There have been many discussions on the internet about “Do dog doors let in mice?” Many people believe that a lot of these doors do.
Well, the direct answer is YES! Naturally, any access point to a house is a route that mice could use to enter your home.
You need to take precautions against this so it doesn’t happen in your house and you get rid of the mouse problem before it gets out of hand!
Please read on for tips on how you can avoid mice coming into the house through dog doors. By the end of this article, you should have a good idea of what to do to prevent a mouse infestation due to your pet’s door.
Table of Contents
How The Mice Get Into Your Home
The most important thing is to make sure that you understand how a mouse can enter your home through a dog door.
Before the mouse enters a home, he or she must find a way into it. Dogs naturally use their doggy doors to get out and back in again.
This is how most people think that mice come inside with their dog. But it’s not so.
Mice are creatures of habit and tend to travel along a route that they know well. It is no different for a mouse who follows your dog’s scent to get inside your home through the dog door.
This is why you can’t simply keep the dog door closed at all times (unless you want to keep your pet outside for long periods of time, which we don’t recommend!).
Mice can still come inside when the pet door is closed if they have followed your pet regularly enough to know that there is an open path leading into the house from the outside.
To prevent mice from entering the house through your pet’s door, you will have to make sure that there is not a direct path into your home from the outside.
You must block off any area around the pet door so that no mice can crawl through this space.
If there are a number of dog doors leading into the garden, then it will be very important to close off all of them and even seal up cracks between tiles or bricks with thick tape before spending money on buying traps.
The key to stopping mice from coming through your pet’s door is to stop them from getting into your home from the outside.
If you can keep them out, then they will not be able to get into your house through the dog door. They will be unable to find their way back in through another door leading into your home.
You must make sure that there is no doggy door left open for them!
Here are some ways you can make sure a mouse doesn’t come through your pet’s door:
1) Make it difficult
Make it difficult for mice to figure out how to get inside.
There might be other paths that mice could use to get inside your home which are not linked to your pet’s door.
You can try to block off all of these paths in order to protect yourself from an infestation. You will need to be careful when doing this, however, as you don’t want to make it difficult for a human being just as much as you don’t want it difficult for the mice!
2) Mouse Proof Doors
Use a dog door with built-in mouse-proofing features.
It’s difficult to find a dog door that’s guaranteed to be mouse-proof. Many of the best ones have some sort of door on the inside of your house that prevents mice from getting in.
Some people also use detachable covers which close the dog door when it is not in use.
This can help to repel mice because they can’t see an easy way into the house through this pet door!
3) Air Flow
Use a dog door with a flap system that allows you to regulate airflow.
In order for a mouse to enter your house, they need to be able to squeeze through any gaps they find, whether big or small.
Having a pet door with a flap system that allows you to control the amount of airflow going through it means you can adjust it to the point that it still allows your dog and cat to get in, but it is so small that a mouse can’t squeeze through.
4) Pet Food
Don’t put your pet’s food out on the floor until after you have blocked off all mouse-related points of entry!
This might not be an option for many pet owners because this is how many dogs prefer to eat.
But if you’re battling a mouse infestation at home and don’t want it to spread, then you may have no choice but to place your dog or cat’s food onto some sort of table outside or inside your house. Do it only if you can guarantee that mice cannot get into your house at all times.
If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there are no mice, and your pet’s door is absolutely mouse-proof, then there is no need for any further action.
Your dog and cat should not need to be locked up or kept out of the house! But many pet owners do get a mouse infestation from their dog or pet doors, so it’s important to know what to do about it.
There are many things they can do in order to prevent a mouse infestation in general. But you should never try to trap a mouse under your pet’s door. This is never going to work! You need to take proactive steps in order to prevent this from happening.
5) Mouse Repellent
Use a mouse repellent with your pet door.
There are many commercial repellents on the market that help to deter mice from entering houses through dog doors.
Some of these are natural mothballs, another common repellent is citronella, while there are also some which utilize other plant extracts in the form of essential oils instead.
Other chemical repellents like those found in commercial cat flea collars can also work well as a preventative measure in fending off mice from entering your home.
It’s important to use these natural products because many of the chemical-based ones have the potential to be toxic to both humans and animals! So make sure you do your research before buying any!
6) Clean your pet’s door periodically.
You should clean the dog door every day if they use it regularly. Ideally, it should be cleaned using an anti-microbial solution.
This will keep the dog and cat door as sanitary as possible! If there is any dirt or dust on the outside of the flap, these organisms will not be repelled by any chemical repellents used inside of the house, so make sure to keep it clean!
7) Use When Needed
Don’t use your dog door for long periods of time without actually having your dog or cat go through it.
If you use a pet door and never let your dog or cat go out through it, then there is no way a mouse can get in if you have done everything else right!
It’s best to only open the pet door when you really need to.
Make sure to keep the flap closed at all times when not in use, as this will keep a mouse from being able to sneak around the outside of your house.
Do not leave this flap open when not in use as it will make it easier for mice to come scampering inside!
8) Know The Weak Spots
Make sure you know where the entrances to your house are.
Mice will always be looking for a way into your house, so make sure you know what these entrance points are and how to secure them.
As long as they don’t find their way in, then there is not going to be a problem with mice coming through a pet door!
9) Clean it Tidy.
Even if you have no mice near you but just want to prevent one from trying to find its way inside, keep the pet door clear of debris and clutter around it.
If it is not possible to make sure that there are no points of entry or exits that would allow mice inside of your house, then you will need to check on new spaces they might try and sneak through.
10) Get Help
When you think you have a mouse problem, get help from a professional immediately.
It can be really tricky to determine if there is a mouse infestation in your home, and sometimes even professionals have trouble figuring it out.
Most pet owners actually do not need to spend money on getting help from a professional in dealing with a mouse infestation outside of their home.
In Conclusion
If you want to stop mice from entering your home through the dog door, you need to do all the points listed above.
This way, you are making sure of a safe home for you and your animal and the whole family can live peacefully and comfortably.
Furthermore, you are also protecting your pet’s health since you won’t have to worry about any potential diseases that may be brought into your house by mice.
