How to Keep Mice Out During Winter

As the weather turns colder, mice start looking for warmth and your home offers everything they need. The smallest gap in or around a door, vent, or pipe is an open invitation. Once inside, rodents can contaminate food, chew wires, ruin insulation, and create costly damage throughout your home. Not to mention the fact that they can carry and spread diseases to pets and humans alike.

The most effective way to stop rodents is to prevent them from getting inside in the first place. That’s the principle behind pest exclusion: proactively sealing openings so rodents stay where they belong — outside. Exclusion is more than a temporary fix. It’s a long-term, environmentally friendly strategy that protects your home without relying on chemicals or poisons. By closing off potential entry points, you stop infestations before they start, keeping your home cleaner, safer, and more energy efficient through the winter months.

Before diving into how to mouse-proof your home, it helps to understand why rodents move indoors as temperatures drop. Knowing what attracts them can help you target the most vulnerable areas first.

Why Rodents Invade Homes in Winter

When the temperature drops, rodents won’t hesitate to move in. They’re looking for warmth, food, and protection from the elements, and homes provide all three.

• Warmth and shelter: Rodents are drawn to the steady temperatures inside walls, basements, and attics.
• Food sources: Crumbs, pet food, and unsecured pantry items are irresistible.
• Easy entry: Even tiny openings can be a welcome mat to rodents.

Once inside, they quickly build nests, spread contamination, and reproduce. That’s why exclusion, or stopping rodents before they get in, is far more effective than trying to eliminate them after the fact.

Signs You Have a Mouse Problem

Uh oh. You forgot to rodent-proof your house and they’re already inside. Don't wait to act. Catching the early signs of a problem can save you from an even bigger headache later. Watch for:

• Droppings: Tiny dark pellets, often near food or along walls.
• Scratching Noises: Especially at night inside walls or ceilings.
• Gnaw Marks: On baseboards, food packaging, wiring, etc.
• Nesting Materials: Shredded paper or insulation tucked in quiet corners.
• Pets Acting Strange: Dogs or cats may sense movement before you do.

For more detail, visit our guide to identifying rodent activity.

How to Mouse-Proof Your Home for Winter

Rodent-proofing your home is about sealing every entry point. Even small ones. A mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime, and a rat needs only a quarter size hole to get inside.

Inspect for Gaps Inside and Outside

Walk through every room in your home, including the garage, and attic. Look for gaps around pipes, utility lines, vents, under doors, under sinks, around windows, and where different building materials come together, like siding and brick, or foundation and framing. Also look for gaps, cracks or holes in the foundation or siding.

For more detail, visit our guide to identifying common rodent entry points.

Seal Entry Points with the Best Products to Keep Mice Out During Winter 

Use proven exclusion materials or products to seal every crack, gap, or hole you find.

For example:

• Use Xcluder Fill Fabric to block smaller holes and cracks found inside and outside your house. Unlike steel wool, which rusts and breaks down, Xcluder’s steel and fiber blend will never rust and expands to fill the opening, permanently preventing rodents from chewing through.
• Use Xcluder Rodent-Proof Door Sweeps to block gaps under door. If you can fit a pencil anywhere under your door when it’s closed, that means your door is always open to a mouse. All Xcluder Doors Sweeps come with a lifetime guarantee to stop mice & rats, and they also help block drafts, assisting with energy efficiency.
• Use Xcluder Rodent-Proof Garage Door Seals and Shields to keep rodents out of the garage. Rodents can often gnaw through standard garage doors seals to gain access. Xcluder Seals are gnaw-proof and will also help to keep drafts and debris out.

Each Xcluder product is designed for lasting performance in harsh winter conditions.

Avoid Ineffective Methods and only use proven solutions

Plenty of so-called remedies claim to stop rodents, but most don’t hold up under actual testing. Over the years, many methods have been tried, and most have proven ineffective. A few common ‘home remedies’ that fail to deliver include:

• Caulk or Foam: Rodents can chew through wood, vinyl, aluminum... even lead and mortar has been damaged by persistent rats. So chewing through caulk or foam is no problem for them.
• Ultrasonic devices: Time and time again, these devices have been proven ineffective. In fact, there is evidence that rodents sometimes make nests on top of these devices. Instead of driving rodents away, these gadgets can become part of the problem, providing a warm perch for the very pests they claim to repel.
• Peppermint oil, dryer sheets, essential oils or any other strong-smelling item: Bottom line, a strong smelling anything will not deter a hungry rodent. After all, rodents happily live in city sewers. The smell of a dryer sheet is certainly not going to repel them for long.

Always choose durable, science-backed exclusion solutions and products.

Rodent Exclusion Methods That Work

Exclusion is the most effective, long-term rodent control method available. Instead of relying on traps or poisons that only address symptoms, exclusion solves the root cause - access.

Here’s why it works:

• Durable Protection: Use proven products that create a physical barrier that rodents can’t chew through.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Seal all openings that are larger than the size of a dime. Under doors, garage thresholds, vents, and utility openings, etc.
• Dual Benefits: Door sweeps and garage seals that not only block rodents but also improve energy efficiency by sealing out drafts and debris.
• Maintenance: Regularly inspect for new gaps to stay ahead of intrusions.

These techniques keep rodents out for good, without chemicals or harm to people or pests.

Why Exclusion Is the Best Rodent Control Strategy

Exclusion is prevention at its smartest. It’s:

Cost-effective

The time and cost of exclusion are minimal compared to what it takes to fix a rodent problem after it starts. Extermination fees, damage repairs, food replacement, and the overall disruption of an infestation add up very fast.

Safe for families and pets 

No poisons, chemicals, or messy traps—just protection that lasts.

Trusted by professionals

Around the world, pest management experts rely on exclusion solutions to keep their customers protected—and Xcluder leads the way as the global leader and innovator in pest exclusion.

Prevent a Rodent Problem Before Winter Hits

Rodents don’t wait for the first snowfall to start looking for shelter. Take preventive action early in the season:

• Inspect your home’s interior and exterior for cracks, gaps or openings.
• Seal potential entry point with Xcluder products.
• Replace worn weather seals on doors and garage entries.

A few hours of work now can save you from costly, messy infestations later. Protect your home, and your peace of mind, with trusted exclusion solutions from Xcluder.