Mouse and rat control in Fort Wayne, IN Scurrying in the walls at night? Mice multiply fast.

They do not need a door you would notice

House mice fit through an opening about the size of a dime. Rats are larger, and they still get in through a gap about the size of a quarter, or by climbing a pipe, siding, or a tree onto the roof.

Utility lines, foundation cracks, dryer vents, and a door that does not quite meet the threshold are the usual routes. Because they work at night, the first proof is often droppings, not a sighting.

The math is the reason to move soon

A female mouse can be ready to breed at 5 to 8 weeks. Gestation is about 19 to 21 days, and she can have 5 to 10 litters a year, often 5 or 6 pups each. A single female can produce 30 to 60 young in a year if the house keeps feeding her.

Rats are a little slower and still fast. They mature around 8 to 12 weeks and may have 3 to 7 litters a year, with 6 to 12 young. Waiting to see if it stays a small problem is how it stops being small.

Seal it, then stop the digging

Steel wool, mesh, and caulk close the holes they are using. Foam by itself does not. Food and water outside, a pet dish left out, an open trash can, keep the search going, so those go too.

Where rats, mice, or groundhogs are tunneling under a deck, shed, or foundation, a rat wall is the longer fix. Quarter-inch galvanized hardware cloth goes in a trench, often 6 to 12 inches down, sometimes with the bottom bent outward so they cannot dig under it.

What should you do tonight?

• Do not put poison in a wall. A dead mouse you cannot reach is a worse week than a noisy one.
• Put pet food away at night and close the trash.
• Look along the foundation and where pipes enter. A photo of a gap is useful. You do not need to crawl under the house.
• Tell us whether you have also seen a snake. Rodents are often the reason it came inside.