Mice can be cute cartoons on a movie screen, but when they’re scurrying around your home, it’s a different story. They are notorious for causing damage to property, contaminating food, and even spreading diseases. Garages tend to be a favorite dwelling place for these pesky rodents. If not adequately secured, your garage can provide an ideal environment for mice, offering plenty of hiding spots and typically scarcity of foot traffic. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to secure your garage and keep the nuisance away. It’s a two-step game plan: preventing an infestation and taking action if you’re already dealing with mice in your garage.
The primary way to prevent mice from entering your garage is to eliminate possible access points. Mice have soft skeletons, and this characteristic allows them to squeeze through tiny holes, cracks, and crevices. Inspect your garage doors and windows for cracks or gaps. If you find any, patch it quickly. Steel wool or caulking can effectively block smaller gaps, while larger ones may require repairs or replacement of doors and windows. Also, consider the vents in your garage and ensure they have proper coverings, preferably made of metal. Cost-effective door sweeps or rubber seals under garage doors are also useful in preventing mice from entering. Beyond these physical modifications, tidiness is the additional key to ensure your garage is less inviting to mice. Mice are attracted to cluttered environments where they can hide and nest, and they’re also drawn to readily available food. Keeping your garage clean, organized and removing food sources discourages rodents.
Cleaning your garage regularly and keeping it clutter-free will exclude mice and deter them from nesting. You should be storing all food, including pet food and bird seed, in rodent-proof containers. Regular garbage is also a magnet for mice, so ensure all garbage is sealed securely in a can with a lid. Yard waste and wood piles should be kept as far from the garage as possible, as they can serve as nesting sites. Yard tools such as shovels and rakes should be hung up to deny mice hiding spots, and random stacks of boxes or other storage containers should be kept off the ground and organized to eliminate nesting sites. Other items, such as fabrics or paper goods, should be stored in sealed plastic containers rather than cardboard ones, as mice can easily chew through cardboard.
Finally, if you’ve taken all the preventive measures yet are experiencing a mouse problem in your garage, it’s time to eliminate the infestation. Traps are the most immediate and effective tool. Baited with either commercial mouse bait or cheese, peanut butter, or other food bits, traps can be strategically placed in the areas you’ve seen the mice or their droppings. Make sure to check the traps daily and dispose of caught mice as soon as possible. If a mice problem persists, it might be time to consider hiring a professional. Pest control specialists have the know-how and equipment to efficiently eliminate a mouse infestation and help with steps to keep them from returning. As with everything, the best cure is prevention, but if the problem has already taken root, there’s still much you can do.
In conclusion, protecting your garage from mice can be summed up in three simple steps: sealing any gaps, keeping your garage clean and food-proof, and setting up traps if necessary. While rodents can seem like a harmless nuisance, remember that they can cause significant damage to your home and even spread diseases. So take the preventive measures seriously, and turn your garage into a zone that says: “Mice are not welcome”.