A bit about mice

Mice are prolific breeders. A single female mouse can produce 40 babies each year. In fact, a female mouse produces five to seven babies each litter and the young reach reproductive maturity at seven to eight weeks. Mice can flatten their bodies, climb, and jump. And they can enter your cottage through holes the size of a dime.

Why you don’t want mice in your cottage

Mice can chew wires and contaminate food and living areas within your cottage. Home insurance usually doesn’t cover damage caused by mice. Any damage to a cottage caused by mice – and other pests – is the cottage owner’s responsibility. Such damage falls under what insurance companies consider "normal house maintenance." Mice also pose a health risk as some may carry a group of viruses called hantaviruses. Certain hantaviruses can cause a rare but deadly human disease called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). People contract HPS when they breathe in hantaviruses. This can happen when rodent urine and droppings that contain a hantavirus are stirred up into the air.

Prevention should be your mantra

The best way to deal with mice is prevention. The first step is to do everything you can to keep mice out of your cottage by putting annual control measures in place, including regular inspections and treatments. Annual pest control is the best way to protect your cottage and your investment by addressing a mouse problem before it gets out of hand. And it’s easier to keep mice out of your cottage than to get rid of them once they’re inside. We asked Garry Middleton of Northern Pest Management, which is based in Lindsay, for his recommendations to help keep mice out of your Kawartha cottage. Here are some suggested practices to help eliminate the conditions that attract and sustain mice and to ensure they don’t gain a foothold in your cottage - and nibble away at your peace of mind.

Things you can do inside your cottage

• Keep food in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids
• Put food away after use
• Wash dishes and cooking utensils after use
• Clean up spilled food right away
• Clean under appliances
• Put pet food away after each use
• Keep pet food in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids
  (Pantry items, cereals, dry foods, and pet food are inviting for mice)
• Use snap traps within your cottage
• Look for gaps and entryways inside your cottage. Check for gaps or holes that could accommodate a pencil
• Seal any gaps and holes with steel wool, lath metal, and caulk

Here’s how to use snap traps inside your cottage

• Choose the right kind of snap trap. Purchase a snap trap made for catching mice, not rats
• Read the instructions before setting the snap trap
• “Smear peanut butter under the trigger plate. This will encourage mice to work for longer periods at getting the peanut butter and will prevent them from just scooping it from the top of the trigger plate, which they are quite adept at doing,” says Garry.
  (Chunky peanut butter works best)
• Place the snap trap on the floor right next to the wall. Put the end of the trap with the bait on it right next to the wall so it forms a T with the wall
• Put snap traps in areas where you have seen mice, nesting materials, urine, and droppings or nibbled food. Also place traps in closed areas, such as behind the stove and fridge, and in the backs of cabinets and drawers

Clean-up tips to help you avoid hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

• Do not sweep or vacuum up mouse urine, droppings, or nests. This will cause virus particles to go into the air, where you can breathe them in
• Clean up mouse urine, droppings, and nesting materials with a disinfectant or mix of bleach and water

Things you shouldn’t do inside your cottage

"I have very little faith in ultrasonic devices which are designed to repel mice. They are scorned upon by our industry. People would be much further ahead spending that money on a tube of caulking as it is usually only one or two holes that provide mice with access," says Garry. "I try to caution people whenever I can that using rodenticide inside your cottage carries high risks. Rodenticides are acutely toxic and kill indiscriminately by causing internal bleeding. Should kids or pets get into them the results could be very serious. As well, even with fail safes in place, rodents can travel a great distance after feeding before the poison kicks in. You now potentially have dead rodents in your ceiling or wall and holes will have to be punched in drywall to try to find them. For these reasons, rodenticides should only be used by licensed professionals and only in certain extreme situations," warns Garry.

Things you can do outside your cottage

• Trim branches, shrubbery, weeds, and overgrown vegetation away from the exterior of the cottage
• Trim grass, branches, and shrubbery within 100 feet of the cottage
• Don’t store firewood, lumber or other materials against the structure
• Raise firewood and lumber at least one foot off the ground
  (Trimming overgrown vegetation against the cottage and storing firewood and lumber off the ground and away from the building will discourage mice from nesting nearby)
• Keep compost bins 100 feet or more from the cottage
• Keep garbage in thick plastic or metal containers with tight lids. Make sure there are no holes in your garbage can
• Inspect the outside of your cottage for gaps, holes, and entry points on a regular basis
• Seal any cracks or openings with cement, lath metal, hardware cloth or sheet metal

Here’s where to look for gaps and holes outside your cottage

• In the roof among the rafters, gables, and eaves
  (Don’t forget to look up high as mice are accomplished climbers; they don’t always gain entry to your cottage at ground level)
• Around windows
• Around doors
• Between the foundation of your cottage and the ground
• Inside attic vents and crawl-space vents
• Under doors
• Around holes for electrical, plumbing, and gas lines

It’s important to inspect your cottage regularly as the condition of the exterior can evolve with time – new cracks or entryways can emerge. Indeed, things can change from year to year.

How to seal gaps and holes inside and outside your cottage

• Fill small holes with steel wool. Put caulk around steel wool to keep it in place
• Fix large holes with lath screen or lath metal, cement, hardware cloth, or metal sheeting. You can fold lath screen and push it into holes. You can also cut it to fit around pipes. Look for lath screen in the masonry or building materials section at your local hardware store

"Especially when it comes to large, irregular holes, I like to push hardware cloth into the hole and then spray with a can of expanding foam. The foam will envelop the hardware cloth and act like rebar in concrete to dramatically strengthen the foam. This is particularly useful in locations that are too tight to secure the hardware cloth with screws or staples," says Garry. Not handy? A local contractor or handyman can help you securely seal up cracks and openings around the exterior of your cottage.

Choose a local pest professional who knows the Kawarthas

A professional can inspect your cottage property to help ensure that mice – and other unwanted guests – are kept out. Mice can enter your cottage a number of ways that are not always visible to the human eye. Professionals can identify entry points that you might overlook. As they’re familiar with the habits of mice, they can anticipate potential problem spots or vulnerabilities on your cottage property.

Mice are here to stay

Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, pest control is just a fact of life in cottage country. After all, mice - and other pests - are part of our ecosystem. And your cottage is nestled in their natural habitat. If you have questions about pest control at your Kawartha cottage, please contact Garry Middleton of Northern Pest Management at 705-878-9060 or by email at northernpest@xplornet.com.