This is the time of year when mice start looking for a warm place with access to food to spend the winter. Don’t let your cleaning habits make your house a target for mice and other vermin. Are your cleaning habits attracting mice? Let’s take a look…
1. You don’t clean your floors often – Keeping floors clean, whether carpet or hard floors, is the key to keeping mice away. Clean up crumbs and food spills quickly and clean your floors regularly to avoid inviting mice into your home.
2. You have piles of clothes – Whether they’re clean or dirty, having piles of clothes laying around is never a good idea. Mice look for opportunities to create a cozy home in your walls or in other parts of your home. Don’t provide them with material to use for a nest. Fold clothes promptly and put away or hang them up. Also, don’t let dirty clothes build up in hampers and baskets for more than a few days before washing.
3. You don’t take out the trash often – Letting the trash build up and overflow is a huge draw for mice. A plastic bag will not stand in their way from getting at food scraps and other garbage in your can. Take trash out frequently and place it into sealed bins until trash day to prevent an infestation of mice.
4. You soak dishes overnight – Mice are attracted to the water and the food debris from dishes. Leaving dishes soaking overnight is a great way to attract mice into your home. Even the dish soap in the water is no match for a hungry or thirsty mouse. Wash dishes right away. If you need to soak, soak dishes for only an hour before washing.
5. You store food in plastic bags – It’s important to store food in your pantry in sealed, air-tight containers to avoid mice. Plastic bags are nothing to a hungry mouse. Even leftover snacks should be stored in sealed containers to avoid inviting a mouse for a meal.
6. You leave pet food out overnight or outside – Never leave pet food outside and avoid leaving pet food out overnight. Both actions can attract mice to your home. Pick up your pet’s food at bedtime and store in a sealed container overnight.
So, are your cleaning habits attracting mice? If the habits listed above are true for you then yes, you are attracting mice with your household cleaning habits. If you don’t have mice yet and you found many of these habits to be true for you, it’s only a matter of time before you have an infestation. A few simple changes now can help you prevent mice from making their way into your home. If you need cleaning help, check out our partners at The Clean Up Club to help you get your home clean and keep it that way.