Mice After the First Freeze in Colorado Springs

In Colorado Springs the first freeze usually shows up around the start of October, according to KOAA's weather team. Within a couple of weeks, the calls about scratching in the walls and droppings in the pantry pick up.

None of this is mysterious. Mice spend the summer outside, there are more of them by fall, and when it turns cold they head for the warmest building with a way in.

Where they spend the summer

In warm months, field mice live in grass, scrub oak, garden beds and the open space that runs through and around the city. House mice hang around garages, sheds, woodpiles and decks. Food is everywhere: seeds, bugs, bird feeders, the dog's bowl on the patio.

What the cold changes

The Springs has a semi-arid climate with wide swings. Chinook winds can warm a winter day fast, and a fall afternoon can drop into a freezing night. Once nights get that cold, seed heads are dry, cover thins out, and a warm house with a gap at the garage door is the best deal around. Per the CDC, some rodents fit through a hole no bigger than a dime.

Which houses get them first

Homes backing onto grassland and trails, like a lot of Briargate, Falcon and the east side along Powers, see field mice in garages early. Older homes on the West Side and in Security-Widefield leak at the foundation and around old utility holes. Homes in the pines and foothills, from Black Forest to Rockrimmon, get deer mice and the occasional pack rat.

Late-summer checklist

August and early September are the time to do this, before the first cold snap. Most of this is a weekend with a flashlight:

• Replace the garage door bottom seal and check the corners for daylight
• Pack metal mesh into gaps around the gas line, AC lines and hose bibs, then seal
• Make sure dryer and bath vent flaps close
• Move firewood away from the house and up off the ground
• Store pet food, bird seed and grass seed in metal cans that close tight
• Get storage boxes in the garage and basement up on shelves

If they beat you to it

Set snap traps along walls where you see droppings. Bait, if any, goes only in locked, tamper-resistant stations. Clean up droppings without sweeping or vacuuming: gloves on, disinfectant on, five minutes, then paper towels. If you might have deer mice, follow the extra steps on the hantavirus cleanup guide.

If mice keep coming, the gaps are still open. That's when a provider earns their money: mouse removal and entry sealing.

Related services: Mouse Removal, Entry Sealing and Exclusion, Mice and Pack Rats in Garages and Vehicles