How To: Protect Your Home from Mice for the Winter

Brought to you by Tomcat.

Falling snow, warm fireplace, delicious hot cocoa, quiet reading time, mouse. Quick quiz - which one is not like the other? Nothing can ruin a perfectly cozy afternoon in your home like a pest on the loose. With dropping temperatures, you may have some unwelcome residents, like mice, looking for shelter from the cold.

Mice can be a serious danger for you and your family, whether it's through contamination of your food and other surfaces with their droppings, or even through fire hazards when they gnaw on the electrical wiring of your home.

In order to combat these pesky squatters, having a proactive plan is key. Check out some of these tips to help prevent mice problems this winter:

Step 1: Cut the Water Supply

Leaky roofs, poorly draining gutters and broken pipes can serve as a source of water for mice. Since every creature needs water to survive, cutting off this resource can help you keep mice at bay. Make sure to get rid of these water sources by fixing any leaks in your home.

Step 2: Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness

On top of water, mice also need food in order to survive. Store all your food in sealed containers, clean up quickly after meals and never leave crumbs around your home. If mice find easy access to food in your home, they'll alert the rest of their crew and come in hordes.

Step 3: Think Like a Landscaper

Examine your home closely and see if your landscaping encourages mice to take shelter in your home. Cut tree branches that extend too closely to your home, cut back shrubs that touch your building and remove ground cover near the exterior of your home. The last thing you want to do is provide a gateway to your home or a place for mice to nest around it.

Step 4: Seal Off Your Home

Investigate every crack and opening of your home so that mice can't make their way in for warmth and food. Keep an eye out for cracks in your walls and windows, door gaps, broken screens and vents that may not be sealed properly. If you take the time to seal these openings with materials like steel wool, sheet metal, or cement mortar before winter rolls in, you'll discourage any intruders.

Step 5: Trap Your Enemies

In case rodents make it into your home despite your best sealing efforts, add an effective secondary line of defense with Tomcat's various traps and bait stations. They have products to meet you household needs and preferences for control. Tomcat has the solution to take care of rodents that might want to interrupt your perfect snow day at home.

Head over to Tomcat to explore turnkey rodent control solutions.