Evict and Exile Mice from Your Home

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Step four: exile them

Exclude mice from your home. Seal all of their points of entry from ground level to at least three feet high (to the roof, if possible)–because mice are good climbers. Prune branches away from the roof.

Close the door! Mice commonly enter houses through open doors. Install door sweeps and weather-stripping. Don’t prop doors open–use a screen door. Check garage doors, too.

Repair holes in walls and screens. Wearing gloves, poke steel wool, wire mesh, or flexible aluminum "gutter-guard" into the holes with a screwdriver. Caulk or aerosol foam can be applied over steel wool to strengthen the barrier.

Secure sinks, stoves, dishwashers. Seal openings underneath and behind appliances with latex caulk. Seal gaps around water, gas, and heating pipes, heat registers, air ducts, electrical chases, and false ceilings.

Plug larger gaps around pipes with sheet metal plates, galvanized metal "pipe-chase" covers, paper-backed glue boards, cement, plaster of paris, or mortar.

Check vents of sewer pipes, kitchen hoods, furnace ducts, clothes dryers, attic fans, and roofs. If vent is damaged or vulnerable, consider screening or replacing it. Check the end caps on ridge line vents; they often loosen, providing easy access to attics. Ventilation openings in soffits (under eaves) are best protected with metal louvers. Covering chimneys will prevent many mammal and bird species from "dropping in." See examples of

• a chimney cover that slips inside the liner

• a chimney cover that attaches to the outside of the liner, and

• a chimney cover with damper.

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These pages are maintained by the New York State IPM Program, part of Cornell Cooperative Extension. All material is protected by Section 107 of the 1976 copyright law. Copyright is held by Cornell University and the New York State IPM Program.