How to Get Rid of Mice in the Walls

You’re laying in bed and you hear a noise. Was that in the wall? Probably not. Go back to sleep. Then you hear it again. This time you’re sure you heard it in the wall. It’s louder now and there are scratching sounds. Is that a mouse? Are there mice in the walls? Panic sets in, now what? 

You’re right it’s probably mice

We’ve heard countless homeowners tell us this exact story. Sometimes they are sure that isn’t mice and sometimes they believe it has to be a larger pest like a squirrel. Most of the time we respond to these types of calls it is mice, however. 

Squirrels and raccoons don’t dig and scratch inside walls. In fact, most raccoons can not fit inside of walls in the first place. Is it possible it could be something other than mice, sure. The majority of the time however if you are hearing scratching in the walls it is mice. 

Why are there mice in my walls?

Mice like to hide. We may see a narrow dark alley and think – nope that looks shady and unpleasant and move on. But for a mouse that narrow dark passageway looks like a perfect place to hide. Mice have a great many predators, even in your home. There are oftentimes large pets like cats and dogs that are more than happy to chase and catch a mouse. As well as human – mice’s largest predator. 

They want to hide. So the small gaps between your walls are all too inviting to them. They are warm, they are safe and they are protected from the dangers of your open home. If a mouse has found his way into your walls – he is not trapped. He is there on purpose. 

Should I just close the holes?

Most of the time when mice are living in the wall you can see their entry points, or at least one of their entry points. This can make it tempting to just close up the hole and leave them there to die. But this causes two separate but equally important competing problems. 

First, if that was the only opening into your interior walls and you close up the hole that mouse or mice will die in the wall. When this happens – it will stink! Secondly, and much more common, they will just get out. 

What? Even after I close the hole. Yep. Mice chew to get into the walls. If you lock them in they can oftentimes chew their way out. And if not they can also use one of the other entry points they probably have. There is often more than one way into your interior walls. And some holes you cannot close up. 

So what do we do?

Simple, you treat the home for mice. This means closing all EXTERIOR entry points to the home. Holes in your interior walls are just superficial and not necessary to close up from a pest perspective. Or certainly less important than the exterior holes. Until we can stop the mice from getting into the house in the first place we will not really be able to stop them from getting into the walls. 

Once we’ve sealed all exterior entry points and made sure no new mice can get in, we have to treat the ones that are there. Kapture Pest Control offers humane mice extermination and has several treatment options we can employ to customize the pest control plans to your specific needs. Alternatively you can trap and treat yourself, just be sure to be careful as mice carry diseases that can be spread to humans and, even dead, should always be handled with caution. 

Final Thoughts 

Mice in the walls can be scary. They can make a surprising amount of noise and they are nocturnal which means most of that noise is going to come right when you have been asleep. But there is hope. Treating the source of the problem is the easiest way to eradicate the problem. Find out how the mice are getting into your home. Close those points off. Then treat the mice inside the home. 

Once all interior mice are gone you can assess the internal damage and repair that. But you will want to follow the steps in that specific order otherwise you will be doing the steps more than once. And remember, if you ever have any questions we offer FREE phone consultations and are always happy to help!