When you want to protect your home from mice and rats, there are several things to consider.
To prevent infestation, you might have already proactively filled and plastered over holes in your walls.
However, if you have a hole in an outside wall that’s higher up, you may wonder if a mouse can reach it.
They’d have to climb a vertical wall to get to the hole.
Here’s what you need to know about mice and whether they can climb walls.
Can Mice Climb Walls?
Yes, mice can climb walls.
Mice are adept at climbing, burrowing, and swimming.
Part of the reason they can climb walls is because of their sharp nails.
Their nails can dig into the wall to create a foothold for them.
Their tails are also helpful in climbing walls because they help keep the mouse balanced.
They’re also quite strong and able to lift their body up vertical surfaces.
However, some factors can make it difficult for a mouse to climb a wall.
How Can You Keep A Mouse From Climbing A Wall?
If you’re terrified of the idea of a mouse climbing the wall to get inside of your home, then there are a few things you can do to make it more difficult for them.
Here are some methods you can use to keep a mouse from climbing a wall.
1. Apply A Metal Surface To The Wall
Mice can climb vertical walls, but when the surface is smooth, they have a lot more difficulty in doing so.
Smooth surfaces are difficult for them to stick their claws into.
Since they’re unable to get a good grip, they just slide down.
One material to use is metal.
If you can get a smooth metal sheet, then you can apply it to the wall that you have concerns over.
Exterior walls, for example, are your best bet since that’s where the mice will be coming from.
You’ll want to place the metal sheet in areas where mice will try to access the home.
Windows, doors, chimney openings, vents, and other open areas are perfect for mice.
Although they may seem big, they can often squeeze their bodies through tight openings.
By putting a metal sheet there, you’re able to make it far more difficult for the mouse to get a grip and scale the wall.
2. Apply Smooth Plastic To The Wall
If metal is too expensive for you, then you might want to try a smooth plastic surface instead.
The idea is to cover walls that use materials like stucco, brick, and even drywall.
The slightly rough exterior is perfect for mice to find footholds or to make their own.
Plastic is a lot tougher because it’s dense.
Mice don’t have strong enough nails to make footholds in plastic.
As such, when they try to climb the plastic sheet, they end up sliding down it instead.
Like with the metal sheet, you’ll want to place the plastic sheet near places where the mouse will try to access the home.
3. Use Smooth Wood Sheets
Another material that you can hang on the exterior or interior wall is wood.
When it comes to wood, you must get very dense and very smooth wood.
Softer wood is easier for mice to climb since they can dig their claws into it.
They might even use their teeth to dig some footholds for themselves.
Because of this, wood is only a good option if you use hard and smooth wood.
4. Grease Your Surfaces
Making the wall slippery is another ideal method to make it difficult for mice to climb the walls of your home.
While it’s a messy solution, it’s an effective one.
When mice attempt to climb a wall that’s greased, they end up getting covered in it.
The grease makes it extremely difficult for them to get a grip on the wall.
As a result, they slip down to the ground.
Grease is a great method for those who need something a bit more budget-friendly and short-term.
It’s also ideal for those who are unable to install a smooth sheet on the exterior or interior walls of their home.
However, grease will wash away with time.
You need to keep reapplying it to ensure mice don’t get into your home.
That said, using grease will help ensure that mice will have a hard time climbing a wall and getting into your home.
5. Use Sticky Traps
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If you want to get rid of mice in your area, then you might also consider installing sticky traps.
Traps, like gum sheets, aren’t the most humane way to get rid of mice and rats, but they are effective.
The best thing about sticky traps is that you can use them on vertical surfaces, too.
All you need to do is either nail the trap to the wall or use some sort of adhesive that you can pull away later.
When the mouse attempts to climb the wall, they’ll get stuck on the trap.
The trap makes their bodies and paws stick to its surface.
Since they’re unable to move anywhere, the mouse will either starve to death over time or die of thirst.
The problem with this method is that you’ll then have dead mice on your walls.
As long as you’re able to get the sticky trap off of the wall, you can dispose of the mice stuck to it.
Otherwise, you’re going to have a rotting corpse on your wall.
It might serve as a warning for other mice, but it might also attract scavengers.
As such, this method is only ideal for those who can remove the sticky trap from the wall and want to get rid of mice permanently.
6. Remove Vegetation
A final thing you can do to keep mice from climbing up your walls is to remove vegetation hanging off your home.
If you have vines or other thick vegetation crawling up the side of your home, then you’re giving mice a clear path to use.
They can easily scale and climb vegetation that’s thick enough to hold their weight.
They also know how to walk along thin surfaces like stems.
By clearing up the vegetation hanging on your house, you make it a little more difficult for mice to climb up a wall and into your home.
Where Do Mice Hide During The Day?
The hardest part about keeping mice from getting into your home is that they’re nocturnal.
Unless you stand outside of your home all night, you will likely miss the chance to remove a mouse that’s attempting to climb the wall.
That may make you wonder where mice go during the day.
Here are a few places where you might find mice during the day.
1. Attics
If mice can climb your walls, then they’re probably in your attic during the day.
Mice prefer to nest in areas that are relatively abandoned.
It’s safer for them.
Since few people go into their attics, it’s the perfect place for a nest of mice.
If your attic has a vent, then it’s even more likely that the mouse is hiding up there during the day.
The vent allows them to easily climb in and out of your house whenever they want.
While they most likely use your home as a food and water source, they might also scavenge and forage outside for food.
When they’ve had their fill, they’ll climb back up the wall and inside the attic.
Mice might also get into your attic from the inside of your walls.
They can climb interior walls just as easily as exterior walls.
Since most interior walls use drywall, the surface is quite porous and soft.
This makes it very easy for mice to climb.
They might climb a wall right up to a hole that gets them into the attic.
Finally, attics often have forgotten items like old clothes, newspapers, and other great nesting materials.
Since they’re also dark, they’re an ideal place for mice to go during the day.
2. Basements
Mice also love to spend the day in the basement.
If you have a basement that you use for storage, rather than a live-in basement, then this is an ideal area for a mouse.
Basements are large, cool, and often dark.
They also often have an abundance of items that mice can use to build their nests.
Another great aspect of basements is that they’re often unfinished.
This means there are a lot of exposed walls and pipes that mice can use to navigate to other areas of the home.
While they’ll spend the day in the basement sleeping, when night comes, they can use those pathways to get food.
Basements are also easy for mice to access.
They can climb down a vertical vent or shaft to get inside.
Since mice are also great burrowers, they might even find a hole in your basement from the ground.
If you’re wondering where the mouse that you keep seeing at night has gone during the day, then you should check your basement.
3. Kitchen Walls
Mice often like to build their nests close to a food source.
The best source of food in your home is the kitchen.
Because of their strong teeth, mice can chew through most materials to get to the food.
A cardboard box isn’t going to stop them.
Since they also sometimes take food back to the nest, they prefer their nests to be close by.
It’s less difficult for them to get back to safety if they sense a predator.
Because of this, if you’re wondering where the mouse that you saw at night is spending its day, you need to check the inside of your kitchen walls.
In most cases, it should be easy to spot.
You just need to find the hole that the mice are using.
You may even find a trail of food or mice droppings leading to it.
You also may need to look inside your cupboards.
Cupboards are ideal for mice because they’re dark and often closed.
This allows them to make a safe hole that they can use to get in and out of the kitchen area easily.
If you have some missing or chewed food, then you should check around the kitchen for the mouse during the day.
4. Utility Rooms Or Closets
Another popular place for mice to rest during the day is in a utility room or closet.
There’s no shortage of places to hide in a utility room.
With all the pipes going everywhere, a mouse can easily build its nest in an area that’s difficult or impossible to reach.
The pipes also give them an easy way to navigate through the home since they can climb them.
While new pipes are typically smooth, in most cases, the pipes have enough wear and tear on them to make climbing them easy.
Utility rooms and closets are also ideal for mice because they’re not used often.
Most people don’t go into the utility room or open the utility closet unless something is wrong.
This makes mice feel safe there.
Finally, utility rooms are often pleasant temperature-wise.
They’re warm in winter and cool in the summer.
This makes the area quite comfortable for mice.
If you can’t determine where the mouse you keep seeing is hiding during the day, then you should check your utility room or closet.
5. Walls
Perhaps the most distressing place where mice might be during the day is your walls.
Mice love to nest in walls because they’re able to access many different areas of your home easily.
Since all the walls tend to connect, mice can move through them without worrying about encountering a predator.
Many walls also have insulation in them.
Mice love to use insulation as a material to build their nests.
When mice rest in your walls, it’s usually obvious.
You can often hear them scurrying around at night.
It’s worth checking for holes to try and determine where the mice might be coming from.
They’ll likely be close to the kitchen to get easy access to food.
If you can’t find a mouse you’ve seen at night during the day, then there’s a chance that it might be inside your walls.
Conclusion
Mice are great at climbing, swimming, and burrowing.
Their strong nails and tails make climbing vertical surfaces possible.
Luckily, you can use some of the methods above to try and deter mice from climbing your walls.
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