mice in house
 

so a few weeks ago, my wife caught a mouse in the pantry. Of all the things in there, the fury guy went after a Reese's peanut buttercup. She caught it with a cup and was able shoo him out the front door.

Last week, he or another mouse and a few friends came back. Again in the pantry but going for coffee crsip. I made a stop by Homedepot and got some live mouse traps. That night after setting up with coffee crisp as bait we caught 3 in the trap. This time we drove a few km's away and let them go in the park. We caught one more a couple nights later and i'm pretty sure we got the whole gang. (this gang anyway). Haven't seen any poop droppings since.

My question is how the heck they got in. I know they can get through the smallest hole or crack. I've searched all around the house along the foundation and up the walls but can't see how they could've got in. We have no trees, bush or tall grass up against the house.
I did notice that our front door has a gap under it as you can see in the pictures.
Could a mouse get under that small gap and have enough strength to push his was under the sweep? (i'v adjusted that sweep since so that it now actually sweeps)

sorry to not offer a solution or any help in this post but I just have to say that your wife is tough man! my gf would have left the house and called me sitting in a car blocks away. lol.

I believe a mouse can fit under there.

Can't really answer your question but if your house is below ground, mice and rats easily get in somehow from the outside.

Generally, if a mouse or a rat can fit its skull through an opening, then the rest of its body can as well. A dime or a penny as a reference is good.

I don't think it could get through that door sweep. I'd be more worried about ants getting under that though. lol.

My wife surprised me when she said she caught it and kicked him out. I would have expected her to go running for the hills.

I'm sure hoping this is the way they were getting in. We'll know in the next while if it was. No ants or any other bugs getting in though

Get a cat. Use it to kill mice then kill the cat when ur done for pork bun.

check around the plumbing in your kitchen/pantry area. any gaps should be filled.

Did you leave your door open for a time period during hot weather?

any gaps under the sink from plumbing etc i will be covering up or plugging up with steel wool.
it's been almost a week and no sign of any mice. Thank god.
We never leave the door open during hot weather. Too many bugs come flying in. We open up most of the windows, and they all have screens

I had the same problem with mice in our house. Couldn't figure out where they were coming from until I laid out traps in the rooms downstairs and blocked each doorway to keep them from going into other areas. Once I determined which room they were getting in through, I crawled all around the room with a flashlight and a screwdriver. They were getting in through the garage and underneath the dividing wall of that room. The floor had settled enough to give a small gap for the mice to come in through.

How small would you say that gap was? Similar to that gap under my front door?

I think the gap was a little bigger, it doesn't take much of a hole for a mouse to get through. Since you've already covered up the open space, you might have stopped them. Leave a little dab of peanut butter near where you've seen them before and keep an eye on it for any signs of a mouse nibbling at it. If nothing happens, you found the entrance.

Or you could move the sweep back up and put glue traps on the inside of the door so if they come in, they would get caught on the traps...............

you should also check for electrical wire damage in the areas the mice have been.