:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-525023427-9e929e465e5047c7aaec378ca2658ae1.jpg?ssl=1 "Mouse in Your Bedroom? How to Get It Out Fast and Make Sure It Never Happens Again")
Unless you are Cinderella and the singing mice are making you a ball gown, no one wants a mouse in the bedroom. Finding a mouse is startling and where there is one, there are usually more.
We talked to an expert to help you learn what to do if you find a mouse in your bedroom.
Meet the Expert
Laura Allen Dillard, Ph.D., is the director of research and development at Scotts Miracle-Gro, specializing in pesticide product development.
Why Mice Come in Your Bedroom
Mice are opportunistic creatures who seek warmth, food, and shelter in their chosen environments. Unfortunately this often means they’d like to make your home theirs as well.
“Bedrooms often offer a quieter, less disturbed space, making them a potential area for mice to forage—especially during colder months,” says Dr. Laura Allen Dillard, director of research and development at Scotts Miracle-Gro.
Food crumbs or pet food in the bedroom make it especially attractive, while cracks around windows, baseboards, or electrical outlets make it easy for these small rodents to slip inside.
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How to Get Rid of Mice in the Bedroom
Dillard recommends a multi-step strategy for eliminating mice in a bedroom.
- Identify and seal any potential entry points with caulking or steel wool, as mice can squeeze through holes as small as a dime.
- Apply a preventative, rodent repellent around potential entry points. These repellents use oils to create a scent that mice do not like so they move to a different area.
- Set traps (humane or snap) to catch any mice that may remain in the room. Be sure to use appropriately sized traps for mice, not rats.
- Thoroughly clean the bedroom to remove crumbs and piles of dirty laundry that provide hiding places for the mice.
How to Keep Mice From Coming in Your Bedroom
The best way to keep mice out of your bedroom is to keep it clean including under furniture and avoid taking food into the room. Don’t allow dirty laundry to pile up in the room and empty trashcans often. Do regular inspections for cracks or holes where mice can enter.
Keeping Mice Out of Your House
To prevent mice from entering your bedroom, you should keep mice out of the rest of your house. Follow the same prevention steps—sealing entry points, thorough cleaning, and removing food and nesting places that mice find attractive.
- Store food and pet food in sealed containers. Never leave bowls of pet food out overnight.
- Clean the house regularly to remove crumbs.
- Seal holes, cracks, or gaps along your home’s exterior that will allow a mouse into your house.
- Close all doors (including garage doors) at night.
- Cut back shrubs and ground covers along your home’s foundation where mice can hide.
- Remove bird feeders that are near your house that may attract mice.
When to Call an Expert
If you hear scratching sounds in the walls of any room in your home, strong odors, significant mouse droppings, or dark smudges along your baseboards, you need to call a professional exterminator. They will know how to handle the infestation safely with rodenticides.
What to Do When You See a Mouse in Your Bedroom
If you flip on the bedroom light and see a mouse skitter across the floor, try not to panic. Close the bedroom door and place some towels along the bottom of the door until you can address the problem. Sleeping with the lights on will not send the mouse away or prevent it from coming out of hiding. Mice will still come out when the room is quiet to look for food.
As soon as possible, take the steps recommended to catch the mouse, clean the room, and seal any potential entry points. (And whatever you do, do not give it a cookie.)