, attics, or crawlspace, these rodents are scurrying around looking for foods, including fruits and berries.

Call professional mice exterminators if you see any signs of these pests. Mouse control specialists will help to determine the best course of action for any rodent infestation including types of baits, traps, and trap placement.

Deer Mice & Diseases

One of the significant concerns of deer mice is the diseases they carry. The mouse may look cute and harmless, but contact with their feces, urine, or saliva and create serious health issues in humans.

The most serious of these diseases is hantavirus. Hantavirus is contracted through mouse carcasses or inhaling air-borne urine droplets, droppings, or saliva of infected deer mice. Often this happens when cleaning vacated buildings, spring cleaning, or sweeping nests in basements, attics, and other areas of your house. Touching items or eating foods contaminated by the mouse can also lead to exposure to Hantavirus.

Suspected deer mice infestations should be treated with caution as 50% of all Hantavirus cases result in death. Call a pest control service that specializes in deer mouse control & extermination immediately. Professional pest control companies & exterminators will help you determine the best course of action while keeping you and your family safe.

About Willard’s Pest Control Company

Willard’s Rodent Control Company was established in 1987 as a one-person family exterminator operation. Today, 32 years later, we are a growing family run exterminator company employing 30+ people for our pest control services. Our extermination business specializes in pest control services, including bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, and more.

We believe in providing safe, honest work to the Seattle community and are actively involved in the Washington State Pest Management Association. Through this association, we work to promote professionalism and safety within the pest control industry. We work to keep pests out of your life in a healthy, safe manner.

Our service area includes Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Tacoma, Woodinville, Seattle, Bellevue, Sammamish, Kirkland, Redmond & Issaquah areas.