Welcome, Tonya!
Please join us in welcoming Tonya Adkins-McKeever as the Interim Executive Director of the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan!
Mice and rats are not only a nuisance - they can make children sick. They can increase the symptoms of asthma and allergies. Toxic chemicals used to poison them can also poison children.
Mice and rats often seek shelter in homes when it is less desirable to be outside. The onset of winter causes rats and mice to seek shelter where it's warmer. If there is abundant unsecured food or trash in the home, the mice will also seek it out. It doesn't take much of an opening for a mouse to get in a house. A crack under a door, an open vent, or cracks in the foundation are all it takes. A mouse can squeeze through a hole smaller than a dime. Rats can squeeze through holes that are the size of a quarter.
Children are put at risk when poison baits are used to try to rid the home of pests. Mice and rats also carry a host of diseases. For people with asthma and allergies, mice and rats are problematic as their dander and feces are highly allergenic.
Signs of mice or rats living in the home include mouse droppings, holes in food packaging, gnawing, nests, or seeing the mice or rats themselves. Some people will exhibit allergic reactions to the presence of mice and rats, especially if the infestation is heavy.
Rodents and their droppings can spread diseases and viruses, including hantavirus, salmonellosis and rat-bite fever. They also trigger asthma and allergies.
Mice need food, water and shelter to survive. By removing these three things the environment will be less hospitable to them. Follow these steps to make your home mouse-proof.
In addition to changing the environment in the home, use traps to kill them. Spring-loaded mousetraps should be baited with peanut butter and placed in areas where is there is obvious mouse traffic. Traps should be checked daily. Dead mice should be immediately removed, and traps should be re-baited after catching a mouse. This practice should continue until no mice have been caught for at least a week.
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A mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime.
Integrated Pest Management Products(1.3 MB)
Please join us in welcoming Tonya Adkins-McKeever as the Interim Executive Director of the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan!
Dear Friends and Supporters, after more than 14 years of leading the Healthy Homes Coalition, last week I informed the Board of Directors that I will be stepping down as the Executive Director effective October 31, 2020. This is a bittersweet time for me, as your commitment to action and justice has been nothing short of amazing.
Our Breathe Easier asthma program now looks newer, fresher, more relevant, and more empowering. Even though home visits are out of the question for safety reasons, it is a great time to invest in relationships.