When the days get colder and shorter, mice and other rodents start to prepare for the weather and seek shelter inside Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan homes and businesses. These rodents don’t hibernate like other animals, so when the outside gets less than desirable, they, like us, look for a cozy place to go. Homes and businesses can make the ideal place for these pesky rodents to spend the holidays and rest of the chilly season. Let’s review some tips for how to keep mice out this fall and winter.
Tips for How to Keep Mice Out of your Home or Business this Fall and Winter
During the fall and winter, mice seek indoors to find shelter, food, and warmth. You likely don’t want to share your holiday season with these rodents, so there are some things you can do to keep mice out this fall and winter.
- Seal Cracks and Holes: Mice can fit through a crack or hole one-fourth of an inch or larger (about the width of a pencil and/or pen), because of this, it is important to check around your home or business for even the smallest of crevices that are open to the outdoors. Check for holes in window and door screens, gaps around windows and doors, cracks around your foundation, vent seals, and where phone, cable, gas, and electric lines enter into your home or business. Early detection of any holes, cracks, or gaps mice could get in through, can help to prevent them from taking up residence in your home or business.
- Remove Food Sources: Ensure that all food around your home or business is in sealed containers and not easy for these rodents to get to. This includes pet food. Inspect food bags and boxes for rips and tears before you store them in your cabinets. Never leave food out, not even in the trash, and be sure to clean up counters and vacuum or mop up any crumbs, spills and residue. You should not leave pet food out when your animal is not eating, as that can welcome mice to a feast of their own.
- Stay Clean and Tidy: Mice love clutter and use it to create their nests. Don’t welcome them into your home or business by giving them a place to build a home of their own. Keep clutter at a minimum and properly store old clothing, bedding, magazines, boxes, etc. Wiping cabinets and counters and mopping and vacuuming floors can help you maintain a mouse free home or business. The smallest smell of food can attract these rodents to do whatever it takes to get into the most seemingly inaccessible places, and providing them with materials to create their nests, will only make them feel more invited.
- Clean Up Outdoors: The exterior of your home or business can also welcome these little rodents in. Things like tree limbs that lead to your windows or roof, vines, wood piles near the exterior, and overgrown grass and shrubs can be welcome mats for mice to come inside. Trim foliage near your home or business, as fall sets in, and look for any items close to the structure that could give the rodents an easy entry point.
Pests and rodents make their way indoors in the brisker months of the year to find food, water, and shelter. Our Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan homes and businesses give unwanted pests the perfect place to create a home of their own and to escape the outdoor elements, especially mice which can come in through the smallest of spaces.
If you find mice joining in your holiday traditions, contact Delving Pest Control. We offer a range of discreet home and commercial rodent removal services to help you achieve the results you’re after.
A rodent infestation can be a major nuisance and it can take several treatments for rodent remediation (i.e. house mice, deer mice, or the true test of any pest control company, the Norway rat). Delving will come out and inspect your structure to identify the level of infestation and recommend corrective action plans to eradicate your rodent problem fast.
Trust Delving Pest Control to eliminate your unwanted rodents discreetly.
