As with many living creatures, mice tend to move indoors when the weather gets cold. With the temperatures outside steadily dropping, and people spending more of their time inside eating and visiting with family and friends, mice are a very unwelcome sight.
But, prevention can go a long way in keeping mice from making their way inside of your home. And, if you want to go the extra mile, you can do things to keeping them from staying once they have made it into your garage, shop, or outdoor shed.
While these buildings are a little more difficult to protect from mice intrusions, there are steps that you can take to make these buildings less than habitable once the mice have come in. During these cold weather months, mice are looking for food and shelter. If you don’t provide it, they will move on and look for it elsewhere.
Here are some things that you can do to keep mice from making their home … in your home:
- Walk around the perimeter of your home. Walk slowly and carefully and look for any cracks or holes. Even the smallest opening should be sealed up. Pay close attention to areas where pipes and utilities enter your home. It might look like not much more than a tiny bug could get through the opening, but mice bodies are built to bend, flex, and flatten in such a way that they can get into even the tiniest place.
- Keep firewood stored at least 15 feet away from the side of your home. Stack in several feet off of the ground so that mice are not encouraged to burrow inside and make a nest. Keep bushes and hedges trimmed so there is a clearance from the side of your home.
- Repair leaking and clogged drains. This seems like an unlikely source of moisture but, if mice are desperate enough they will use it for water to stay alive.
- Keep all pet and people food in sealed containers. Clean out your pantry so that there aren’t any crumbs or food dust that could be a source of sustenance for mice.
If you are worried that your home might have mice or, if you have had a problem in the past, be diligent about these recommendations. Mice are nasty pests that you don’t want inside of your home. They carry disease and their droppings can be highly toxic.
