‘The mice calls are unbelievable,’ warns Manitoba pest control company

A Manitoba exterminator says the number of mouse calls in the city has increased significantly. CTV’s Jon Hendricks reports.

A pest control specialist is reminding Manitobans to take precautions for mice, saying they’re responding to an increased number of calls for mice at homes in Winnipeg.

Lincoln Poulin with Poulin’s Pest Control said rodents are everywhere at this time of the year.

“The last three years have been up,” he said. “The fall of 2025 was terrible. And the spring of 2026 that we’re going into, the mice calls are unbelievable.”

Winnipeg had its fair share of cold days this winter. But Poulin said we haven’t had enough bitterly cold days in a row to kill off as many mice as in the past.

“It’s not just one part of the city,” he said. “And there’s high numbers. There are sites that we have seen monthly service that are now on weekly service.”

Poulin said at this time of year, rodents are out looking for food.

He added one of the most important things you can do to keep mice from getting into your home is surveying its exterior. He said a hole the size of a dime is all a mouse needs to get in.

“Has the air conditioning line let the silicone go, and now there’s an opening for the mouse? Is there a new electrical line where the house has shifted? Now the mouse has got an opening,” he said.

Poulin said once a mouse gets in and finds a food source, it isn’t going to leave on its own, so it’s better to keep them from getting into your home or garage in the first place.