Will sleeping with lights on keep mice away? This is one of the questions people are asking in a bid to discover simple ways to keep mice at bay.
One of the most polarizing creatures on earth is the mouse. You can either hate them or love them and they can be both pests and pets. Mice do have their importance, which makes them wonderful pets for kids. However, they can be terrible pests, thereby making your home a mess. They are not just a nuisance to have around the house but are also a threat to your health when they get too closer.
Infected mice spread diseases that, if not treated, can be fatal. In addition, the rate at which they ruin stuff around the house or workplace cannot be overemphasized. That is the reason homeowners want to humanely eliminate mice, especially with the help of pest exterminators.
It is reported that keeping lights on, keeps mice away, and everyone wants to know how true it is.
Getting to know about mice
One common household pest in homes is a mouse. They are similar to rats but only smaller. Mice have larger ears with some hair, furry, long snouts, tails that are as long, if not longer than their bodies, and rounded eyes.
Mice are attracted to human habitats because of the water, food, and warm shelter it offers to them. They adapt quickly to changes in their environment and can also reproduce very quickly.
A female mouse can give birth at 5 weeks old and can continue to do so every 3 weeks. Before death, they can give birth to as many as 5-12 babies.
When mice are outdoors, they prefer to eat:
- nuts
- seeds
- fruits
- insects
- cereals
But they eat human food whenever they are in human habitats. They can be found also digging and eating from trash cans and garbage bins. They also get their hydration needs from the food they eat which makes them capable of surviving for a week without water.
Mice are socializing too, they like to live with one another in a single nest where they, eat together, fight, sleep together, and play together. They feel lonely whenever they are left alone and also mourn when they lose a fellow mouse.
Mice are very intelligent creatures with good long-term memories. They are eager to acquire knowledge but they avoid challenges. They run away quickly whenever they see the danger. It is not easy to catch them as they can remember the path they take, and also know when a new obstruction has been placed.
Mice as pets
When mice are around humans, they can be tractable. They are popular as pets for kids and for a start are better pets for children before they move on to the much larger ones like cats and dogs. Mice remember their owners due to their good long-term memories.
They are loving and can get used to being touched. As pets, they have plenty of natural enemies such as snakes, cats, dogs, birds, and lizards. Therefore, they should not be left alone so as not to become prey to these predators.
Mice do not need to have a bath as they take care of themselves properly. Male mice have a stronger odor than their female counterparts.
A cage with a secure door is required to keep a mouse or two as pets. They also have special pellets and seed-based food for their food.
Most people who own pets make use of recycled virgin wood pulp or shredded, uninked paper to make beds for their pet rats. Negatively, people use mice as food for their pets, like their pet snakes.
What are mice attracted to?
During spring and summer, when the weather is conducive and there is food everywhere, mice will live outdoors in conditions that are favorable to them. They do not attack homes under these conditions because their needs are being provided for outdoors.
But during winter when the temperature drops, they will look for shelter in parked vehicles, restaurants, office buildings, houses, garages, and other places where they can be protected from the weather.
Mice can also get access to food in gardens and farm fields. Indoors, they can get stored foods in the pantry and kitchen, human food, pet food, food scraps, and uncovered trash cans and garbage bins.
Read also: dog food attracts roaches too
Mice eat almost anything, therefore they are omnivorous but fruits, grains, and seeds are their favorites. They eat frequently like 15-20 times a day. They like setting up their nest near their food sources since they eat so much when they are awake.
Mice also look for places like old cardboard, old boxes, piles of newspapers and magazines, and clutter to hide. The bite on these materials as it is their way to ease the pain from their constantly growing incisors and also stops the incisors from growing any further.
Will sleeping with lights on keep mice away?
Though there are instances that mice go out from their shelter during the day, they are nocturnal; they actively forage for food at night
Going outside their nest when it is dark serves their purpose because it keeps them away from predators and they also get to avoid human challenges. They are afraid of bright lights and noises, and they get easily startled. Therefore they do not like going out when everyone else is active.
Mice rely on their sense of smell because they have poor eyesight. For one, mice do not like cheese. The scent of cheese repels them. This is contrary to what popular culture has made us believe. The fragrances sent out by plants and trees that are pleasant to humans repel mice as well but they are alerted by the scent of another mouse.
The light inside your house is not an effective deterrent because mice can easily hide inside dark areas in the house till all lights are turned off. They can hide inside walls, attics, crawl spaces, and ceilings while the lights are on until they feel it is safe to go out.
So, will mice come out if lights are on?
Lights set up around the perimeter of a house are an effective deterrent as the mice are prevented from crossing the lighted perimeter and entering the premises. Mice would rather go to a dark area to look for food
Do LED lights keep mice away?
RVers have talked about how they have been able to keep mice out of the RV successfully with the use of LED lights. It might seem too good to be true, but it makes a lot of sense since mice are less likely to come around during the day when there’s light.
Will a strobe light keep mice away?
In the case of mice deterrents, there is no concrete support to the claim that strobing light machines, which are ultrasonic high-pitch machines; can be irritating to both humans and mice, and also scare other animals away. Mice are insensitive to light.
Signs of mice infestation
There is a possibility that you may not encounter mice even when they are right under your nose, since they are nocturnal. Luckily, mice are not intelligent enough not to leave behind clues about their presence. The following are signs that you have mice in your house.
1. Biting marks on cardboard, newspapers, magazines, boxes, walls, electric cables, furniture, and gas pipes. These marks can either be rough or smooth.
2. Presence of droppings. Mice eat a lot so they leave behind plenty of droppings that look like little black pellets. These droppings may either be moist and soft, or dry and hard (depending on the age). Never touch mice droppings with bare hands or even vacuum them no matter what to avoid getting an infection.
3. Mice have urine odor that can be perceived clearly and it can be perceived when there are many of these pesky creatures in a particular area.
4. Chew marks on food and food packages.
5. Seeing a mouse can give you the alertness of more since they are highly sociable creatures.
6. Since mice do not like being out in the open, they crawl next to walls, where they feel safer, and as such leave behind rub marks or grease stains on the wall from their greasy bodies.
7. Mice inadvertently leave behind things they pick up like loose candy wrappers or food particles at areas out of the way, thinking they can eat, which will mean that these were left behind by mice.
How do you keep mice away from you while sleeping?
Since mice can sneak through the tiniest of cracks, seal off any holes in the walls, and do not miss any spots and can climb into your bed, you want to stop the habit of snacking in bed.
Clear the room of jumble of things so they don’t have places to hide it best.
Encourage your cat to sleep in your room.
Mice must be eliminated from the home except when they are pets. They are not just a nuisance, but they are risky to your health. They transfer deadly diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonella, and rat-bite fever. Asides from these, they damage properties. Mice are also said to be the cause of fires when they chew on electrical wires.
The best way to eliminate mice is to contact a licensed pest control professional nearby when you find out about mice infestation. Inspection will be conducted and courses of action will be recommended.
Professional pest control will help you get rid of mice infestation with the use of family-friendly and pet-friendly pesticides. They have highly-skilled and well-trained technicians, so you can confidently relax that they are doing the right thing for you.
So, will light keep mice away at night? With this piece, you now have your questions answered. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions using the comment box.
