How to Get Rid of Mice in Your Walls: 3 Effective Removal Methods
Evict those furry freeloaders and reclaim your home
If you suspect that mice have taken up residence in your walls, you must act fast—mice are among the fastest-reproducing mammals, leading to a significant infestation in no time. To help you protect your home, here are 3 tips for how to get rid of mice in the walls and ways to stop them from setting up shop in the first place.
Why Do I Have Mice in My Walls?
Mice move into your home for the same reason as any other animal: survival.
Food
Abodes where mice can quickly find food are magnets. Crumbs on the floor, left-out pet food, unsecured garbage, toasters brimming with crumbs, and poorly stored pantry items are irresistible buffets for mice. The same goes for outside. Bird feeders and compost piles attract mice that will later try to seek shelter inside your home.
Shelter
While mouse infestations are a problem year-round, winter is a prime time for them to move into a home for the warmth and protection inside the walls. Keep in mind insulation makes ideal nests, creating the perfect spots for mice to raise their young.
Points of Entry
Mice can squeeze through tiny openings—about the size of a dime. Any holes in your home's exterior, like gaps and cracks in your foundation or around windows and doors, can serve as entry points. The same applies to pipes and vents that don't have protective mesh to mouse-proof the openings.
How to Identify a Mouse Infestation
Identifying a mouse infestation is easy once you know the signs to look for:
Droppings in the kitchen or along baseboards
Scratching or scampering noises at night
Gnaw marks on food packaging or wires
How to Get Rid of Mice in the Walls
Several DIY methods will help homeowners tackle the problem. Combining these solutions is the best way to get rid of mice effectively and keep them out.
1. Seal Entry Points
Start by sealing entry points into your home to keep new mice out and trap the ones already inside. This humane method for getting rid of mice helps prevent infestations in the first place.
Inspect the exterior of your house, focusing on areas around pipes, vents, windows, doors, and utility lines. Remember, mice can squeeze through even dime-sized gaps, so check for cracks or openings that could serve as mouse doors.
Close small holes with steel wool or copper mesh that mice can't chew through.
Fill large gaps with caulk or expanding foam.
Install door sweeps on exterior doors, eliminating gaps mice can squeeze through.
Add weather stripping to windows to address gaps large enough for mice to enter.
2. Set Up Traps
There are different types of traps to choose from. The biggest difference is whether it’s a live trap or one designed to kill the mouse humanely. Many newer versions of electronic and snap traps will kill mice instantly and effectively.
Another type of mouse trap you can consider is a bait station. It's a lockable box that holds toxic bait securely and out of reach of humans and pets. Mice enter the station, consume the bait, and then return to their nests, where they may share it with others. The downside is the possibility of dead mice in your walls, creating foul odors.
The right bait and placement are essential. Peanut butter, chocolate, or bacon bits are great treats—use a small amount to lure the mice into the trap. Place the bait toward the back, ensuring the mouse enters fully.
Position traps near suspected entry points or where you’ve seen droppings. Mice tend to walk close to walls, so place your traps parallel against the walls to ensure capture.
3. Monitor and Observe
Check traps daily and dispose of trapped mice quickly and safely using gloves. Afterward, continue rebaiting and resetting until the mice are gone.
Here’s how to tell if your home is mouse-free:
Observe that no mice were caught for at least one to two weeks
Confirm there are no new droppings or gnaw marks
Listen for silence at night instead of scratching noises
Notice if foul smells, like stale ammonia from mouse urine, are gone
How to Prevent Future Infestations
Keeping your home tidy is one of the best ways to prevent a mouse problem. Mice are always searching for accessible food sources, so store food in airtight containers, secure trash behind closed cabinet doors, and clean up spills and crumbs immediately. Reducing clutter also helps by giving mice fewer places to hide or nest.
Regularly inspect your home's exterior for new gaps or holes that mice could squeeze through and address them quickly. Don't forget about yard maintenance—trim shrubs and keep vegetation away from your house. Overgrown areas near your home can become prime nesting spots, making it easier for mice to find their way inside.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
It’s good to know how to get rid of mice in the walls, but it’s even better to understand how much you can take on yourself. There comes a point where only a local mouse exterminator can handle the job. The telltale signs you’ve reached that point are when you’ve seen mice multiple times or you spot signs of a rodent infestation, like many droppings and freshly made holes in the walls or floor. If you’ve already tried the DIY methods above and they aren’t working, it’s time to pick up the phone and get a professional’s help.
That said, you may be able to fend them off yourself. If you’re not skittish towards animals and can handle most household problems, try all three of the DIY methods above and then see where you’re at. Just keep in mind that you’re taking the risk of missing a nest or entry point and might have to start over.
Cost to Get Rid of Mice in Your Walls
The average rodent exterminator costs $375, but this price can go up with every supplemental visit you require. If you go the DIY route, you can expect to spend anywhere from $5 to $35 on each live trap and a few more dollars on the materials you use to seal gaps, like steel wool and wire mesh. While the professional route costs more, there is a higher chance the job will be done efficiently without as much risk of missing a nest or opening and having to try again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Exterminators remove mice in walls by identifying entry points and sealing them to stop further access to these spaces. They may then open drywall to place food-scented traps inside for capture and then reseal to open and retrieve traps later. Next, they place traps along walls or baseboards inside, as mice tend to follow walls using their whiskers for guidance. Afterward, they may recommend repairs or modifications to prevent future infestations.
A rodent infestation often has a distinctive, unpleasant smell. The most common odor is a strong, musky scent, similar to stale ammonia, which comes from mouse urine. As the infestation grows, the smell can become more intense. You might also notice a foul, decomposing odor if mice or rats die inside the walls or hidden areas. This combination of smells is a clear sign of a rodent problem and should prompt immediate action to address the infestation.
To determine if you have a rat or mouse infestation, look at the size and appearance of droppings—rat droppings are larger, about the size of a raisin, while mouse droppings are smaller and rice-sized. Rats are bigger and have thicker bodies, while mice are smaller, with slender bodies. You may also hear different sounds; rats make louder scratching and gnawing noises due to their size. Additionally, rats tend to be more cautious, whereas mice are more curious and might be seen more often.
Scented mouse deterrents, like peppermint oil, can be effective in the short term. The pungent smells may temporarily repel mice, but they lose effectiveness as the scent fades or mice get used to it. The main drawbacks are frequent reapplication and the fact that these deterrents don't address the root cause of the infestation, such as entry points or food sources. While they can be part of a broader strategy, scented deterrents alone are rarely enough to eliminate a mouse problem.