How to Know If You Have a Mouse Infestation in Cambridgeshire

Mice are good at staying out of sight. By the time most people see one, the evidence has usually been there for a while, in the back of a cupboard or under the kitchen units, waiting to be noticed.

This guide is about reading that evidence properly, so you know whether you have a mouse passing through or a population living in the house.

Droppings: The Best Evidence You Will Get

Mouse droppings are small, dark and pointed at the ends, roughly the size of a grain of rice. Mice leave a lot of them, scattered rather than in neat piles, along the routes they use.

Look along skirting boards, in the backs of kitchen cupboards, in drawers, under the sink, behind the cooker and fridge, and in airing cupboards around the pipes. Lofts and garages are common places too.

Fresh or old?

Fresh droppings are dark, slightly shiny and soft. Older ones turn grey, dull and dry, and crumble when pressed with something like a lolly stick. Old droppings on their own may mean a past problem; fresh ones mean mice now.

Mouse or rat?

Rat droppings are much larger and thicker, and are often left in small groups rather than scattered. If what you are finding is large, our guide to the signs of rats is the one to read.

Noises and When You Hear Them

Mice are mostly active at night. Light scratching, scurrying or a soft pattering in the ceiling, walls or under floorboards, heard when the house is quiet, is typical. It is lighter and quicker than the heavier movement of a rat.

Daytime scampering in the loft is more likely to be a squirrel, which is a different problem entirely. If the noise is overhead in daylight, see our post on squirrels in the loft.

Damage, Nests and Smell

Gnawing

Look for small, neat holes in food packets, especially cereal, rice, pasta, bird seed and pet food. Mice also gnaw the corners of cupboard doors, skirting and plastic pipes, leaving small tooth marks and fine shavings.

Nests

Nests are loose balls of shredded material: paper, card, fabric, loft insulation. They are usually tucked somewhere warm and hidden, such as behind a kitchen plinth, inside a stored box, under the bath panel or behind the boiler.

Smell

An established population gives off a stale, musky smell, like ammonia, most noticeable in a closed cupboard or a small room that has been shut for a while.

Smear marks and tracks

Where mice use the same route again and again, grease from their fur leaves faint dark marks along walls and around holes. In a dusty garage or loft you may see tiny footprints or a tail line.

One sign could be a visitor. The same signs, coming back after you clean, are residents.

Other Clues People Miss

• A cat or dog staring at, sniffing or pawing one spot on a wall or under an appliance
• Scattered crumbs or food spilled from a shelf with no obvious cause
• Chewed labels, paper or the corners of stored cardboard boxes
• Loft insulation pulled into a heap or tunnelled through
• A mouse seen out in the open in daylight, which often means there are more than you think

So Is It an Infestation?

If you have fresh droppings in more than one area, droppings that return after cleaning, gnawed food and noise at night, you have mice living in the house rather than passing through. That is the point at which it is worth acting, because mice breed quickly and the problem is easier to deal with early.

What to do next is in our guide on how to control mice in your home, and the reasons not to leave it are covered in the dangers of mice.

Getting It Confirmed

If you are finding evidence but cannot tell what it is, a pest inspection and survey is £120 fixed cost and identifies the pest, how far it has spread and where it is getting in. If it is clearly mice, our mice control service is £260, with no call-out fee and the price confirmed before anything is booked.

The treatment is guaranteed: if the problem comes back within 14 days of treatment, we return and re-treat free of charge. The mice control cost guide explains what that figure covers. Call 01223 902388 and tell us what you have found.