California IN BRIEF : SAN CLEMENTE : Mice on the March in Orange County

Homeowners in affluent sections of Orange County have been aggravated 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 in Chino. 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. 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.