California IN BRIEF : SAN CLEMENTE : Mice Infestation Is Worst in a Decade

Homeowners in affluent sections of Orange County have been plagued by what experts call the worst infestation of mice in a decade. “I thought the stories were exaggerated, but then I checked into it. They’re coming into people’s homes, literally by the hundreds,” said Dan Fox, president of Animal Pest Management Services Inc. in Chino. Fifteen miles south of Disneyland, home of Mickey Mouse, new tract homes in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Niguel have been overwhelmed by thousands of rodents. “They are just conquering us,” said Jeannie Fuller, a sales coordinator for Mission Pest Control in south Orange County. Sales of traps and poisons are booming. The most likely reason for the proliferation of rodents is the abundant food supply after this year’s rains. Now that the food supply has dried up in the summer heat, hordes of young rodents are rushing into garages, kitchens and dens for meals. Experts advise homeowners to let nature take its course. The mouse life cycle is one year, so the rodents will retreat by autumn. Experts also advise sealing entries, buying traps, hiring an exterminator or getting a cat.