Keeping Mice Out Of The Home

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

That haunting cry at evening – hoo-hoo-to-hoo-oo! – has the ring of the wild about it. Coming from high in Charlotte’s dense tree cover, it sends mice, chipmunks and small songbirds scurrying for cover. Yet it’s music to the ears of many Charlotteans who live in old, long-established urban neighborhoods such as Myers Park, Eastover and Plaza-Midwood. To them, it’s a signal that “our owls” are about their nightly business of communing with a mate or warning off rivals. In these in-town neighborhoods, barred owls have made themselves an integral part of the landscape. In spite of barking dogs, honking traffic and even helicopters whose rotors split the night air, some 300 pairs are estimated to be living within 10 miles of uptown’s Square at Trade and Tryon. They and their fuzzy, big-eyed babies have become a living science lesson for neighborhood kids as well as a source of entertainment for adults. ”Everybody loves their owls,” says Rob Bierregaard of UNC Charlotte. “They’re very noisy. Every neighborhood knows they’re there.” A nightly ritual for one Myers Park family, a neighbor says, is to head for the patio, take a glass of wine and listen to the owls. “It’s almost as though they want our attention,” says Chanee Vijay, who lives near the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. She remembers once when an owl “was sitting on the nook of a tree maybe 10 feet up, not 4 feet from the sidewalk. And we’re all sitting there taking pictures of him . . . they’re used to getting oohed and aahed at.” 'We caught it!' Bierregaard, a visiting distinguished research professor in UNC Charlotte’s biology department, started leading graduate students in a study of Charlotte’s owls 11 years ago. He intended to find out if they followed the scientific textbooks and preferred woods and fields to city life. As he discovered a thriving population, he wondered: “Did the owls not read the book?” He theorizes that the owls are drawn by the same graceful old trees and wide lawns that attract the neighborhoods’ human residents. The city’s famed willow oaks have holes large enough to raise an owl family in, and the lawns provide an unobstructed view of songbird prey chowing down at bird feeders. The researchers keep check on some 40 pairs, from South Boulevard over to Chantilly and down through Eastover and Myers Park.

Keeping Your House Free of Mice & Rodents | Warrington Pest ...

Mice and rat infestation can be a serious problem. They can spoil and foul food, and spread disease. No one likes to share their homes with rodents. You throw out food, spend hours cleaning up their droppings and listen to them skittering in the walls and floorboards at all hours of the night. Here are some tips to help you keep your home mouse and rodent free.

1. Prevention is the best policy.

It’s far easier to keep mice out than to get them out. Start by blocking holes and tunnels that provide access into your home for the furry little rodents.

Start with a careful visual examination of the foundation and all outside walls in your

house. Look for cracks and holes that allow access. Mice can squeeze under the crack below a door, so no hole is too small. Mothballs stuffed into holes or scattered along foundation walls and behind furniture can help keep mice out, but be aware that they are poisonous. If you have pets or small children, be sure to place the mothballs in places that are inaccessible to them.

2.Cut down on the attraction factor.

Mice are attracted by food, of course. Once you draw them close to the house by leaving food out for them, it’s just a short step to inviting them inside. Keep all garbage in covered metal or heavy duty plastic cans, preferably in an area that’s not attached to the house. If you have a shed or enclosed porch that is attached to the house, don’t use it for garbage storage unless the garbage is carefully stored away in covered tins or cans. Use mothballs to cover up the scent of food that might attract them as well.

3.Don’t feed the animals.

Indoors, keep food and garbage off the floor and counters. Don’t leave foods out on counters, including bread and cakes in cardboard or plastic bags. Mice will chew right through to get at the goodies inside.

Make sure that all dry goods are stored in plastic, glass or metal tins. Use canisters for flour, sugar and other dry goods. Put boxes of cereal in sealed plastic containers, or at least behind closed cabinet doors.

4. Opt for all natural rodent prevention.

Tom and Jerry fans take note – the mouse does not always win. One of the best ways to keep your home rodent free is to keep a furry companion. Not all cats are great mousers, but their presence is often a deterrent to mice and rats who will look for a more hospitable home.

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