Mice can be cute. They have fuzzy little faces and big eyes. However, their cuteness soon fades away when you realize just how much damage they can do to everything in your garage. They can chew through the garage door opener, which could mean you can’t get into and out of your garage. They can get into your boxes of photos and other keepsakes and damage them with their waste or by simply gnawing through them. You do not want mice or other pests in your garage.
Mice also have a lot of babies, and they do so faster than you might expect. If they have a place where they feel safe and they have enough food, they will use your garage as a breeding ground. A mouse can give birth to more than a dozen babies per litter, and its gestation period is only 21 days. Before you know it, you could have a major infestation on your hands.
Sure, you could choose to hire an exterminator, but that’s costly. First, you should consider some other options for getting the mice out of the garage and then making it pest-proof.
Keeping the garage organized and getting proper insulation are essential for keeping your garage safe.
When the Mice Are Already Residents
Are you already dealing with Mice?
Before you can get pest-proof the garage, you need to make those mice (or other pests) leave. Of course, you don’t want to use deadly traps or poison if you have pets that could get into them. Even if you don’t have pets, you might not want to use them because you don’t want to hurt the animals. You just want them to leave.
When the weather is pleasant, the mice are more likely to move out. This often happens in the summer when there is abundant food outside. However, they might still try to nest inside. Regardless of the time of year, you need to get them out pronto. Here are some tips that will help.
First, consider using a humane mouse trap. This is a good option if you have one or two mice, and it won’t cause them any harm. However, you will need to release the mice far from your home—at least a mile—so they don’t come back.
Mice are tricky and can get into places you would never expect.
Do you have a cat that thinks he’s a big, bold hunter? You might want to consider letting your cat spend some time in the garage to hunt. Of course, even if the cat doesn’t catch anything, it could still give the mice the idea that it’s time to vacate.
When you have more than just one or two mice, you need to step things up. You’ll find that there are some scents that mice dislike—white vinegar, peppermint, and others, for example. Use them to your advantage.
Just soak some cotton balls in one of these scents and put them in locations where the mice are more prone to hide. You might want to use peppermint oil since you probably don’t want the garage to smell like vinegar.
Keep in mind that this is a temporary solution. It will get them to leave, but they will return. Take advantage of the time you have and pest-proof the garage while they are gone.
Take Away the Reasons the Mice and Other Pests Love Your Garage
The garage should not be an inviting space for pests. Adhering to the following tips will help to make the garage a place where the mice don’t want to be.
● Keep Organized
Take the time to organize all the items you have in your garage. Remove places where pests might be hiding. Use better boxes, such as plastic instead of cardboard, for example. Don’t let the mice have a place to hide.
● Keep Food Sources Secure
If you keep your pet food, including birdseed, in the garage, the mice will eat it. A way to prevent this is to put the food into containers that the mice can’t chew through.
● Keep Trash Outside
Mice will go through the trash and find a treasure trove of food. Keep your trash outside if you don’t want to deal with mice and other pests in the garage.
● Keep Firewood Outside
Piles of firewood make a great hiding place for mice. Don’t give them a place to hide and they won’t stay in your garage.
● Keep Up with the Cleaning
You should sweep the garage regularly. Look for signs of mice infestation, such as droppings, and look for any holes in the walls where the mice might be getting inside. Be sure to check outside the garage, too.
An Ounce of Prevention…
Once you have the mice out of the garage, you have things organized, and you are sure they don’t have a food source, you can keep your garage safer using these tips.
Check Nearby Tree Branches
If you have tree branches that are too close to the roof of the garage, pests like squirrels might try to find their way inside. They can jump up to nine feet horizontally, so cut back the branches as much as you can.
It is important to insulate your walls to prevent rodents to make their nests in.
Insulation
You should always insulate your walls. Use mineral wool or foam. It can help to stop pests from choosing to nest in the walls. The insulation also helps to keep the garage at a better temperature.
Ideally, you will insulate using polyurethane spray foam. When you use this and fill your walls, it’s less likely that the mice will try to nest there. It has a bitter taste, so they won’t want to eat it.
There is still a chance that the mice could get through and nest if they really wanted to, but because of the bitterness and the fact that it’s not a food source, it’s less likely.
When you use the other tips to clean up and organize and remove other food sources, there will be no reason to choose your garage.
Fix Holes and Cracks
If you notice there are holes and cracks where mice and other critters could be getting into the garage, you need to fill them. Keep in mind that they can chew through wood and plastic, but they can’t chew through steel or aluminum. You could also opt to use spray foam to cover small holes.
What about your garage door? If there’s a gap or holes in it, mice might be getting in through there.
Choosing a Garage Door
Thinking about getting a new garage door? While you want to have one that will keep out the pests, you also need to be sure it’s the right door for your garage. This means you need to make sure that it will work with your home’s aesthetics. Both function and form are important when choosing a garage door.
Stay away from wooden doors. Remember, rodents can chew through them. Instead, choose metal or aluminum.
Insulated doors are a great option. It will keep mice from trying to nest inside of the door.
We make doors using galvanized steel. You will never have to worry about a mouse or other rodents chewing through the door to get into your garage. We can even provide doors with quality insulation.
Check out the R-16 and R-12 garage door options, Standard+, Townships Collection, and Acadia 138. These high-quality doors are made using polyurethane foam injected at high pressure for the insulation.
Polyurethane foam fills the inside of our insulated R-16 door.
Our doors feature weatherstripping and they are tailor-made for your garage. You will love the way they look and work, and you will not have to worry about airflow from the outside that could make the temperatures uncomfortable.
Are You Ready for a Change?
If the garage door might be the culprit in letting mice get into the garage. At ACS Door Services of Lincoln, we can help you find the perfect door for your garage and home. Give us a call at 402-477-4474 or learn more at our website.
Our doors are fantastic and can meet your needs in terms of their quality and their style. Consider trying to create a unique model that’s just right for you.
We also provide a free quotation via email.
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