When the Mice Break In, Who Ya Gonna Call? Probably Not Your South Carolina Homeowners Insurance!

Do you know what might be living in your kitchen?

Is there anything that sends your skin crawling like the pitter-patter-scamper of little feet inside your walls? It doesn't matter where you live, or how diligent a housekeeper you happen to be, mice are a major potential problem for anyone whose home offers a safe haven from the winter cold or the summer heat-and the trouble they can cause are is almost always excluded from your South Carolina homeowners insurance policy.

Damages to your home caused by Mother Nature's little pests, including mice, rats, insects and termites, are rarely a part of any standard South Carolina homeowners insurance policies. Why? Because these "perils" are considered to be controllable and therefore the result of negligence on your part.

Whoever said mice and termites were controllable obviously never had a family living in their basement.

Recent studies showed that in 2008 one in every ten homeowners had to pay for damages to their home caused by these little critters. Cases noted by the British Pest Control Association have found that these "issues", which are usually not covered under homeowners insurance policies, can be horrific. President Peter Priestly recalled a case in which a home in Preston had completely collapsed as a result of rats chewing through the joists. Other cases noted through North America and Great Britain revealed that rats and mice had managed to cause over $1500 in damages as a result of snacking on the flooring.

Your home is the most expensive restaurant mice and rats are ever going to dine at, but they're not going to be the ones paying the tab...and your South Carolina homeowners insurance provider isn't going to be much help.

Since trying to get them out once they've gotten in can be both difficult and costly (and leave you feeling to need to call Don Quixote to deal with your impossible dream), the best thing that you as a homeowner can do to save yourself from holding the bill for thousands of dollars worth of damages not covered by your home insurance company is prevent the vermin from setting up shop in your home in the first place. Here are some tips put together by today's leading pest experts for keeping the mice out without destroying the comfort of your home:

1) Keep your house clean, and don't let food pile up on your counters or in your sinks. Mice can live for a very long time on small amounts of food, and they don't usually feel guilty about helping themselves to the contents of your pantry; however, that doesn't mean you have to make it easy on them! Keep your sinks and counters clear of dishes, and mop and vacuum your floors regularly. Whenever possible, keep your food in airtight, mouse-proof containers, especially if you've already noticed you have a problem.

2) Seal any openings in your wall larger than ¼ inch, and use patching material that mice can't chew through.

3) Lay out mouse traps if you only have a few mice floating around. If you don't like the ordinary snapping variety there are a number of more human options currently available on the market.

Once mice have firmly established themselves in your home you may find that you have no other option but to hire an exterminator, another bill that's going to be ignored by your South Carolina homeowners insurance policy and has the potential to leave a significant gap in your bank account. Paying two to three hundred dollars for an exterminator, however, is definitely preferable to paying thousands to rebuild your foundation when they decide to start using your joists and wall studs as snack foods.

Wouldn't you agree?

When you're talking about rodents and homeowners insurance this is one case where "an ounce of prevention" definitely equals a pound of cure.