How Do Mice Enter the Home?

About Mice

Mice have limited vision and they are unable to see beyond three or four feet. They make up for this deficiency with a good sense of motion, which allows them to sense activity up to fifty feet away. Mice have a good sense of smell and hearing. They mark their pathways with urine, enabling them to find their way around their territory, which might include your house. Since mice can get into very small openings, as little as 3/8 of an inch, they find many ways into your home.

Mouse Friendly Yards

Before they make it into your home, mice are found outside and normally have a territory of up to thirty feet. The first step into your home can be a mouse friendly yard, which makes it easier for the creature to gain entrance. A wood pile, stacked closely to a doorway, and bushes planted within three feet of your home, are mouse friendly environments. Mice can also be enticed inside by the scent of food or garbage.

Up On the Roof

Utility wires and tree limbs are passageways onto your roof. Once there, mice can find many ways to gain access into your home. It might be small openings around service conduits, water pipes, air-conditioning units, vents and even the fireplace. Loose shingles over loose sheathing can provide enough of a gap for the mouse to get inside.

The Garage

It is not uncommon for homeowners to leave their garage doors open for extended periods of time, inviting mice inside. Since mice are more active in the evenings, leaving a garage door open at night increases the chance of mice infestation. Even with a garage door down there is often enough of a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor for mice to enter.

Smallest Opening is an Invitation

It doesn't take a large opening for a mouse to enter. Gaps around pipes under the sink, doors with missing weather stripping, broken windows, cracks in the walls, flooring or structure can all be a doorway into your home. Any crack or opening in your attic or basement or crawl space can provide an opening. Venting around washers and dryers are also potential problem areas if not secure. Any material, such as a pipe or wire, that comes from the outside into your house, can be a roadway into your home if it has the slightest airspace. Foundation that is cracked can also give mice access into your home.

Your Pets

Family pets, such as cats and dogs, that move from the yard to the house by way of pet doors, can bring mice into the home. This is especially common with the family cat, who occasionally likes to bring a gift.