Autumn Traditions That Could Attract Mice to Your Home

The autumn season is an ideal time for fun family traditions, but while the family gathers together for activities, you do not want to worry about uninvited guests. As the outdoor air becomes chilly, the autumn season creates a common time for an increased mouse presence in your home. To keep the mice population at bay, you want to eliminate things that attract the mice.



Learn how some of the more common autumn traditions can attract mice to the inside of your home. You do not need to stop the traditions completely, but some awareness and professional pest help can ensure mice stay away and still give you the opportunity to enjoy your autumn favorites.

Autumn Candles

Autumn is a popular time for homeowners to pull out candle collections. The warmth of the flame and signature scents often represent the fall season. While you may love certain scents in the fall, so do mice, who have a keen sense of smell. The biggest difference? Mice think the scents that emit from the candles are actual foods.

When you burn candles with pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon scents, the strong scents can attract a mouse to your home. The natural vapors from the candles can rise up into vents and attract mice in the walls. While you do not need to stop burning your favorite candles, you can make a few changes to help reduce the presence of mice.

When the candle is not in use, make sure the candle remains fully covered. Candles with thick glass tops can often block out the scents and will not attract the mice. If you have candles without tops, then consider a sealed storage bin.

Full pest control treatment on your home will also help prevent mice and give you the freedom to light all the candles you want in the autumn season. You could also help deter the mice with alternate scents. For example, mice do not like the smell of peppermint, so if you light a peppermint candle every now and then, you can reduce the presence of mice.

Pumpkin Carving

Along with pumpkin candles, the presence of actual pumpkins in the home could attract mice. Mice would love to eat and chew on pumpkin pieces. A mouse eats several times a day and far more than the typical human eating schedule. If you decide to carve pumpkins in the home, then be considerate of any debris or extra pieces you have left over.

When you carve pumpkins, lay out newspaper or parchment paper to capture all the extra pieces. The cuts into the pumpkins will release strong scents into the air. Ball up all of the mess and then place the excess trash into a smaller bag before you add it to your regular garbage.

You could also toss the pumpkin pieces to the furthest part of your property. The pumpkins will naturally decompose and attract mice to the area rather than your home. If you have pumpkin pieces in your garbage, make sure you keep garbage bags fully sealed to prevent mice from digging in a trash area.

A pest control service can provide preventative measures on the exterior of your home to prevent trash access and deter mice from outside of your house. The services will allow you to display pumpkins on your property without the worry of mice scratching or messing with your carvings.

Baking

Autumn is a popular time to bake. Along with savory meals like casseroles and large meats, you may decide to bake a wide range of autumn desserts like apple crisps, cookies, or pies. The foods become a major attractant for mice and could create issues when mice decide to come into the kitchen for a midnight snack.

Cleanliness is key when you want to do a lot of autumn baking. Do not put off the cleaning process and keep the kitchen tidy. While you bake and use the oven, also consider the use of an exhaust fan to help pull some of the scents out of the kitchen. A mouse can pinpoint specific smells and you want to deter them from the kitchen as much as possible.

Once you finish baking and the oven cools off, clean out the interior of the oven as well. Fallen crumbs or pieces could attract mice to your appliances and lead them to other areas of the home like the food pantry. After your initial serving of food, keep your autumn dishes in air-sealed containers.

A pest control worker can perform an inspection to determine if mice have been around your kitchen area. The worker will seek out signs of mice like droppings or claw marks. If they find any signs, then they will take action to catch and remove mice from the home.

Make an appointment with us at Paffy's Pest Control to help with any mouse problems in your home. Our professional service and treatment options can help ensure you enjoy all your favorite autumn activities without the presence of mice.