How to Keep Mice Out of Your House

How to Keep Mice Out of Your House

Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a dime, making it easy for them to find their way into your home. Once inside, they search for food, water, and safe places to build nests. Fortunately, a few simple preventive steps can help keep mice out.

Seal Entry Points

Walk around the outside of your home and inspect for places where mice may enter, including:

• Gaps around doors and windows

• Cracks in the foundation

• Openings around pipes and utility lines

• Damaged weather stripping

• Torn screens and vents

Sealing these openings is one of the most effective ways to prevent mice from getting inside.

Store Food Properly

Keep pantry foods, pet food, and bird seed in tightly sealed containers. Clean up crumbs, spills, and food scraps promptly, and make sure garbage cans have tight-fitting lids.

Removing food sources makes your home much less attractive to mice.

Eliminate Nesting Areas

Mice like quiet, undisturbed places where they can build nests. Reduce clutter in garages, basements, attics, closets, and storage rooms by organizing boxes and removing unnecessary materials.

Keep the Outside of Your Home Clean

Trim shrubs and tree branches away from your home, remove wood piles and yard debris, and keep vegetation from touching your foundation. These steps reduce hiding places and make it more difficult for mice to reach your home.

Apply a Rodent Repellent

Treat common entry points and areas where mice are active, such as foundations, garages, crawl spaces, utility openings, and around exterior doors. Applying a rodent repellent according to the label directions can help discourage mice from entering your home.

A combination of prevention and regular applications can help keep your home mouse-free throughout the year.