Do Mice Burrow in Mattresses?

Do mice burrow in mattresses? Is this something you should be concerned about, or have you had a problem with mice chewing their way into your mattress?

There are few things more annoying than having mice coming into your bedroom while you sleep, or climbing on your bed for that matter.

If you have mice burrowing into your mattress this is a serious issue. If you’re talking about a mattress that’s in storage, it’s still a problem as they are going to destroy the mattress.

However, fear not as there are some things you can do to stop mice ruining your mattresses as I’ll explain.

Why Do Mice Burrow in Mattresses?

There are a couple of reasons why mice like burrowing into mattresses;

Firstly, assuming there is a decent amount of padding on the mattress it provides a perfect, snuggly nesting place for them.

If they find a mattress in storage they will go unnoticed until you inspect it. If it’s a mattress on your bed this is more unusual, but I have heard of it happening.

Secondly, mattresses are easy for them to chew through. Mice can chew through almost anything that isn’t solid like metal, concrete, and so on.

I will cover in more detail how to deter them from chewing mattresses further on in the article.

How to Keep Mice out of Mattresses

If you want to keep mice out of your mattress, bed, or bedroom for that matter there are a few things you can do to safeguard yourself.

I recommend ridding your home of mice altogether. I’m sure that’s what you want too, right?

Here are 3 main steps to go through:

Step 1 – Find out why mice like coming into your room

There is usually a reason mice frequent a certain area, and it’s usually for food. Maybe it’s time for a good spring clean.

Don’t leave out dirty plates and dishes, and certainly, no opened and uneaten food. If you remove the food source, you’ll almost certainly remove the mice problem.

Step 2 – Find out how mice are getting into your home

I’ve covered various ways mice find entry into homes on this blog before. Check out my other posts; why mice come into homes, signs that you have mice in your home, and how mice get through windows.

When you find out how they are getting in you can block up their entry point. Just make sure you do it with materials they cannot chew through!

Step 3 – Use humane traps if necessary

If the mice are persistent and blocking off their entry point wasn’t enough to stop them getting into your home it’s time to roll out the traps.

Please use humane traps or try an ultrasonic alarm first. There’s no need to harm any mice that are just trying to survive.

Mouse Proof Mattress Covers

Failing all of the above, you can use a mattress cover that’s mouse proof if it will help you sleep better knowing the little creatures aren’t going to attack your mattress.

Maybe you have a mattress in storage, aren’t home much, or have some other reason too. Using a cover that mice will find very difficult, or hopefully impossible to chew through is a good idea.

While there aren’t any materials that are both comfortable enough to sleep on and protect a mattress from mice entirely, the best I could find is this mattress protector:

Premium Zipped Mattress Encasement

It’s made from a thick knitted polyester fabric. Now, mice could chew through this, there aren’t many materials they can’t chew through to be honest.

I think it’s your best line of defense however. Unless there is something in your mattress attracting mice I highly doubt they are going to work their way through this protector.

You’ll also see other protectors in the comparable items on Amazon. Take a look and see if there is another one that suits you more. I recommend picking up something like this, it should do the trick.

Click here to see this mattress protector on Amazon.

Heavy Duty Mattress Storage Bag

If you want to keep a mattress in storage safe from mice and other rodents then this 400 gauge heavy duty polythene storage bag should keep them out.

I used one of these when moving house to protect my mattress. They are extremely thick and durable. Sure to extend the life of any mattress in storage.

Click here to see this mattress storage bag on Amazon.

Can Mice Live in Box Springs?

Box springs are the bases that mattresses lay on top of. They don’t always have springs in nowadays, although people still commonly call them box springs.

Mice can also take to living in box springs. So, if you have seen signs of mice in your room I’d check inside your box spring too.

There isn’t the padding and comfort of a mattress in most box springs. But it’s a lot quieter in there, keeps them out of danger, and I’ve heard of plenty of instances of mice living in box springs unnoticed for weeks, or even months.