Image courtesy of chapmankj75.

• Install a screen over your chimney and even dryer vent. This will keep certain pests from wandering into your abode.
• Keep firewood away from your home. If you must store it, aim for a dry location at least 25 feet from your home. That way, critters won’t try to take up shop in the comfort of your front yard.
• As food sources dwindle, rodents and other pests will try their luck and reaching some of your food stores. To combat this, keep food items, as well as other scented goods, stored in sealed bins or containers.
• Don’t stockpile garbage! Keep your garbage in lidded bins, and don’t miss your trash or burn day.
• Double-check your gutters and spouts to ensure that pooled water is not collecting close to your home. If so, realign or replace leaking or non-functional gutters.

These tips should help to keep you critter-free in the winter time, ensuring that unwelcome house guests are not enjoying the comforts of your home.

Once mice get in a home, they can be difficult to get rid of.

First off, poison is an option, but not one that I recommend. Poison might kill the mice, but it does not get to the root of the problem: how the mouse got into your house in the first place. Find the hole/opening that the rodents are using, and you can permanently fix the problem.

• Check for loose foundations, gaps in the garage door, decks that do not fit snugly against the house, gaps in dryer vents or other pipes/cables going into the home, and holes in the corners of walls, such as garages and utility rooms (small, dark places with low traffic). These are prime entry points for rats and mice, so fix the holes with plaster, wood barriers (I used wood trim over a hole in a utility closet; after a couple of coats of paint, you can’t tell the difference between the trim and the wall), and other blocking methods. Ensure that your doors (including garage doors) seal snugly with the frame and floor. If there are gaps, you will need to close them, either by reseating the door, or wood patches.
• Perform a thorough inspection of your home’s HVAC system. Mice are good at tunneling through cheap insulating foam, as well as ducts with gaps. You might want to enlist the help of a qualified HVAC specialist to ensure that your complete system is checked (good time for an HVAC inspection as well).
• Mice are great climbers, so inspect your roof for openings at corners, plywood holes under the shingles, and other points of entry.
• Get a cat (and even a dog). Most cats love dining on mice, and the kitty’s presence will keep other mice away. Some dogs will even sniff out and remove rodents.

Take the time to inspect your home, and you can nip your mice problem in the bud. Once you have everything sealed off, use traps (either live, or lethal) to rid your home of any mice that are stuck in your abode.

Good luck!