House mice can enter a home or building in many ways. One main area to check for is your pipes. Often there are gaps that we
don’t see at first but can later cause issues by providing unwanted entryways for our little rodent friends to enter. Another
area is ground level venting around the base of your home. Such areas allow easy access into your home. The third way is by
roof corner intersections.
Mice will enter a structure in any way that they can.
Generally, a hole will be chewed through a wall and this will allow access into your home. This will allow wires or pipes to break through
and give mice access to your utilities, which will allow open entry into your home. You will never solve the rodent problem in your home,
office or building unless you learn of their way of entry.
The house mouse and other similar-sized mammals only need the size of a quarter or a gap that is about 3/4th of an inch to 5/8th of an inch to
enter your home. Always be sure to check vents, such as gable, roof, ground-level, crawl space and laundry vents. Check all doors, windows,
and every area of your roof, including your fascia where the eave meets the roof. Check all roof lines (if you have a tiled roof), every plumbing
stack, air conditioner chase and all power line entry points. Essentially, checking every square inch of your dwelling or work place for rodent
entries is your goal in order to put an end to the vermin infestation.
Perhaps you aren’t experienced with ladders or heights; it can be a very frightening experience, but it quite possibly will be necessary to use a
ladder to check all the critical entry points that I have mentioned. You must be very careful, however, to be cautious and wear a safety harness,
as well as have someone else with you as a “spotter”. If the need should arise to check your attic, under your home, building, etc., wear protective
clothing and gloves as a measure to avoid any possible injury or irritation to your skin.
Many rodents are infected with diseases, causing humans severe health problems.
When determining how these havoc-causing beings are invading, overlooking an entry can cause a more serious issue. Inspect the entire structure,
literally from the “ground up”. Know the signs to look for, such as brown staining, grease at entry points, gnawing marks, an attic with rodent
trails, etc. Being aware of such indications will provide you with an idea of how to repair these areas as well as areas such as gnawed piping
and wires.
Clean areas soiled with rodent urine and feces are a good indicator. Soiled areas allow vermin continued entrance. Repairing damages and extermination is
quite costly; therefore, you must get rid of the problem as quickly as possible to avoid more damage. Storing all foods in air tight containers will provide
a lesser risk of disease transmission as well.
Go back to the
How to get rid of mice in the attic home page. You might also want to read about
how to kill mice and why the use
of snap traps is better than
mouse poison. Read an analysis of the different types of traps and how to use them on the
how to trap mice page.
Learn why
bait is not as important as trap type, placement and location. Also read a full analysis of
mouse repellent to understand why it
never works. If you see droppings and want to identify them, read the
mouse poop page. If you need to hire professional help, read about
how much does mouse removal cost?
or you can read this site to learn how to do it yourself. Feel free to email me about How to inspect a house for house mouse entry holes.