A mouse may be kind of cute when it's outdoors, but inside your home, mice are absolute pests. They breed and reproduce very quickly, can contaminate your home with bacteria, and are even known to gnaw through your electrical wires. It's often much easier to prevent mice from coming into your home in the first place than eliminating an infestation, so it pays to be proactive when it comes to mice prevention. Here are a few simple yet effective ways to keep mice out of your home:
Seal Up Your Home
Mice can squeeze into tiny crevices, holes, and cracks, and will do what they can to find their way inside if they are seeking warmth or food. It's a good idea to inspect both the inside and outside of your home for possible points of entry. Doors and windows should be completely sealed, and old, worn out weatherstripping should be replaced. Holes and cracks can be filled in with caulk or fine wire mesh.
Tidy Up Your Home
Mice and other pests like clutter inside because it provides them with hiding spaces. They also like clutter and debris outside, like piles of dead leaves, because this gives them spots to create nests, sleep, or breed. By spending some time tidying up your home inside and out, you will make it much less appealing to mice and other rodents. While you're at it, be sure to neatly put away all food in airtight sealed containers, to eliminate further temptation for wandering mice. Be sure to wipe down counter tops and stoves immediately, as mice love crumbs and food spills.
Trim Your Trees and Shrubs
Mice often use overgrown tree branches and unkempt shrubbery as ways to climb onto and into your home. Having your trees trimmed and pruning your shrubs on a regular basis will eliminate one common way of mice gaining access to homes, while also helping to prevent other pests (such as squirrels and raccoons) from making their way to your home as well.
By following these tips, you will make it much more challenging for mice to get inside, but there is no foolproof way to guarantee mice will never get in. If you already have evidence of mice in your home, it's time to call an experienced pest control company, like those at Patrick Exterminating and other locations. They will eliminate the mice so you can then focus on preventing future mice from getting inside.
