A mouse in the house!

It was a quick reminder to me, that a spring check of the condition of my nestboxes is very important. The second nestbox I checked was full of deer mice! Although this isn’t unusual, and they certainly won’t harm the bluebirds, it is one less box that the bluebirds could use to nest in if it wasn’t emptied and cleaned.

Since deer mice are carriers of Hantavirus, it is very important not to inhale any of the abundant dust from the material in the box as it is removed. It usually contains not only nesting material but feces, urine, and seeds from the nearby fields. I stand upwind of the box and poke out the material through the open drop bottom. To minimize the dust after, the entire box should be soaked with a bleach/water solution before it is scraped clean.

Once thoroughly cleaned, I leave the lid off and the bottom open so the box airs out and the mice don’t start a new nest. Fortunately, in my case it was early enough that I was able to get back a week later to close up the box. To deter the mice from returning I sprayed the outside of the floor and the post, assuming mice don’t like the smell of the bleach and also they lose their urine scent trail up into the box. If you have any mice constantly entering your house it’s because they are able to find the entry point by following their urine trail.

The population of deer mice must be high in this area, since 6 of my 38 boxes on this trail contained a mouse nest. One or two boxes with this invader is normal. I also had a couple of boxes knocked down by cattle so if I hadn’t gone to do the spring check before the bluebirds decided on their nesting site they would have 8 less boxes to choose from.

It’s a bit of a shock to even have the cute eye peering up at you when you open the box. For those that get the heebie-jeebies when they see a mouse, I suggest simply removing the lid and if possible, dropping the bottom. The mice will quickly move out! In my case I was wanting to get some photos and several of the adults were photogenic.