Help! I Can't Keep Mice Out Of My Tupelo Home

Are you hearing bumping and scraping in your walls? Are you finding tiny mouse droppings on the insulation in your attic spaces or in cabinets and drawers in your kitchen? When warning signs of a mouse infestation start to appear, it can seem a little mysterious, particularly if you live in a home that was recently built.

Whether you live in a new home, one that has been around for a long time, or any home in between, we have some helpful insights to share with you. Here are some ways mice get into Tupelo homes. It is possible that one (or several) of these might be how mice are getting into your home.

Sill Plates (Also Called Sole Plates)

Whether your Tupelo home is on a cement slab or you're fortunate enough to have a basement, your home has sill plates. These are horizontal 2x4s that are anchored to the concrete. All of the vertical studs are attached to your sill plates. When sill plates rot, mice are attracted to them and may chew a hole to access the space between the studs in your walls. This is one reason why you can hear them in your walls.

A mouse can climb all the way up to your attic spaces and all the way down to your pantry and kitchen. If you're looking to get mice out and keep them out, it is essential to repair damaged sill plates or fill the holes in with expanding foam or caulking material. This can be tricky as these openings can be as small as a dime and they can be located underneath your deck or inside a crawlspace.

Exterior Door Seals

Your exterior doors should have weatherstripping around them and a door sweep at the bottom. These work to keep cool, air-conditioned air from leaking out of your home, and hot air from getting in. Your door seals also keep mice out. While a mouse can make short work of chewing through rubber weatherstripping and door sweeps, these products prevent tiny holes from attracting the attention of mice. If a mouse crawls up to a tiny hole and smells food odors or feels cool air on a hot day, it can be inspired to chew its way inside. Make sure your seals are in good working condition.

Vents, Louvers & Other Entry Points

If you have never seen a video of a mouse scaling the exterior of a home, you should go find one. You might not realize that mice can climb your exterior and access unprotected vents or vulnerable entry points like louvers. Mice use their claws to scale exterior building materials like Spiderman. As you consider how to keep mice out, don't let their size fool you. They can get to high entry points on an exterior wall.

Roof Vulnerabilities

Do you know that mice can get on your roof? Yup. While the overhang of your roof prevents mice from climbing your exterior and going right up over, they have other means. A mouse can climb a nearby tree, run down a branch, and leap onto your roof. It can get into a downspout and climb up the gutter. It can climb a telephone pole and run along a wire to get to your home.

• Trim branches that come within four feet of your roofline.
• Put something porous in your downspouts. This will allow rainwater to drain out but prevent mice from climbing up.
• Apply something prickly at the point where wires touch your home.

Garage Door Sweep

If a little mouse gets into your garage, it could find vulnerabilities to get all the way into your home. You might have a storage space under the stairs that go up to your entrance door. In this space, a mouse can chew a hole and access your wall voids in secrecy. Your garage has its own unique vulnerabilities.

Rather than address all of the potential ways a mouse might go from your garage into your home, we'll focus on the bigger issue. You need to inspect your garage door sweep and frame to make sure there are no holes a mouse can use to enter your garage. Remember that all it takes is a hole the size of a dime.

Mouse Control In Tupelo Mississippi

It is essential to seal as many potential entry points as you can. This may be all that is needed to keep mice out. But, when mouse pressures in your yard are high, or conducive conditions exist, targeted mouse control methods and products may be needed. If this is the case, reach out to McCary Pest Control. We provide advanced rodent control solutions for Tupelo homes. There is no better way to keep mice out.