The clearest signs of mice are small dark droppings, chewed food packets, little piles of shredded paper or fabric, and scratching inside walls or ceilings after dark. You often find the evidence before you ever see the mouse, because house mice keep to quiet, hidden parts of a building. One sign on its own can be a single visitor. Two or three together, in the same cupboard or along the same wall, usually means mice are living in the house.
What do droppings and chew marks tell you?
Droppings usually come first, turning up where mice feed and travel: along the back of the pantry shelf, in the cutlery drawer, behind the fridge and in the cupboard under the sink. Fresh droppings are dark and soft. Old ones are dull and crumble when touched. Finding fresh ones after you have cleaned the area means the mice are still active.
Chew marks come from the incisors. The Australian Museum's house mouse page describes one pair of chisel shaped front teeth with hard yellow enamel on the front. Those teeth leave small, neat holes in cereal boxes, rice bags and pet food sacks, and fine grooves in soft timber, plastic and the insulation on cables.
Como sits on the southern banks of the Georges River. A Como household that finds bags of dog food chewed open in the laundry, with droppings along the back wall, should book rat and mouse control in Como before the mice spread to the kitchen.
Where do mice nest inside a house?
In quiet, secluded spots close to food. The Australian Museum says the house mouse lives mainly in urban areas, closely tied to people, and prefers secluded parts of buildings, where it builds nests from shredded materials.
Inside a home, that points to:
- the void under the kitchen kickboards
- the back of the hot water cupboard or linen press
- wall cavities behind the oven or dishwasher
- boxes of old papers, clothes or Christmas decorations in the garage
- stacked cushions, sails and covers in sheds and boatsheds
A nest looks like a loose ball of torn paper, fabric, insulation or dry grass, usually with droppings nearby. Leave it in place for the technician to see.
Dolans Bay takes its name from a small cove on the edge of Burraneer Bay, and some houses there line the water's edge alongside boatsheds. A Dolans Bay owner who opens the boatshed after winter and finds shredded cushion foam and droppings on the shelves should arrange quick rat and mouse control in Dolans Bay before the mice move up to the house.
What do mice sound and smell like?
Mice are most active at night, so the noise usually starts after the house goes quiet. Listen for light scratching or scurrying inside a wall, in the ceiling above a bedroom, or behind the kitchen cabinets. It is a soft patter, lighter than the thumping of rats or possums.
The smell builds up with time. A stale, musty odour, a bit like ammonia, gathers in closed cupboards and wall spaces where mice have been urinating. Pets often notice first: a dog that stares at the same kickboard is usually hearing movement you can't.
Sylvania is mostly residential but still holds areas of native bushland. A Sylvania family who hear scratching in the bedroom ceiling every night, and whose cat keeps watching the same patch of wall, should book rat and mouse control in Sylvania so a technician can find where the mice are getting in and where they are nesting.
Is it a mouse or a rat?
Size settles most cases. The Australian Museum gives the house mouse a body of 60 to 100 mm, a tail of 75 to 100 mm and a weight of just 10 to 25 g. It has a small head, bulging eyes, large rounded ears and a scaly tail about the same length as its body. Fur is brownish grey on top and white, grey or pale yellow underneath.
An animal much bigger and heavier than that is most likely a rat, and droppings follow the same pattern: mouse droppings are small enough to mistake for seeds, while rat droppings are clearly larger. If you can't tell, a photo of the droppings next to a coin helps the technician.
Why shouldn't you wait?
Because numbers rise fast. The Australian Museum says house mice can breed at two months old, with litters of four to eight, and that populations also appear to increase after rainfall.
There is a health side too. NSW Health's mouse plague factsheet says mice and other rodents can carry infections that spread to people, including leptospirosis and gastrointestinal infections such as salmonellosis, through direct contact or through food, soil or water they have contaminated. It stresses that these infections are rare, but it advises washing bedding and clothing in hot water if it has been exposed to rodent urine or droppings, and covering cuts and wearing gloves when cleaning up where mice have been.
The same factsheet warns that mouse baits sold for agricultural use must never be used in homes, and that children and pets should be kept away from any area where baits have been used. That is a good reason to leave baiting to a licensed technician.
Kareela grew from an estate first developed in 1953, and most of its streets are named after Sydney to Hobart yacht race winners. A Kareela family with young children and a dog, who are finding droppings in the pantry every morning, should book a rat and mouse control service in Kareela and ask how the treatment will be placed away from children and pets.
Before you book
Note these details so the technician can work out where the mice are living and how they get in:
- where you have found droppings, and whether they look fresh
- any chewed packets, cables or timber, and in which rooms
- where and when you hear scratching
- any nest material you have found, left where it is
- whether you have children, pets or anyone pregnant at home
Send those details when you contact our team for pest control in the Sutherland Shire: call Sutherland Shire Pest Control Pro on 02 8360 3033 or email [email protected].