Eliminate Mice By Mouse Proofing Your Home
Make It Harder for A Mouse To Get In Your House.
You'll save yourself time and frustration down the road by keeping mice out of your home in the first place. Taking a little time to check the exterior of your home for potential entrance points for mice is time well spent. Any opening large enough to admit a mouse is also a place cold air will enter your home so doing this has the added benefit of improving energy efficiency too.
1. Walk around the perimeter of your house and look for any opening larger than 1/4 inch. Caulk openings that are smaller than 1/4 inch. Use Copper gauze or medium grade steel wool - or a combination of steel wool and caulking for openings larger than 1/4 inch. Be aware that steel wool is prone to rusting and can cause rust stains. A good flashlight is helpful and you may need to use a hand mirror for areas that are difficult to see under or behind. Cover any holes that are three inches or larger with 1/4 inch woven/welded hardware cloth prior to patching or filling. Rodents are very good at gnawing through rough surfaces but the shape of their front teeth make it hard for them to gnaw into hard, smooth surfaces.
2. Check along the foundation for gaps where the concrete has crumbled or the siding has separated from the framing. Repair the concrete by sealing cracks or patching with a concrete repair mortar. Stuff medium grade steel wool or copper gauze in the gap between the siding and the foundation. Have cracked or crumbling foundations repaired professionally, if necessary, for the good of your home as well as to deter mice.
3. Carefully check around vents for damage or places where vents have pulled away from the house. Repair or replace as necessary. Check the exhaust vent for your clothes dryer and be sure rodents cannot enter there. Place 1/4 inch hardware cloth behind cold air return grills. It may be possible to cover power vents with louvered metal plates that allow the air to pass through but do not allow mice to enter but be sure they fit tightly. Check regularly to be sure these screens don't become clogged.
4. Pay extra attention to any place that a pipe or wiring enters the house. Caulking can become brittle and fall out or your home could settle, enlarging a previously small opening. Mice are patient experts at gnawing and can enlarge an opening that was previously too small to allow them to enter.
5. Check around doors for any openings. During the brightest part of the day, close the curtains and close the curtains to see if you can see sunlight around the door frames. Use weather stripping to close those gaps. In unfinished basements, you may need to seal areas around the door frames with expanding spray foam, copper gauze, or steel wool. Check the bottom of the door and install door thresholds if you have a space 1/4 inch or larger beneath the door. Again, these simple repairs will having the added benefit of keeping things warmer in the winter and should help deter spiders and other insects. We added high quality storm doors to our home, even in the garage, and that seemed to help deter mice.
6. Check your window screens for holes and tears and replace if necessary. Make sure that the screens fit tightly in place. We don't have a lot of trouble with mice entering that way on the main level of our house but have had the little monsters gnaw through screens in our basement windows. You can get metal, rodent proof window screens.
7. Our neighbors have problems with mice entering through the attic. Check to be sure roof joints are tight and be sure there is good flashing in place. Be sure mice cannot get in where wires for satellite dishes, antennas, or internet come into the house.
8. Fireplaces and chimneys are other common places where mice enter the house - make sure sheeting or metal collars are properly installed to prevent entry. Check for cracked or missing mortar on brick or rock fireplaces and see that drywall or siding near the fireplaces is close enough to prevent entry.
9. Drainage pipes and sewage systems are also entry points for rats and mice so make sure floor drains have metal grates that are firmly attached. Be sure the openings on the grates are less than 1/4 inch. If you suspect your sewage line might be rat-infested, have a "Rat Guard" one way flap installed in your toilets.
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