13 Things That Attract Mice to Your Home

There are many ways to make your house more attractive to mice, which you probably don’t want to do even if you like the little rodents from afar or have one as a pet. Wild mice are often considered vermin and spread disease, so they aren’t welcome in most homes.

Mice have similar needs as people: food, water, shelter, and warmth. If you make any of those things readily available to a wandering mouse, it is likely to drop in without an invitation and stay awhile — maybe even with a few friends!

The best way to get mice out of your home is to take precautions so that they don’t want to get into your house in the first place. The following lucky 13 things are what these pesky little rodents are looking for in their next lodging destination.

Warmth

Maybe that long, skinny tail gives you the chills, but mice seek out warm, cozy spaces. Especially in the fall, mice will feel the warmth inside your home through a crack in the wall or other opening and try to find out why you have it so good.

An ideal spot for a nesting mouse is the water heater in your basement, which you probably don’t go near unless there is something wrong. The area produces a steady heat source and a place near which a mouse is unlikely to be disturbed.

Cracks and Openings

Any hole or crack in your house bigger than about the size of a dime is interpreted in a mouse’s brain as “vacancy — inquire within.”

If you find mice in your home and can’t figure out how the little rascals are getting in, go room to room — starting on the ground level — and darken each one and observe if you see any points of light coming from outside. Seal any discovered gaps or holes with caulk or some kind of expanding-foam product to keep mice outdoors.

Cereal

Mice and kids have a few things in common: they are both small, have short attention spans, and love munching on cereal.

More than any other food, mice like bits of cereal — especially ones made of oats and wheat —  because they can hold them in their little paws, rotate the cereal nugget, and gnaw into it with teeth that never stop growing.

If you have mice issues, ditch the carboard cereal boxes and store cereal in tightly sealed containers.

Bacon

Lot of people have a weakness for a crispy, greasy piece of bacon, and so do mice.

Mice like high-fat, high-protein foods such as bacon and other meats. Although mice have a reputation for loving cheese, they will choose bacon or some other favorite food first before settling for a hunk of cheddar.

Chocolate

If you’re picking up on the fact that a mouse’s favorite foods aren’t all that different from a human’s, you are correct.

In addition to high-fat and high-protein foods, mice also have a sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate. Since most people don’t store their chocolate candy in airtight plastic containers, that Hershey bar left on the counter is a tempting target for a hungry mouse in need of a sugar fix.

Paper

Mice like to rip up paper products and use them as nesting materials. Whether it’s cardboard, books, magazines, newspapers, or paper towels, mice will make quick work of them if they can get to them.

In addition, if you participated in the great toilet paper-hoarding panic during the pandemic and still have a bunker’s worth of toilet paper and tissues tucked away in a closet, check to make sure there are no openings nearby where a mouse might get in.

Linens

Mice have chisel-like incisors that never stop growing, requiring them to gnaw constantly to grind them down to an acceptable length.

Just because mice are tiny, don’t doubt their ability to shred linens, towels, and clothes with their sharp little teeth. They can do a lot of damage and will use your shredded linens for nest materials.

Pet Food and Seeds

Bags of dry pet food, birdseed, and other seeds stored in bags in basements or garages are an easy target for hungry mice. It takes little effort at all for a mice to gnaw a tiny hole in a bag and gorge itself on pet food or seeds meant for another animal.

To avoid tempting mice with bags of pet food, try to store them in plastic or metal containers with secure lids.

Insulation

Remember when we said earlier that mice seek warmth? What is more inviting to a weary, wandering mouse than the fluffy pink insulation lining your attic?

That fiberglass insulation is not only an excellent place to nest, it’s an even better place to hide because most homeowners don’t comb through their house’s insulation looking for unwanted guests.

Clutter

Mice like messy homes filled with clutter, and for good reason. The more clutter a home has, the more opportunities exist for a mouse to burrow and find a tucked-away nesting spot.

Some of the most problematic areas of the home to have clutter are the garage, attic, and storage spaces like that one you might have under the stairs. Also, avoid stacking firewood against a wall on the outside of your home — it will attract mice that might then come into your house if there is a big enough crack nearby.

Fruit

We know that mice like sweets, and this includes fruit — especially dried fruit like raisins, or sweet and juicy raspberries and blackberries.

If you have a fruit tree outside your home, check to make sure there are not a number of rotting peaches, apples, or pears in the grass underneath. This will attract mice to your yard and call their attention to your house.

An Unused Car

If you keep an unused car on your property that is falling apart and will likely never touch a highway again, junk it if you don’t want mice to take up residence inside.

An unused car has a lot of upholstery, wiring, and perhaps left-behind clutter that makes it almost as attractive to live in as your house itself. If mice die in the car, good luck ever getting the stench out.

Water

Although it’s true that mice get most of the water they need directly from food, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t attracted to unattended water sources in your home.

Whether we’re talking about a dripping faucet, leaky pipe under a sink, or — best of all — a pet’s water bowl that is left out overnight, mice will want to take advantage of your home’s mouse-size water park when you aren’t looking.