As summer winds down and we prepare for cooler weather here in the Northern Hemisphere, there are so many things to look forward to. Personally, I’m ready for sweater weather, soup season, crunchy leaves and pumpkin-based baked goods.
However, as the weather starts to chill, something else happens: mice get cold and seek shelter. And as adorable as mice can be, they are not the best roommates… So, it’s time to start weatherproofing our homes to prevent mice from moving in this fall.
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To find out how to protect a home from mice as autumn approaches, we spoke with two pest experts: Caleb Fabry, a Pest, Wildlife & Rodent Specialist and the President of Town & Country Pest Solutions Inc., which serves Upstate New York cities including Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, and Tony King, pest control expert, owner and manager of The Pied Piper in London.
Below, Fabry and King share the six things you need to do to prep your house for fall and prevent rodents like mice, as well as a few ways to humanely handle a mice problem without hurting or killing them. (And for anyone with a phobia of mice, don’t be scared to read on—there are no photos of mice in this article!)
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6 Things to Do Before Mice Enter Your Home This Fall
1. Find and seal entry points
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The first thing you should do, according to Fabry, is check around the house’s foundation level for gaps and entry points. Common spots include the spaces near where the air conditioning line enters the house, dryer vents, utility pipes, the house’s foundation and beneath decks.
“Seal gaps with a durable material such as copper mesh, steel wool and exterior-grade silicon sealant over top,” Fabry tells Parade. “Mice can get through surprisingly small openings as little as a quarter to half an inch, so closing those access points is the most important step.”
King concurs that inspecting the outside of your home for openings is an important first step.
“Before the fall, homeowners should visually inspect every area of the exterior of their home for any cracks and openings through which mice can enter,” King tells Parade. “All small openings should be filled with steel wool with a strong sealant, such as caulk. Larger openings are best covered with wire mesh.”
And to take things to the next level, you might consider sealing entry points near the roof. “If you are certain you did a great job sealing the foundation level, do know that if the problems continue, mice are well know for getting in through the roof via chimneys, soffit junctions and ridge and box vent areas up high,” Fabry adds.
2. Remove the outdoor clutter that mice love
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According to Fabry, mice like clutter around the home, as it helps them stay protected and provides them with loose materials to build their nests as the weather keeps getting colder. Outside of the home, this outdoor clutter includes firewood, leaf piles and dense vegetation that is near or touching the house.
All of this “needs to be kept away from the foundation,” says Fabry, and should be moved to the other end of your yard. “Moving these items will make the house less inviting and will help make activity easier to spot.”
This rule can also apply to clutter in rooms used for storage, including the garage, basement and attic. “Remove cardboard boxes from the floor if possible,” says King, adding that you should also “remove piles of paper, cloth, leaves or other nesting materials” and store everything in airtight plastic containers.
3. Seal away food
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“A dependable and consistent food source gives mice a reason to never leave,” explains Fabry. That being said, all pantry goods and food should be kept in “tight and fully sealed containers” and you should always “clean up anything that spills” right away.
“It is important to follow food storage and disposal practices to avoid or minimize attracting rodents to your home,” adds King. “Store pantry foods in tightly fitting containers; do not leave pet food unattended outside overnight. Remove crumbs and food scraps from floors and shelves [and] under appliances and furniture, where they often accumulate.”
And this doesn’t only go for your food—birdseed, dog food and cat food should also be in airtight containers, as should any grass seed. “A cool fact that may not be widely known, one of mice’s favorite food sources is grass seed!” says Fabry.
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4. Repair outdoor faucets and pipes
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“Water damage and leaking faucets are the No. 1 cause of uninvited pests to your home,” says Fabry, specifically referring to outdoor faucets and pipes. For this reason, you should “repair dripping outdoor faucets, leaking pipes and poor drainage near the foundation.”
5. Clean areas where mice have been
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To determine where you may have already had mice visit your home, Fabry says to start by inspecting the garage, basement and attic for droppings (feces), gnaw marks, oil rubs (sebum) and nesting materials.
“These are all signs of where the mice are located,” he says. “Catching early signs now is much easier than dealing with an established problem later in the season.”
Once you identify any problem areas, Fabry says to clean these areas using a cleaning agent and disinfectant. This “will not only keep them away, it will break up the natural scents that they use to travel safe points back and forth. Mice stay where they are comfortable; keep them uncomfortable and they won’t want to stick around, especially in the early stages.”
6. Replace worn weather stripping
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Check your weather stripping and door sweeps. If anything has worn down and now leaves a gap, replace it.
“These areas are common weak points and can give mice an easy route indoors,” says Fabry.
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What to Do if You Find Mice in Your House
1. Use live catch traps
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Once you identify the spots where mice have been spotted, King recommends setting live catch traps along the walls. “First, place live rodent traps along walls and near areas where rodents are active,” he says. “Rodents tend to walk along edges rather than across open spaces.”
You can put a small amount of bait inside, such as bird seed, chocolate or peanut butter, adds Fabry. From there, King says you should “check traps frequently”—because if you don’t, the captured mouse could starve to death.
“A live trap is only humane if the animal is not left stressed, hungry or exposed for long inside that trap,” Fabry explains. “But just releasing them right back into your yard, they will come right back in, unless of course you are certain you found the entry points and sealed them. If you haven’t, take them far away.”
King adds that you should always “handle captured rodents with care and release them in accordance with local wildlife and animal welfare regulations.”
2. Remove food, water and nesting materials
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“They only need these three items to attract them and keep them there,” Fabry says of food, water and nesting materials. “What you might suspect is not enough to keep them alive, is generally a lifetime supply for a mouse. If you can remove at least of one these resources, the mice will need to find another place to go naturally.”
3. Bring in a rodent specialist
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If you’ve done all you can but are still finding mice in your house, it’s time to “bring in a professional for a thorough inspection and an evaluation,” says Fabry.
“A proper inspection can identify the entry points and conditions that are supporting the problem, so the solution is focused on prevention instead of repeatedly trapping mice,” he explains. “Many homes are challenging to climb, access, and so on. A great rodent specialist will often have the knowledge and tools to identify where the places are that often homeowners might never notice.”
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Sources:
- Caleb Fabry, a Pest, Wildlife & Rodent Specialist and the President of Town & Country Pest Solutions Inc.
- Tony King, pest control expert, owner and manager of The Pied Piper in London.