Your attached garage is probably the weakest link when it comes to protecting your home from mice intrusion. It is not uncommon to see garage doors that don’t close and seal tightly. This would be an obvious and likely point of entry. You should stand inside your garage during the day and check for daylight coming through. Where daylight shows through you should make repairs as necessary. Even if your garage door does close tightly, mice can still access your garage, if you leave the door open for extended amounts of time.
The garage is an excellent staging area for mice to access the rest of your house. From your garage, mice will follow cable runs, electrical conduit holes, pipe chases, or other structural deficiencies to gain access to the rest of your house. DO NOT underestimate their ability to climb.
Although most garages are unheated, they do offer shelter from the elements and protection from prey. And remember, it doesn’t take a lot to feed a mouse. Scraps of pet food and overflowing garbage cans can be 2 examples of a food supply in a garage that would be adequate to feed a mouse.
What can you do to prevent mice form getting into your garage? First would be to make sure the garage door doesn’t remain open for long periods of time. Also:
- Replace the seals around the garage doors.
- Keep the outside of your garage free of debris and vegetation. Mice love to hide in these places, and if those areas are close to your house, it’s a matter of time before they find access.
- Try to keep the floor of the garage clear of debris. This is a tough one, but the point is to reduce safe harborage for them.
- Never leave open pet food bowls out overnight.
- Store your garbage and recyclables in tightly fitting containers.
- Store pet food or bird seed in tightly fitting containers.
Ask the Masters for a free mice audit/inspection. Visit our website at www.masterspestcontrol.com or call for an appointment at 877-546-9575. Our Office hours are M-F from 8 to 4.
