From the moment the weather changes and the temperature drops, wildlife all across America start to make their way to warmer climates. Some of those animals will hibernate throughout the winter, while others will fly away to sunnier spots. The animals that are left behind must find a way to find shelter and warmth when the weather gets cold, otherwise they'll die.
Winter changes the way that animals behave, including rodents. Mice, for example, will start to come out and appear braver during the day. This is not because they are feeling braver, but simply because the temperatures are more bearable during the day. Mice are mostly nocturnal animals in nature, but being incredibly adaptable, too, they know that warmer temperatures of the day are well worth taking the risk for. Coming out to look for food during the night could very quickly and very easily cause death.
In rural patches, mice would look for cosy nesting spots to survive winter, coming out during the day when the temperatures are slightly warmer and there is a higher chance of finding food, and then heading back to the nest overnight to stay warm and hopefully get some sleep. These rural patches are hard to come by in this day and age, with larger, wild land spaces taken over by commercial buildings, agricultural land, and residential areas. This drives the mice - and other animals - to find other spaces that are similar. Unfortunately for us, that means going right into those commercial, agricultural, and residential areas and setting up home.
When the weather is warmer — during summer — mice are fully capable of surviving in the great outdoors. When the weather gets colder — during winter — they move inside. They'll create nests in the attics, basements, crawl spaces, wall cavities, and more, in residential homes. They'll also find spaces in large warehouses to set up cosy sleeping and breeding places. And then they'll head into outbuildings, sheds, and garages. They'll find warmth, shelter, and safety in any place that offers it, and they'll also follow the scent and path of food to get there. Think about the amount of food that they'll find in garbage bags, dumpsters, sewers, on the floor right outside, in backyards, kitchens, basements …
Winter is prime time for these rodents to get into your home, so you should ideally look at rodent-proofing it before the colder temperatures start to appear. Rodent-proofing your home so preventing them from getting in is certainly an easier process than getting rid of them once they're already there.
Go back to the mousecontrol.org home page.