How to keep rodents out of your shed this winter

Updated August 29th, 2024

With winter fast approaching, we thought we’d look at something that concerns some of our more jumpy customers. The sudden onset of cold weather can make small, furry critters look for new shelter to bunker down into. This can be your shed if you’re not prepared, so today we’re here to look at how to reduce the chances of this happening. As someone who experienced this to a ridiculous degree last year (TWENTY-SIX LITTLE FECKERS IN TOTAL), I think I’m more than equipped to talk you through minimising your mouse materialisation prospects.

Don’t build your shed next to a wall

We never advise that you build your shed next to a wall. There are a loads of reasons for this, as we’ve already discussed here, but one of the big ones is that it’s an ideal nesting spot for rodents. The gap between the wall and the shed is small, sheltered and generally undisturbed during the Winter months. If you were looking for somewhere to sit out the Winter, there would be a lot of places that’d be worse than this.

If you’ve already erected your shed against a wall, we’d advise that you do routine checks during the Winter and place down traps, if necessary.

 

Seal-off access points

Mice are small, but their skeletons are tiny. They can squeeze in through the smallest of spaces without issue. Trust me. We had a whole family make regular appearances in my house last year through a crack in the side of an unused fireplace that was no larger than a 10 cent coin. Once we discovered this and sealed it up with expanding foam, we pretty much prevented the larger mice from accessing the house.

Just a heads up, expanding foam can be tricky to work with. It may not look like a lot is coming out of the tube, but using too much can cause problems to the structure of the wall/flooring etc. Use it carefully, start off small and, if needed,  add more after the first small application has dried up completely. We found that mixing wire wool through the foam was extra helpful. Mice hate wire wool.

Generally speaking, steel sheds aren’t as attractive as wooden ones for our cheese-loving friends and the access points in them are far fewer. With wooden sheds, keep an eye on your skirting, and add chicken wire laced with wire wool underneath if necessary.

Get rid of bedding

If you havethings like sleeping bags, foam boards, packed hay or anything else that could act as bedding, get rid of it. Keep an eye on carboard boxes too, especially any filled with newspapers or the like; these are perfect spots for rodents to bed into. Store any essential bedding materials in metal boxes (like our outdoor storage box) that they won’t be able to access. Keep your shed as comfort-free for them as possible and they won’t be as inclined to stay long.

Don’t keep food in your shed

Probably the biggest draw to your shed will be a source of food. Mice will be happy to chew away at seeds or bird feed if they find any lying around in your shed. Pet food is probably the biggest attractor. If you store yours in the shed, keep it inside it’s original bag, inside a plastic container with a secure lid – and if possible, inside another storage unit. A food source will encourage mice to stay put in your shed. Cut it out and they’ll be on their way quick enough.

 

Traps

There are two options

No-Kill Traps

I tried two of these first to little success. I caught three mice in one on the first night and released them in a local park. Because of ones’ distinct colourings, I quickly recognised that I was was just giving them a lift to have some fun in the park, and that they were following me home.

 

Standard Traps

Standard mouse traps are probably the most effective method in clearing out a colony. From experience, I’d avoid against the cheap, wooden ones. These are finnicky to use, the food doesn’t always stay in place you will catch your finger at least once and they’re generally single-use only (unless you’re comfortably cleaning body parts off them). The larger, plastic ones, are effective and the most humane option. The small, ‘clicker’ types, in my experience trapped the mice, but didn’t cleanly finish the job, meaning I’d to follow trails of awfulness to find the critter in question.

 

Sonic Deterrents

There are plugins that emit noises at frequencies that humans or dogs/cats can’t hear – but which can really annoy mice. They only really work to keep mice away, however. If the mice has found a food and bedding location, they’ll generally tolerate the noise. If you have cleared out – or don’t want the mice to appear in the first instance, these are a great option. Just remember, you’ll need a mains-power source for these to work.

 

 

Get a cat (or a terrier)

If you’re really paranoid about rodents, then it might be time to invest in a cat. Not just amazing companions, cats are great at hunting unwanted pests in your garden, and it serves as great exercise for them. Think of a cat as your garden sheds own personal bouncer or an episode of Tom and Jerry, except this time Jerry gets eaten.

Terriers are also a great shout, although they seem to go a little overboard and from what I’ve been told, the clean up can be a hassle. “How did he get it up there?!”, etc.

 

No guarantees

While we can’t guarantee that all of the above will work, I’d have to imagine that it’d be some Arnold Schwarzenegger-style mouse that’d survive that lot and keep coming back. In which case, it’s clearly his shed now.
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