Mice are determined, little creatures! Once they find their way into your home, it can be difficult to get them out and keep them out. What materials can they chew through to gain access to your house? What materials will keep them out? Read on to find out!
Contents
About Mice
Mice are rodents with long front teeth called incisors. Their incisors continue to grow throughout their lives. They need to chew in order to wear down those teeth. They also chew in order to gain access to food and shelter.
Mice’s teeth are strong and durable. The incisors curve inward, which makes it difficult for them to chew on hard, flat surfaces. These tough, little rodent teeth can do a lot of damage to a home!
Mice can also squeeze through tiny openings of the size of a dime. They will view any small opening in your home as an invitation to enter.
What Can Mice Chew Through?
Wood
Mice do not gnaw on wood to gain nutrients, but to gain access to shelter or food. Sometimes they will use the chewed wood fibers to build their nests.
Plastic
Mice can chew through plastic. Thin plastic is no match for mice teeth, especially if there is food inside! While some heavy-duty totes may be more mouse-resistant, a mouse on a mission can eventually chew its way inside.
Vinyl
Mice can make their way through vinyl, such as vinyl siding. Once they are through the siding, they will then make a tiny opening to allow them into your home. If you have mice in your home, and cannot figure out how they are making their way in, check your vinyl siding for bite marks.
Rubber
Yes, mice can even chew through rubber! Some people may use rubber sheeting to seal mouse holes, but even rubber is not a match for those sharp, little mouse teeth.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass, like the material in insulation, or in some screens, can also be chewed to shreds by invading mice. Mice may even use fiberglass insulation as nesting material.
Low Gauge Aluminum
Mice can chew through aluminum. Some pest control specialists suggest using wads of aluminum foil as a mouse deterrent. You can try to stuff mouse holes with wadded-up aluminum foil. While it is true that the foil may deter mice due to its sharp edges, there are better materials to use to block mouse holes.
Foam
Insulating foam may be a great way to keep water and air from seeping through cracks, but it will not keep the mice out! Mice can chew through insulating foam easily.
Wires
For some reason, wires are especially tempting to mice. It seems that mice are attracted to the shiny appearance of wires. Unfortunately, chewed wires can cause horrific damage to your home. Damaged wiring can cause power outages and even start a fire.
If you have wires that have been chewed on by mice, it is important that you contact an electrician to repair the wires immediately. Wire damage is a safety hazard.
Fabric
Mice use fabric as nest material. It is easy for them to chew and shred. A fabric barrier will not keep mice out.
Water Pipes
Mice can gnaw on water pipes which may cause leaks and damage in your home.
What Can’t Mice Chew Through?
Concrete
Concrete that has been properly cured is mouse-proof! However, old or brittle concrete could be broken down by a determined mouse. Concrete is a great material for patching large cracks or openings near the ground.
Sheet Metal
Sheet metal is another great, mouse-proof way to patch up large openings.
Brick
Mice cannot chew through bricks. Bricks are a great way to block off openings near the foundation of your home. Bricks are too heavy for mice to move as well.
Copper
Copper gauze can be used to stuff into small openings. Mice will not be able to chew through the copper, but they may be able to pull it out of the opening. Copper can be expensive.
Steel Wool
Mice will not chew on steel wool! Steel wool is inexpensive and can be used to block small cracks and openings. You may need to seal or adhere the steel wool to the edges of the opening so that the mice cannot pull it out.
Rocks
Mice do not chew on rocks. Large rocks may be a good way to block entry to your home.
Glass
Glass is also mouse-proof. Keep mice out of food by storing anything tasty in glass food storage containers. Mice are always on the lookout for food. Food stored in plastic or cardboard packaging is fair game.
Mouse Proofing Tips!
Mouse Traps
If you have mice in your house, the best way to catch them is with a mouse trap like this. Bait traps with peanut butter, raisins, or seeds. Place them near any known openings, or where you have seen mouse activity.
Clean Everything!
Mice are attracted to the scent of food! Thoroughly clean your kitchen and eating areas. Keep counters, floors, and food prep areas clear of crumbs and spills. Limit all food activities to the kitchen. Store food in glass containers.
Seal It Up!
Search your home for all potential mouse entry points. If you find an opening, seal it with steel wool, copper gauze, concrete, or one of the other mouse-proof materials listed above. Try a mouse-proof sealant.
Mice are also drawn to sources of water. Check your home for leaky pipes. Seal all leaks thoroughly.
Install Gutter Guards
Open gutters provide mice with a convenient path straight to your home. Gutter guards not only keep leaf build-up out of gutters, but they may also keep mice out of your attic!
Trim Back Plants
Bushes and shrubs next to your house may look nice, but they give mice a convenient hiding place right next to your home. Trim or remove any bushes next to the house.
Ultrasonic Pest Deterrent
These convenient ultrasonic pest repellers emit a high-frequency noise that will deter mice. The noise will not bother humans or most pets. This is a safe, chemical-free way to keep mice away from your home.
A Word of Warning About Mice
Mice may be small, but they are far from harmless. Mice can carry parasites and diseases, like hantavirus, Salmonella, and Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCMV). These diseases can be very dangerous! Always follow safe practices when handling or disposing of mice or mouse waste.
Avoid inhalation of dust from mouse feces or nests by wearing a mask with a filter while cleaning or handling mouse waste. Protect yourself with rubber gloves. Clean all areas that have been affected by mice with a disinfecting cleaner.
Dispose of any food that may have come into contact with mice. Mice can track salmonella and other bacteria from their nests into your food.
Final Thoughts
If you are an unfortunate host to a group of mice, don’t give up! There are materials you can use to keep those mice out! Make sure you seal all the openings thoroughly with one of the mouse-proof materials listed above. Take back your home from a rodent invasion!
If I could catch them myself I would strangle them until their eyeballs pop out!!! UGH!! I HATE the pests!!
Had ‘VERMIN’ – MICE/RATS for 4 Months, I live Devon Mansions – SE1 2LB, Facing Tower Bridge (Tower/LONDON). SOUTHWARK COUNCIL do NOT wish to do anything about this. PEST CONTROL came and recommended early on that my WHOLE FLAT requires covering, (I have exposed 18th Century Floor Boards – in a ‘dire state’)!?. They check TRAPS every 2 weeks. Had to ask when Proofing would be done after 5 visits/10 weeks!?. Informed its down to repairs – NOT Pest Control!?. Discovered should of had a NEW Kitchen/Bathroom 2018-2022, not done!?. Found 4 huge holes under bath, through cement, so was covered, however, after this still coming in. At 71 years, with Mental Health Issues this is disgraceful!?. Yet a 7th visit today – 2 traps!?. What can I do – ‘SUE’!. Help.
We have mice. Not in the house. But there in the floor’s & walls. Not what company we can use that’s reputable. We want to seal off all entry points. We want to resolve the infestation completely. Can anyone give us a name of a responsible reputable company
Find a local pest control company, not one of the big ones. Initially I called Orkin and Terminex. They often send out uneducated young guys and want you to agree to signing a contract for monthly service.
I tried a local company. They spent well over an hour inspecting the garage the house outside, looking for gaps in siding, small holes, etc. They traced how the mice were coming in, a gap in the garage door rubber seal, they were going behind a rack of shelves and found a hole where the cement meets the interior garage drywall. They set up traps with two different types of baits. They explained a lot to me. Look at reviews online at Yelp, etc. in your area for smaller companies. Smaller, reputable companies don’t force you into monthly contracts. You shouldn’t need to do that if they are diagnosing and treating the problem properly.
PPS
Worked around mice and dirty nests 25 years often falling on me when I open Street light fixtures. Never got sick from them but felt yucky from some of the more nasty nests. The hantavirus is more in warmer climates.
PS. WHY DO MICE CHEW WIRES
Many wire casings use peanut oil which mice often chew in the winter when less food is around. Also wires using higher amps for long periods of time, like at night, get slightly warm and mice often build their nests around street light wires.
Some wires are now made with soy-based materials, so it’s food for rodents.
Work with mice every day. Block all holes, space around pipes or wires (they can get through tiny and narrow spaces)… in dry places with steel wool. In wet places copper wool but copper wool has to be packed good because a thin layer they can chew through. Also Stainless Steel Woven Wire Mesh, Wire Mesh Window Screen Mesh blocks bigger spaces.
Peppermint oil, not just drops but sprayed on all surfaces where they are is a deterrent.
If you trap mice and they can they will chew their way out somewhere and then be able to get back. Also if you trap them in, they will die and smell bad for a long while, maybe months. I recommend trapping them with have heart traps and letting them go, maybe in a corn field. They are docile and bottom of the food chain little creatures.
So far I’m finding a inexpensive 50% baking soda & corm meal mixture placed in–homemade– bait stations has been effective in keeping the relocating mice/rats away. I learned that rats/mice can’t pass gas, when eating food with baking soda it reacts with their belly acid making gas until their tummy’s explodes –LOL. the relocating rats/mice to my home problem is due too the nearby property owners/renters building up trash piles v/s paying for weekly trash pick up service. the rats multiply inside until the rainy season when the rats/mice must move out when they start burning their built up smelly trash piles, a mixture of toxic plastic’s, dippers, carpet, tires, & wet tree leaves slowly burning for hours & days . Yeah they made it illegal to burn that mixture but here in ca. they don’t enforce the law.
Dealing with alot of the same issues with mice. You just have to keep fighting the good fight but anyone using poison beware because it’s severely dehydrates them and they will chew your piping and the wires in your home
When an apartment building has a No Pets rule, is there a way we can approach the building management to get an exception because the mice problem in ourxapartment is uncontrollable? Thanks for ideas.
I use to have mice in my 102 year old house and could never get rid of them, I got a cat! no more
TKU this is very helpful.I live in a private apartment complex….We have had over 150 mice in a year and a half… Maintenance has closed up the holes mice find other places to chew through….now I’ll try myself to do something…at 76 y/o this is very upsetting and has me crying anxiety…..Sorry I just want them gone Have a nice day.
That’s an insane number of mice! I hope you find something that stops them. Usually only a few make it into my place each winter but that’s plenty to know the anxiety those scurrying little hairballs cause.
You might need to consider becoming the local crazy cat lady. Cats are born to combat mice.
I’m so sorry you are dealing with this, have just moved into what was meant to be my dream home (traditional sandstone) to discover there is an infestation. I understand the distress and upset you are feeling, Steel wool has worked quite well but my ultimate trick for finding them thus far has been sprinkling baking soda (it’s also toxic to mice when ingested- not the most humane but needs must when they are making your life a misery) I’ve found the areas of action as there are footprints left in the baking soda, this seems to deter them and of course allows me to pinpoint their movements. Peppermint oil or any strong scent will put them off for a while but sooner you can find and seal the main entrance points with steel wool and some caulk/filler it does give peace of mind, stay strong I know how exhausting the process is – the above advice is wonderful, with some perseverance and diy determination you’ll take your home back. Best wishes, hope you are able to rest pest free sooner than later – a fellow victim of those who shall not be named!
I discovered signs of a mouse this week. It chewed through the a/c condensation pipe, the hot water heater overflow pipe which flooded part of my living room and foyer and destroyed two pieces of luggage in the same closet. We stuffed the hole outside for wires to the condenser and hole in the closet ceiling where same wires came through with steel wool. Exterminator put out to traps and we put out two traps in the closet. Mouse pushed through the steel wool. One small trap was sprung but no mouse. One larger one appeared to have nesting material in it but not sprung. Exterminator returning today.
Call a professional pest controller.
I just got an Intex swimming pool. How do I store it in my garage so the nice won’t eat it
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I’ve lost over 800 dollars because mice chew threw my dishwasher plastic drain hose for water plus flood the basement and kitchen. Ultrasonic sound seems to work the best. I forgot to replace one and they came right back.
My opinion on the #1 way of getting rid of mice is, get a cat….especially an outside cat. My cat loves the outside, and will come in to eat, and cuddle with me, but since we’ve been staying at a friend’s, he hasn’t seen one single mouse….this is after seeing them daily!
I am getting a Siamese cat. Not any old cat. I did my research and Siamese cats are #1, mice killers.
So far, I’ve used steel wool, expanding foam, silicone and even duct tape. Yep, duct tape. It seems they don’t like the stickiness and won’t touch it. I’ve trapped with TomCat traps and those are the most effective for me. Still working on sealing the rest of the house with silicone. Mice are just gross. Also, as a repellant I did pour ammonia around the perimeter of the house. Hope that helps keep them out. Good luck all dealing with this!
I know it says that they can chew aluminium foil but I made a foil sausage and put it in front of my door and they have never bothered me since.
Can field mice chew through apoxy
Mice can chew through copper gauze. I used it to stuff under the baseboard and sealed it with silicone. They chewed right through it.
Thank you very much for this information . I was about to these 2 products. Now I will poison these 3 nasty mice I have ran out of solutions poisoning them is my last solution I’m going to put antifreeze to poison the mice
Thank you for telling me about the 2 things that will not keep mice out. I now will buy a chemical put in the mice hole entrances and seal with copper mesh and caulk on top.
I’ve never had mice before and it’s irritating! I really don’t want to do chemicals but, I got to get rid of them. Sites like yours have been very helpful! Thank you!