How to Find Mouse Entry Points
So, the mice have found their way into your home.
Your home.
The place where you should feel safest. The place that should protect you from the elements of the outdoors. Your home should be an impenetrable castle, but it has been compromised.
Alas, there goes nature scurrying across your floor.
But how? Where? Why my house? Why not the neighbour’s house? They don’t even clean out their garage!
Mice are opportunists. They will take any chance they get to go someplace warm, dark, and protected. If there is food or water, it’s just a bonus. So where is that place? Does it exist in your home? You betcha!
Ok… but how do they get in?
Mice are smaller than you might expect under all that fur. Their ribs and hips are flexible, so they are only limited by the size of their head, which is about the size of a dime, or the very tip of your finger (depending on the size of your fingers!). So the search is on for a mousey sized hole.
Where can I find the entry point?
There usually isn’t much use looking around the inside of the house. Sure, there may be holes inside, but the mice are already in the house. If we plug up those holes, they will just find another way around. There is always another way around.
Outside is where we need to begin our search. I usually begin by going around the perimeter of the home and looking at where the siding meets the foundation. Cracks in the foundation are possible, but unlikely. Most likely the mice are entering in around a hole around a utility going into the house: pipes, wires, A/C units, vents, etc. I check all of these very carefully. You have to get on your hands and knees and look all the way around. It can be very easy to miss a hole the width of your finger tucked in underneath the lip of a vent. I literally take my pinky finger and start poking around, making sure there are no holes.
Frequently used mouse holes can be identified by gnawing around the entrance, dark streaks on the wall leading into the hole, and a lack of spider webs in the hole. You might also find some droppings in or around it. Keep in mind that not all mouse holes are frequently used. There may have just been one pregnant female that snuck in and started this whole mess!
Hopefully by now you’ve found the hole and can repair it.
Yay!
If not, there are a couple other places to look.
Another common part of the home where mice enter is the garage. Keeping mice out of the garage can be extremely difficult. They love to chew through the weather stripping around the bottom corners, and the doors rarely seal well anyway. There are options for repairing this and keeping mice out of your garage entirely; speak to your Grove technician for more information.
Ok, the mice are in the garage. It’s not the end of the world. You just want to make sure they’re not in your house! There are often many possible entry points from the garage into the home including pipes and vents, but also poor door seals or simply holes in the drywall. Some attached garages are more attached than others! Repeat the process for finding holes around the outside of the home. This may require moving a lot of stuff. It has to be done if you haven’t found the hole yet!
I found this hole under the garage steps behind lots of clutter. Not an easy find!
If you’re absolutely certain you checked everything perfectly and there are definitely no entry points, two things may have happened. A mouse may have been brought into the house in something like a box, or it may have walked right in a door that was left open. It happens!
If you aren’t 100% certain there may be an entry point, it might be time to call a professional. At Grove, our technicians are trained to inspect thoroughly. Experience is invaluable when it comes to finding entry points, and our technicians have seen it all!
