As the weather turns cooler, mice and other critters are seeking out ways to keep warm. One of those ways is by taking up residence in your house – in the walls, attic or any other space they find cozy and safe. To keep mice from making themselves at home in your house, it helps to know how and where they typically get in so you can mouse-proof those access areas.
Gutters and Downspouts
Mice are remarkably good climbers, which makes gutters and downspouts a potential route to access your roof. Once on the roof, mice look for any possible entry point into your attic. It doesn’t have to be a very big entry point either as mice can wiggle in through a space the size of a dime. They can also jump up to a foot in the air to reach a good climbing route.
Attached Garage
Your attached garage is a very large and open welcome sign for mice. If your garage door doesn’t close completely or closes unevenly, leaving any gap or space, a mouse can use that gap to make its way into your garage. Also, leaving the garage door open for a long stretch of time allows mice to walk right on in (and other critters seeking someplace warm as well). While some mice will be satisfied nesting in among any clutter found in your garage, others will look for ways to get inside where it’s even warmer.
Entry Points for Utilities and Plumbing
Another common way for mice to make their way inside is by squeezing in through gaps where your utility lines and plumbing route from outside to the inside of your home. Any place where tubes, pipes or lines enter your home should have proper sealing around them to prevent mice and insects from using those entry points.
Foundation
Cracks in your home’s foundation are another common way mice invite themselves inside. Certain types of foundations are more susceptible to mouse infiltration, such as rubble style foundations and stacked stone foundations, because the spaces within these foundation types provide just enough room for a mouse to get in. However, cracks in slab foundations can provide mice a way in, if the cracks are just big enough.
Gaps or Spaces in Siding
The siding on your home can provide convenient entry for mice as well. The most vulnerable areas are corner posts – hollow tube-like pieces that hide the area where the edges of the siding meet at corners of the home. The cover pieces that surround windows and doors are also hollow and can provide a good entry point for mice also.
Mice can cause property damage by chewing on electrical wiring inside walls (creating a fire hazard) and also gnawing and damaging structures within walls. Just as much of a threat though, is what mice bring inside with them. Many mice carry salmonella, ticks, fleas and other parasites that can also make people sick. Mouse droppings, urine and saliva (when they dry and create airborne particles) may also cause a serious and potentially fatal lung infection, called Hantavirus. Hantavirus has been documented throughout the U.S. and the best prevention is preventing mice from ever getting into your home. Have a mouse problem? Call The Pest Force.