How Do I Stop Mice From Coming Into My House?
They’re cute in Disney films, and can make good pets, but mice who enter your home uninvited make terrible housemates. In fact, not only can mice chew through plastic and rubber to get into your food, but mice and rats with their parasites carry over 32 viruses and bacteria. If this information has you asking, “how do I stop mice from coming into my house,” don’t worry. Franklin Pest Solutions has nearly a century of experience in pest control, and we have some tips for how to stop mice from getting into the house.
DIY Mouse Control Isn’t Always Effective
If you are trying to find out how to stop mice in the house, you will find many DIY solutions on the internet. The problem is that many of these home remedies are not based on science, and they are not effective. For instance, while you might see suggestions of colors to paint your rooms to keep mice away, this is a myth, because mice are color blind. Another well-circulated myth is that mothballs will repel mice from your home. In fact, mothballs contain naphthalene, which can deter mice, but you’d have to use so many mothballs that your home would smell terrible, so it’s not a great trade-off. The same concept applies to things like bleach. Peppermint oil can be a deterrent, but it dissipates quickly, and mice are intelligent enough to avoid smells that bother them, finding ways around it to infest your home. Similarly, dryer sheets have a scent that’s overwhelming to mice, but it would take an enormous amount of dryer sheets, all over the house, to deal with a significant infestation. It might be tempting to try and experiment and solve it on your own, but the longer it takes, the more they’ll reproduce, which makes the health risk exponential.
Why Do Mice Want to Invade Your House?
It’s simple really: they’re looking for food and shelter. Mice are abundant, and they’re good at making homes in the wild, where they are actually beneficial to the ecosystem. However, especially when it’s cold outside, they will gladly enter a warm home if they find an opportunity. Mice are very small, and can fit through a dime-sized hole. They are also intelligent, agile, and adaptable, able to leap a foot into the air, and they have excellent senses of smell and touch. They are good at seeking out food sources, like grains, seeds, cereals, produce, and pet food. They like to make comfy nests out of soft materials like paper, cotton, and pet hair, but they’re not opposed to using insulation. During the day, they snuggle into their nests, in cool, dark places like the back of the pantry, the attic or crawl space, or in old boxes or papers. At night, they come out to look for food and more materials for their nests. Mice will also gnaw on various surfaces. They have to do this to keep their teeth from overgrowing.
What’s the Best Way to Stop Mice Coming Into the House?
You can use traps, but even the most humane kill traps are still pretty gory. You can use live traps, but in many places it’s illegal to catch and relocate wild animals. While you will probably need to use traps if you already have an infestation, your best bet is to keep the mice from coming into your house in the first place. To do this, you will need to make your home inhospitable to the mice, addressing both the inside and the outside of the house.
Outside the house:
- Move firewood away from the house, and trim back shrubs and bushes so that the mice can’t use them as cover while they enter your house.
- Use caulk to seal any holes you find in your foundation, siding, and doorways.
- Consider using steel wool as a preventive, too. How does steel wool stop mice? You can stuff fine to medium grade steel wool into a hole, sealing it in with caulk, and because it hurts the mice to chew on it, it will effectively keep them out of your house.
Inside the house:
- Store food in glass or metal containers that the mice can’t chew through.
- Avoid leaving pet food out for long stretches, promptly clean up any messes, and dispose of trash and recycling as quickly as possible.
- Store any potential nesting materials, like fabric or paper, in heavy duty containers.
The very best way to deal with a mouse problem, though, is to call for professional assistance. Rodent control specialists are trained to spot vulnerabilities you might miss, and they will perform an exclusion, sealing your house against mice. They will also be better equipped to deal with any mice already in the house, and can put a maintenance plan in place to make sure these persistent little creatures don’t return.
Franklin Pest Solutions Offers Effective Rodent Control Solutions
When you need mouse and rat control, contact Indiana’s leader in the pest control industry. Since 1929, Franklin Pest Solutions has been serving customers in the state of Indiana. Our experts provide quality residential and commercial service to communities within a 50 mile radius from each of our branch locations, including Hammond, Michigan City, Lafayette, New Albany, Indianapolis, and South Bend. We offer bed bug solutions that are eco-conscious and effective, using integrated pest management best practices, We prioritize your health. Our multi-generational, family-run and operated American business has earned a reputation for excellence, not just in the way we treat pests, but in the way we treat our customers. Having been in business for nearly a century, we’ve seen the services and methods of our industry change and evolve, but our values have remained the same.
We work to embody the ideals of an industry leader, providing pest control solutions in a careful, conscientious, professional manner, and making customer satisfaction our top priority. The experts at Franklin Pest Solutions are certified by several local, state, and national associations, and we are committed to respecting the role insects play in our ecosystem while also protecting public health. Through community outreach, we work to create cleaner and healthier homes and workplaces while also educating people and serving our community through volunteerism. To schedule a consultation, reach out to a location near you, call 1-800-GOT-PESTS? or contact us through our website.
