Preventing Mice from Entering your Home and Getting Rid of Mice

How to Prevent Mice from Getting into your Home

By Mark J. Donovan




Are you seeing mice droppings in your attic, basement, garage, or in the main living areas of your home? Are you hearing mice in the walls? If so, preventing mice from entering your home should be your first priority. Getting rid of mice that have already entered your home should be your second priority. Why in this order? Because when it comes to getting rid of mice the most common way involves killing them. To reduce the loss of life, you should first prevent additional mice from entering your home so you can limit the carnage that you inflict on your existing rodent population.

To prevent mice from getting into your home start by closing outside doors, such as garage doors and bulkheads, that often have the tendency to be left open.

Also check around the home’s foundation for small holes where mice could be entering. In addition, check around doors and windows to make sure they close tightly. Even the smallest of crevices can be entranceways for mice. Mice can enter into a home via holes as small as ¼ of an inch in diameter. Seal all holes, cracks and crevices with caulk or other permanent solutions. If a door or window does not close tightly, adjust the door or window appropriately so that it does.

Another area to inspect is around fireplace chimneys. Frequently chimneys have an external air intake hole/tube. Make sure to place steel wool in the tube to prevent mice from entering the home via the fireplace air intake tube.

Mice also like to live where food and water sources are abundant. Make sure all food in your home is properly stored in sealed containers. This includes dried grain dog and cat food.

By sealing food and water you can prevent mice from setting up home in your house. Its also an ideal way to get rid of mice because with no food or water they move on.

If you see signs of gnawing around doors and windows you may need to install metal material around the door or window edges to prevent mice from gnawing on them.

For getting rid of mice that have entered your home the old fashion spring mouse trap is still one of the most effective means for exterminating mice. Unlike rodent poison, spring mouse traps kill mice quickly. In addition, you know if the mice have been killed, and they don’t end up dying in walls and smelling up your home as they decompose.

Spring mouse trap

So if you have mice infestation problems, prevent mice from entering your home first, and eliminate the mice intruders second. In the end you’ll kill fewer mice and you’ll prevent other rodents from entering your home later.


Dress Up Your Home’s Exterior with an Arbor – If you’ve always wondered what to do about a side door entrance to your house or garage to make it more appealing, or just wanted to simply spice up the backyard, building an arbor may be your answer. The “How to Build an Arbor Ebook” provides detailed, step-by-step instructions and pictures on how to build an entrance-way arbor for your home. Order and Immediately Download today!. 100% Money-Back Guarantee if you are not satisfied.

Planning to have a Brick or Paver Walkway Installed by a Landscaping Contractor but not sure what questions to ask to ensure you hire the right one? See HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Brick and Paver Walkway Bid Sheet. The Brick and Paver Walkway Bid Sheet will help ensure that your walkway project goes smoothly and you get the finished walkway you are looking for.


Additional Landscaping Resources from Amazon.com


Free Home Addition Price Quotes with No Obligation!

Fill out our 3-5 minute quick and easy form, and receive a free price quote on a house addition from one of our prescreened and licensed home addition contractors. This process is free and there is no obligation to continue once you receive your house addition price estimate.