Keeping Mice Out of your Home

 

There’s no doubt about it. Preventing mice from entering your home is much
easier than evicting them once they’ve moved in. If you take just a few simple
precautions, you can avoid the trip to the store to buy traps or the call to the
exterminator.

Here’s what the experts recommend:

• Install mouse-mesh in the drainage slots of exterior brick or siding.
There are many types available on the market. (Note: make sure you
don’t block water drainage!)

• Trim back tree branches that are within two feet of the siding or roof.
Mice can jump horizontally as far as 15 inches.

• Make sure weather-stripping on doors and windows seal tightly. Mice
can easily squeeze through weak spots and gaps, especially where
stripping meets at a corner.

• Don’t leave open packages of any type of food — birdseed, apples, etc.
— in the garage. That’s like telling the mice, “The buffet’s open!”

• Inspect the outside of your home and look for evidence of mice near
walls, doors and windows. Look for mice droppings, which look like
black rice.

• If you see a mouse outside your home, don’t shoo it away. Instead,
watch where it goes. The mouse might show you how it’s getting in.
Taking these precautions will significantly reduce the chances of mice
becoming unwanted guests in your home.