Make Your Home Less Appealing To Mice This Winter With One Simple Fix

As you're getting cozy in the winter, mice and other rodents are trying to keep warm as well. Unfortunately, sometimes they think the best place for them to shelter is in your house. Once they're inside, mice can be difficult to get rid of, but that doesn't mean you should give up and let them stay. Mice can carry dangerous diseases that you won't want to risk exposure to. You can use cinnamon to ward them off, but if your home is still an inviting environment, they just come right back.

Mice are attracted to places where there is an abundance of material for them to build a safe, warm nest in. Paper, fabric, cardboard, and insulation are their main targets, but any items they can hide under or tear apart are fair game. If you have a storage shed, attic, or basement that you don't access often, where boxes or stacks of loose items are left to sit, that's a mouse haven. Outdoors, mice seek shelter in overgrown plants and piles of brush, cardboard boxes, or even unused cars and other mechanical items. While you likely already know to clean out your indoor storage to give mice fewer hiding places, you might be missing a key detail. Any outdoor shelters for mice that are near your home are drawing them towards you, and it's a simple step for them to go from hiding under your shrubs to crawling into your basement.

You don't need to clean your entire yard, unless you want to. Instead, focus on areas that are close to your home, shed, or other area you use frequently like a garden or play set, as these are the places where a family of mice taking up might impact your life. While doing your initial sweep, look for anywhere a mouse might get into your house and seal cracks to keep mice out. Start by getting rid of any junk piles and reorganizing outdoor storage. Make sure anything a mouse might view as prime nesting material, like extra pillows for your outdoor furniture or spare garden flags, are stored in sealed plastic containers. If you have any junk that can't be gotten rid of just yet, move it further away from your home and high-use areas.

Next, tackle any overgrown plants that are near your home. Prune tree branches that stretch towards your home, as mice can climb these to get access to your attic or roof. Trim shrubs and taller perennial plants to discourage mice from sheltering underneath them. Finally, be sure to clear overgrown weeds that are growing along your house. Not only are they shelter for mice, but they may also be hiding additional cracks that they could use to get into your home. Keeping your yard tidy won't get rid of mice that are already inside, but it will make other mice less likely to join them.