House Mice and Roof Rats Plague San Clemente : Infestation: Problem spurs calls to pest control firms. Rains are blamed for increase in rodents’ food supply.

It’s almost to the point where he’s lost count. But in the last three weeks Mike Calloway has trapped 28 mice inside his home in the hills of central San Clemente.

“I also had a first,” Calloway said. “I caught two of them at once in one trap. I’m not kidding; this has been ridiculous.”

He’s not alone in his annoyance.

First it was coyotes. Now residents throughout San Clemente are finding themselves plagued by a different sort of critter--house mice and in some cases roof rats.

“It appears the entire city has been inundated,” City Manager Michael W. Parness said. “I’m not sure why this year we’re having the problems we are.”

Local pest control agencies say they’ve been receiving numerous calls in recent weeks from San Clemente residents with mice infestations.

“It’s really bizarre,” said Skip Sample, pest control manager with Exterminetics. “Normally we get calls of fleas and ants at this time of the year. Seldom do we have a rodent problem in the middle of the summer.”

In one case, exterminators trapped 76 mice in one San Clemente Home, Sample said. There have also been similar mice and rat problems in San Juan Capistrano and other South County cities.

“Nobody is immune,” said Ron Hall, with Western Exterminator Co. “It’s kind of intense this summer.”

San Clemente resident Al Beaubier is certainly aware of the problems. He was eating cereal in the kitchen of his Las Marias home one recent morning when a large roof rat jumped out from behind his refrigerator.

“It looked like a small kangaroo,” said Beaubier, who has since trapped and killed five rats in his home. “It sure got the heart started.

“I’ve lived in Orange County since 1956, and I’ve never seen a rat the whole time until this year,” he said. In recent weeks, Orange County Vector Control District officials have sent informational brochures to San Clemente residents to help them deal with rodent infestations. However, district officials will only respond in person to reports of rat infestation.

“What probably has happened, at least in the San Clemente area, is the rains have increased the amount of natural food outside for these things,” said district Assistant Manager Fred Beams. “And some of them are moving from house to house.”

The house mouse does not pose health problems, officials said. However, the small gray-colored rodents which grow to about three inches long and often have tails longer than their bodies, will chew into boxes of food.

The problems probably won’t subside until the wild grasses dry out and die, Beams said.

Generally, Beams said, he recommends that people use mouse traps rather than chemicals to prevent the poisoned animals from dying and decaying in home walls and attics. Peanut butter is often the best bait for catching both mice and rats.

Officials also offer the following tips to residents:

* Keep garbage in tightly covered containers.

* Remove all rubbish, debris and trash.

* Store all lumber, wood scraps, crating and other materials at least 18 inches off the ground.

* Store pet foods in mouse-proof containers.

* Repair all openings through which mice might enter a home. Check doors, house vents, water and gas lines entering the house.

For information, call Orange County Vector Control at (800) 734-2421.