Preventing a mouse infestation is crucial for maintaining a healthy and damage-free home. Mice can carry diseases, contaminate food, and cause structural damage. Learning how to keep mice out of your house is essential for safeguarding your property and well-being. While proactive measures can significantly reduce the risk of infestation, persistent problems may require professional mouse control services to eliminate these pests effectively.

How and why mice are most likely in your house

Mice are drawn to environments that provide them with the necessities for survival: shelter, food, and warmth. Various factors, including colder temperatures, food scarcity outdoors, and the search for nesting sites, can drive these small but agile creatures into homes. Surprisingly, mice can squeeze through holes as small as a dime due to their flexible skeletons. Common entry points for mice can include gaps beneath doors, foundation cracks, and exterior wall openings (such as around AC lines).

Mouse poking out of wall

Mice prevention checklist

By understanding how to keep mice out of your house, you can create a less inviting environment for these unwanted pests. Implementing simple prevention methods can significantly reduce the chances of a mouse infestation and help protect your home from potentially costly damage.

Seal them out

Exclusion is the first step in keeping mice away from your home. This method focuses on creating a physical barrier that denies mice entry, effectively reducing the likelihood of infestation. Exclusion minimizes the chances of mice finding a way into your home by identifying and sealing all potential entry points, such as cracks in foundations, gaps beneath doors, and other openings. This preventive approach is efficient because it addresses the issue at its source by removing the access points mice use to enter.

Eliminate the attractions

To further reinforce your efforts to keep mice out of your house, addressing the factors that make your home appealing to mice is crucial. Begin by removing any food sources that might attract mice. Store dry goods, pet food, and seeds in airtight containers and promptly clean up crumbs and spills. Regularly disposing of garbage and keeping trash bins sealed can deter mice from being drawn to your residence. Clean up any fallen fruits and nuts from trees in the yard.

Limit nesting areas

Nesting areas within a home offer mice the secluded and safe environments they crave for shelter and reproduction. Common nesting spots include cluttered spaces like garages, attics, basements, and even wall voids or old furniture. To help prevent mice from establishing these nesting sites in your home, routinely declutter these areas, avoid storing materials directly on the floor, and regularly inspect for signs of mouse activity. Thoroughly inspect anything stored outside or in the above areas to make sure you aren’t bringing a mouse into the house.

Baby mice in nest

Avoid mouse repellents

When looking into how to keep mice out of your house, you may come across various repellent types marketed as effective mouse deterrent solutions, including essential oils and ultrasonic devices. Essential oils may temporarily mask the odors that attract mice to your home but fail to solve the problem. Ultrasonic devices also claim to emit an unpleasant sound frequency to mice, supposedly driving them away. Still, research has yet to prove their efficacy in real-world applications.

What to do for mice prevention

Taking the initiative to prevent mice is a great start, but getting support from pest control experts like Terminix is often the best next step. Despite your best efforts, mice can be sneaky and multiply quickly, so spotting one likely means more hiding. At Terminix, our technicians have the knowledge to identify and block potential access points effectively. Our comprehensive rodent control services ensure a swift and thorough eradication, safeguarding your home against mice invasions. Get started with a mouse inspection today!