I don't know about you, but I cannot stand when I know that there is a mouse in the house.

As we enter into the meat of Fall and soon-to-be winter in south Louisiana, we will see more and more cool fronts sweep across the area.

With that, small creatures will be looking for a warm place to stay and unfortunately, that means that you could be your house.

Like you and me, when it gets cold out, pests look for warm places to stay as they attempt to escape the elements, and often mice will find their way into your house.

Now, I should note here that I am not a licensed exterminator, but here are a few ways you can seal your house off as temperatures begin to drop as we approach winter.

Let's start off by noting you really need to check the plumbing in your house. Often when houses are built, those building or doing the plumbing leave too much space where the pipes run, thus allowing for mice to enter from the wall.

As you can see here, I had a small crack between my wall and the pipe so I simply filled it with steel wool. Mice won't eat through the steel wool, which can be purchased at any hardware store.

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Next, be sure to check for any openings behind your appliances. Again, when houses are built spaces are left open where hoses attach and this is a prime spot for rodents to enter through.

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Use moth balls to repel mice. Now, I am not 100% certain this works, but many have told me that it does. Leave an open box of moth balls, if you can stand the smell, in your garage.

Many have sworn to me that this works, but I'll suggest that you put this open box in an area where kids or pets cannot reach them.

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This is important. If you want to keep mice from enterting your home during the cold months of the year, be sure to check the putside perimeter of your home.

Mice will look for the easiest entry point to your home and often it is where your A/C work is. Like with plumbing in your house, large spaces are often left wide open upon completion of a house near the A/C pipes and wiring.

As you can see here, I had a space between the bricks and cooling pipes, so I filled it wil more steel wool.

There's something else you can do to fill this space and we're about to get to it.

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One safe way to repel mice from your home is to have secure bait traps placed around your home. Most exterminating companies can provide these and they will even service them for you during the cold months.

I have a few of these around my house and they are locked so that kids and pets can't get to the bait inside.

The bait inside will dehydrate rodents, thus forcing them to leave the area from around your home and look for a drinking source. The rest, well you know.

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If you live in a brick house you may want to secure the weep holes around your home. However, you DO NOT want to block them.

These small spaces allow for moisture and water to seep out from your bricks, thus blocking them would cause major issues.

What you can do is purchase screens or filters which prevent rodents or insects from entering the walls of your home. This may take some work, but it works.

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Now, if you have cracks around your plumbing or on the outside of your house, you can fill them will foam. This works really well and it is not very expensive.

I remind you, DO NOT use this in the weep holes around your house.

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Finally, here's one that I preach often at home because the kids just can't seem to keep the doors shut at home.

Don't make it so easy for rodents to enter your home by keeping doors open during the cool or cold days of winter. Close the doors and seal off your home.

I don't have any statistical data to back up my claim here, but I bet a majority of rodents enter homes by way of an open door. Close all doors as soon as you enter or exit your home.

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