Mice getting into your house? You’re not alone. This is by far and away the most common problem homeowners have during the winter season.  In fact, most pest control operations in winter will solely focus on this one pest.  But how are they getting in?

This question is fair to ask and to many homeowners it seems like it should be an easy one to answer.  Sometimes it is, but remember that every home is different.  To bring home that point I visited two homes yesterday that I’d like to share with you.

Old home with mice in the attic

This home was built in 1930 and like many homes of it’s era had brick foundation.  The homeowner was complaining of mice in the garage and the attic, but none in the basement.  The question as to why there were mice in the attic I was able to answer without even doing an inspection.

The home is as you can see is brick and mice can climb brick, stone, wood and many other rough surfaces.  The siding is sole reason why mice in this home were in the attic.  Coincidently, they weren’t in the basement because of the brick as well.  When brick is used as siding it sits at the foundation level.  This will mean there is no gap leading into the basement.

Next, we had to see why mice how mice were getting into the garage.  This too was obvious and an easy repair for any garage door contractor.

A new house with mice?

How are mice getting into your home, when its new?  I hope it doesn’t surprise you that a new home can have mice too.  The reason is that builders don’t have mouse prevention on their mind during construction.

The last tow pictures are from a home that is less than 3 months old.

As you can see from the picture to the right there are gaps under the siding that lead directly into the basement.

Also, as the inspection progressed we found a 12″ square opening pictured to the left under the 1st floor kitchen dinette that somehow never had siding put over it.  Fixing these two areas as well as others with our MouseBarrier program will have a major impact on the number of mice this family will see now and in the future.

How are mice getting into your home?  If you have mice and don’t want them anymore, call 1-888-879-6481.  Envirocare Pest Control can help.