Just from the TV shows and cartoons, a mouse is a tricky and destructive little creature. Keeping mice off your patio furniture requires some skills and patience. Try to use natural measures to prevent mice before you go to chemicals and tough traps. The cushions and the wicker materials are patio furniture that are more vulnerable to mice.
Mice will move into patio furniture during the cold seasons to look for food and shelter. Sometimes, mice move into patio furniture to file down their two front teeth by chewing on the soft parts of your furniture.
If the patio furniture has a hole, it will make a good place for the mice to store their food.
Below are ideas for handling the mice that are within your patio furniture.
Natural Ways of Keeping Mice off your Patio Furniture
- Wrap your patio furniture
If you live in an area that receives winter, you must wrap your patio furniture during this cold season. Wrap the furniture with a plastic sheet or use a shrink wrap. Make sure you wrap the bottom side of the furniture because there is the main entrance for mice.
Wrap the patio furniture individually and avoid stack wrapping. If you stack wrap, the mice can get an opening where they will enter the stack of the patio furniture. Remember to create a small vent hole of about two centimeters after wrapping the furniture. Cover the vent hole with a mosquito wire mesh.
- Use peppermint oils
A mouse has a very sharp sense of smell, but the peppermint scent is very bad for it. Sprinkle peppermint oils around your patio and around small holes on your patio furniture. However, try another method if you have pets that also have a sharp sense of smell like the dog or a rabbit.
Make sure your patio is clean before you sprinkle this oil, or else the dust and dirt will neutralize the effect of the peppermint oil.
- Keep your patio clean
Most homeowners find time to clean their patios on weekends. But if you have a mice problem, it is best if you clean it twice a week. Avoid dropping food staff on the floor or leaving sugary stuff like sweets on patio tables.
If you want to leave sweets and biscuits for your guests then put them is a hard-to-open glass container. Remove a clutter of old magazines and newspapers because it is the best hiding place for the mice.
- Store patio cushions
Yes, cushions add elegance to your patio, but they also attract mice onto your patio. Store your patio cushions indoors when they are not in use. Make sure you store these cushions in a plastic-covered box, or else the mice will still find their way. Sprinkle some peppermint oils on the cushions if you leave them outdoor.
- Fill up open holes
If you see any open hole on your patio deck or under the patio try and fill it. There are several ways of filling patio holes. You can use steel wool because it is made of hard material that a mouse cannot chew through. You can also use a brick and cement. Avoid using soft materials like cardboard, carton boxes, and paper since a mouse can chew through this material.
- Light up your patio
You can use bulbs that will be on the whole night because mice are scared of bright lights. Many homeowners and economists recommend you use solar-powered lights to save on energy costs and they are environmentally friendly.
But psychologists say that this is not the best method because over time the mice will be used to the lights and they will just move around even if they are on.
- Get a cat
This is the traditional method of keeping off mice. Only a sound of a cat will scare the mice away. A cat is a predator to the mice and it has sharp reflex actions that can catch a mouse. However, a cat can get tired and sleep then the mice take advantage. So get a cat and use other prevention methods like wrapping your patio furniture.
- Open up your landscape
A landscape like the fence hedges can be part of your patio. So cut down some overgrown hedges to remove hiding places for mice. You can also reduce the leaves on the patio plants and flowers to reduce the hiding places for the mice.
You can also put landscaping lights close to your hedge to scare away the mice at night.
- Regularly empty the trash bins and compost pits
Mice will make a place their breeding ground if it has plenty of food. Trash bins and compost pits have a lot of food staff for mice. Mice from these places can migrate to your patio. So regularly empty them to prevent the mice from making a home in these trash bins and compost pits.
But a compost pit is hard to empty all the time, so the best option is the burn the trash in it every day.
- Use gutter guards
A gutter is the biggest highway road for mice, it gives mice access road to the patio. Gutter guards are made with steel-like material that is hard for the mice to chew through. Gutter guards also help you to clean the gutter easily because they trap dry leaves and debris.
- Use mice traps
Set good mice traps on your patio by using cheese or peanut as bait. Make sure you place the trap at a safe place like under the patio chairs and table where nobody can step on it. A mouse trap can cause a bad injury to humans especially children.
Regularly check the trap to see if it has captured a victim, or else there can be a dead mouse that will start smelling. If there is no mouse caught, change the bait because it will also start rotting and producing a bad smell.
Conclusion
Mice are destructive creatures to patio furniture especially the wicker and patio cushions. Use natural prevention measures before you decide on chemical pest control methods. All of the above methods will keep mice off your patio furniture, but cleaning is the best prevention method. Make sure you regularly clean your patio and keep food leftovers off the patio table.