How Are Mice Getting Into My House?

After discovering a mice infestation, many homeowners ask us how the mice got into their house, and how they ended up with an infestation. This article explains the most common ways mice can get into a home, the best way to remove them, and the measures you should take to permanently prevent the mice from entering your home again in the future.

Important Document Sections

• Common Areas Where Mice Get Into A House
• Typical Mice Entry Points
• Identifying A Rodent Entry Point
• Things To Do Before Your Mice Inspection
• The Type of Damage Mice Can Do To a Home
• Removing Mice From The House

Common Areas Where Mice Get Into A House

The most common ways mice get into a house is through an existing hole created by other wildlife, by chewing out a new entry hole, or by a structural anomaly like an exposed crack in the home’s siding.

If there has not been a previous wildlife issue or if the home was built very securely, then its most likely that the mice chewed their way into the home and thus creating an entry point.

Typical Mice Entry Points

The following are the typical entry points a mice removal company will find during a home inspection, and the areas of the home where the entry point can be found.

Entry Point	Area of Home
Hydro electrical lines	Side of home
Weather stripping	Garage/back door
Chimney flashing	Roof of home
Brick soffit gap	Upper perimeter of home
Weeping brick	Ground level perimeter of home
Gable vents	Upper area near roof
Roof vents	Roof of the home
Windowsills	All sides of home
Basement windows	Bottom side of the house
Cracks in the foundation	Bottom side of the house
Roof soffit intersection	Upper roofline
Drip edge connection	Roofline perimeter
Wall/dryer vents	All sides of home
Cellar vents	Usually under front porch
Siding border-caps	Brock siding connection corners
Door trim	Areas where doors exist

As mentioned above, mice will enter a home through holes caused by other animals, or they will chew out a hole themselves. In either case, the result is usually an infestation and the need for professional removal and prevention services.

If you’re doing a do-it-yourself inspection for mice, click here for a printable PDF version of the table above so you can easily reference the sections of the home while you’re doing your inspection. If you see definite signs of mice, make sure to call your local wildlife removal company to have them removed humanely.

DID YOU KNOW? Contrary to popular belief, cats are not a reliable mice control solution. First and foremost, the most effective, long term and humane way to treat a mice infestation problem is with a thorough inspection combined with the application of permanent mice prevention measures.

Identifying A Rodent Entry Point

While doing your own inspection for mice entry points, you’ll want to be able to identify whether the hole is a mouse hole or from another animal. If you suspect mice in your home but haven’t seen them, the holes will have tell-tale signs.

You’ll know if the entry hole was caused by a mouse if you see the following signs:

• Grease marks at or near the entry point caused when mice brush up against surfaces.
• Piles of mouse droppings near or close to the entry points. Mice droppings are shaped like pieces of rice.
• Tiny but distinguished teeth and chew marks surrounding the entry point hole.
• Pieces of food or dirt and debris at the entry point, very close to it or on the ground below the entry point.
• Bits of mice fur near or around the entry point caused by the mice coming and going.
• The holes are quite small—only large enough for a mouse to entry, but not big enough for a squirrel or raccoon.

If you see at least 3 or 4 of the points above, you definitely have a mouse problem to deal with. It is also likely there is more than one mouse living in your home. It is at this point you’re advised to call your local mouse control company to come out for an inspection to have them removed.

Things To Do Before Your Mice Inspection

Before the mice removal company you call comes out to inspect your home there’s a few things you an do before-hand to mitigate the problem. The following is a list of tasks you can complete that will make you more comfortable while you wait for the mice removal company to arrive:

• Ensure the mice have no access to food.
• Thoroughly clean and sanitize your home so as to reduce the spread of mice-borne bacteria or diseases, e.g. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, Hantavirus, and Tularemia.
• Make sure to clean up any mouse droppings you see in the common areas of your home including cupboards and stoves.

The Type of Damage Mice Can Do To a Home

Mice cause substantial damage to several areas of a home. One major problem they cause is through their entry points. Depending on where the entries are, they can make it substantially easier for other wildlife like raccoons and squirrels to get into a home. Homeowners with raccoons in their attic, usually discover that one point in the past they had mice problems too.

Depending on where the entry points are, they can also be the source of leakages into the home. Holes in the home’s foundation, or in the drip-edge connection on the roof can lead to leaks in the basement or the attic. These leaks can then be the source of other issues and cost more money in repairs.

Mice chew holes in various parts of the home, but the major damage is in the attic where they leave their droppings and urinate. They degrade attic insulation, store and gather food and debris, chew through the wood structure and chew through wires exposing the live wires. These live wires increase  the risk of fire in the home.

Removing Mice From The House

Realizing how mice are getting into your home is important, but it’s also just as important to have them removed. If you see one mouse, it’s highly likely there are more and that they have been there for a considerable time.

The quicker you deal with mice problems the less damage they’ll cause and the lower your costs will be for repairs. Don’t ignore the problem and don’t tell yourself that they’ll just go away. If you do see signs of mice, consider it an urgent matter and call your local wildlife removal company as soon as possible. We promise that you’ll be quite happy that you did.