The Dangers of Mice in Your Home

It is easy to think of a house mouse as a nuisance rather than a problem: small, shy and gone before you can get a proper look. That view is half right. The risk from mice is not sudden, it is cumulative, and it builds quietly in places you do not look.

This post sets out what the risks actually are, which ones get overstated, and what you can do about each.

Contaminated Food and Surfaces

Mice urinate and leave droppings as they move, including across worktops, inside cupboards and over food packaging. They can carry bacteria such as salmonella, which can be passed on through contaminated food or surfaces.

The practical risk is in the kitchen. A mouse that has run across a chopping board overnight leaves nothing you can see, but it has been there.

What to do

• Throw away any food from packets that have been gnawed or have droppings nearby
• Keep dry food in hard, sealed containers rather than bags and boxes
• Wipe worktops with a household disinfectant before preparing food while mice are active
• Wash any utensils or crockery left out where droppings have been found

Allergy and Asthma

Mouse urine, droppings and dander contain proteins that can trigger allergic reactions and make asthma worse in some people. The effect tends to come from long exposure to dust in a home with an established population, rather than from a brief visit by a single mouse.

If anyone in the household has asthma or allergies and symptoms seem worse since the mice appeared, speak to your GP or a pharmacist. Getting rid of the mice and cleaning thoroughly afterwards both matter here.

Chewed Cables and Fire Risk

Mice gnaw constantly to keep their teeth worn down, and electrical cable in a wall, floor void or loft is as good as anything else to them. Stripped cable is a fire risk and can also cause faults you cannot easily trace.

Signs to take seriously include lights that flicker on one circuit, an appliance that has stopped working after being pushed back into a corner, or a burning smell with no obvious source. If you see chewed wiring, leave it alone and get an electrician to check it.

The mouse you see is a nuisance. The cable it chews behind the kitchen units is the danger.

Damage to Belongings and the Building

Mice shred paper, fabric and insulation for nesting. Stored clothes, papers, photographs and anything in cardboard in a loft or garage is vulnerable. They also gnaw plastic pipes, door edges and kitchen plinths, and flattened insulation in the loft does not insulate.

None of this is catastrophic on day one. It is the reason not to leave a known problem through a whole winter.

What Gets Overstated

House mice do not go looking for people. They will bite if they are cornered or handled, so do not try to pick one up, but they are not aggressive. Seeing one does not mean the house is unsafe to live in, and you do not need to move out while the problem is dealt with.

Rats are a different conversation, with different risks; our post on whether rats are dangerous covers them.

Pets, Children and Treatment

Do not scatter shop-bought poison where children or pets can reach it. Professional treatment is placed in protected locations, and before we start we tell you what is being used, where it is going, when rooms can be used again and what to do with pets. Follow those instructions, and if you have concerns about a particular pet, speak to your vet. The guide to treatments around pets and family has more.

Businesses that handle food have a legal duty to keep pests out, which makes mice a compliance matter as well as a hygiene one; see rodent control for businesses.

Dealing With It

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 it covers, and our guide to the signs of mice helps you judge how established they are.