Do Mice Like Cold Rooms?

Do mice like cold rooms? Can you get rid of mice in your home by turning off the heating?

Do you have a problem with mice coming into your home and are looking for a solution? I’ve heard a lot of people say that making it too cold for mice will make them find somewhere else to nest.

This isn’t strictly true, and it’s certainly not a reliable way to get rid of mice. Also, making your home cold isn’t exactly comfortable for you and anyone else living there.

There are certainly more effective ways to find where mice are hiding out in your home and get rid of them.

Do Mice Like Cold Rooms?

Mice don’t like cold rooms, no. But it’s not going to stop them entering a room, especially if they think there is a food source in there.

The main reason why mice enter homes and particular rooms is to search for food. They will do some pretty extreme things to eat, so cutting off the food source is much more important than making it cold.

Plus, they will make a nest and huddle together to make some warmth if the room or space they’ve found is too cold.

This is why they are able to live in wall cavities and small crawl spaces. They find a tight spot, add some nesting materials, and huddle together out of sight.

What Temperature Is Too Cold for Mice?

I’m not sure exactly what temperature is too cold for mice. What I do know is that during the autumn and winter months when it’s getting colder, they are more likely to try and find shelter from the outdoors.

Mice don’t hibernate, so they need to adapt as the weather changes. In the summer, they’re happy to burrow underground.

During the winter, however, they are going to get braver – or more desperate – and much more likely to find shelter in your shed, home, and anywhere else indoors.

No matter how cold you think your shed or garage is, it’s going to be a few degrees warmer than outdoors.

Where Do Mice Hide in the Winter?

As I’ve already mentioned, mice will find shelter indoors as the temperature drops outdoors. Some of the most common places they hide in the winter are:

Attics/roofing – The attic is often the warmest part of a home. Heat rises, and it’s usually insulated, so it’s the perfect place for mice to snuggle up and nest in some warmth.

Inside walls – Mice seem to love getting into cavity walls and between walls. It makes it very difficult to get to them and shelters them against the elements so it makes sense.

Sheds – Sheds are typically one of the easiest structures for mice to inhabit. They aren’t airtight, often have plenty of entry points, and provide decent shelter.

Garages – Similar to sheds, garages are usually easy for mice to get into and they provide some good shelter. If you also store food in your garage, expect to see some munch marks.

Basements – Another classic hiding place, and if you don’t go down into your basement often they’ll populate quickly.

Indoors – This is a nightmare for most people. The warmest place for mice in the winter is in your home somewhere.

Crawl spaces – Crawl spaces are hollow areas underneath floors. They make perfect hiding places for mice where you won’t be able to easily get to them.

Are There More Mice in the Summer or Winter?

Mice do not have breeding seasons or populate more when it’s either warm or cold. They breed all year round and can populate at a rapid pace if they have good shelter and food.

When a female mouse gets pregnant, it takes around 20 days for her to give birth to a litter. A litter will typically be between 6-8 mouse pups, so you can get an idea of how quickly an infestation can break out.

You’re more likely to see mice coming into your home in the winter because warmth and food is harder to come by outdoors.

It’s not that there are more mice, it’s simply that they are becoming more desperate and willing to search harder for food.

If you’re combating a mice problem, you should take steps to catch them all year round. Not just in the winter when you see them. This will help you keep their numbers down.

In Summary

It’s not really a matter of whether or not mice like cold rooms, if they’re more likely to enter warm rooms, etc.

Mice will enter a room to find food regardless of how warm or cold it is.

Sure, they are more likely to find somewhere warm to sleep. But thinking a room is too cold for a mouse isn’t a sensible way to approach thinking they will not be in your home.

If anything, the cold is more likely to make mice enter your home, as I discussed above. You need to cut off the main reason why mice go places, food.

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Image credits – Header image by Alexas_Fotos and in-body image by Aleksei Kardakov on Pixabay.com