When the temperatures drop in South Louisiana, you might wonder, Do mice hibernate in the winter? It’s a fair question, especially if you’ve started hearing scurrying noises in your walls or found fresh droppings behind the pantry.
The short answer: No, mice don’t hibernate. Instead, they stay active all winter long, and your warm, food-filled home becomes their ideal escape from the cold.
Key Takeaways
• Mice do not hibernate during the winter; they remain active and seek out warm indoor shelters like attics, garages, and basements.
• Cold temperatures drive mice indoors, where they search for food, nesting materials, and hidden spaces to reproduce.
• Signs of a mouse infestation include droppings, scratching noises, nesting materials, and gnawed food packaging.
• Professional pest control is often necessary to fully eliminate a mouse problem, as DIY methods may not address the root causes or prevent future entry.
What Mice Do During the Winter Months
While some animals slow down or sleep through the colder months, house mice and field mice take a different approach. As the cold weather sets in, they start looking for shelter, food sources, and safe places to build nests. That’s where your attic, garage, and even basements come into play.
Mice are hardy survivors. Rather than lowering their body temperature or metabolic rate like true hibernators, they seek out warm indoor spots and keep right on moving, chewing, and reproducing. Unlike animals that store food for the season, mice rely on daily access to food, often inside your home.
Why You Might Notice More Mouse Activity in Colder Months
In Southern Louisiana, winter temperatures rarely dip into the deep freeze. But even a small drop is enough to send mice on the hunt for shelter. During this time of year, homeowners may notice increased mouse activity around baseboards or tucked behind appliances.
Common signs of mice include:
• Tiny mouse droppings (they look like black grains of rice)
• Nesting materials like shredded insulation or paper
• Gnawed food packaging
• Scratching or scurrying in walls, ceilings, or attics
If you find any of these, you might have a mouse infestation on your hands.
Where Mice Hide to Escape Cold Temperatures
Once they’re inside, mice don’t just hang out in obvious places. They burrow deep into the quietest, most undisturbed parts of your home, behind baseboards, under appliances, in the attic, inside walls, or tucked in garage clutter. We often find them nesting near stored pet food or unsealed containers in pantries. They often choose places where humans rarely go, making them harder to spot.
They’re small and sneaky, and they only need an opening the size of a dime to squeeze through.
How to Keep Mice Out of Your Home This Winter
The best time to stop a mouse problem is before it starts. Sealing access points around your home, especially around the garage and attic, can go a long way in keeping rodents out. Use steel wool or other durable materials to block small holes; they’ll chew right through softer stuff.
Keep food sealed tightly in containers, clean up crumbs, and store pet food in rodent-proof bins. These steps reduce the food sources that attract mice in the first place. Don’t forget: Even during the warmer months, these habits help keep pests away year-round.
If you’re already hearing the tell-tale sounds of little feet, or you’ve found droppings in the pantry, it’s time to act quickly. A single pair of mice can give birth to hundreds of offspring in a year, meaning a small problem can become a big one fast.
Why Professional Rodent Control Makes a Difference
DIY traps might catch one or two mice, but they won’t fix a full-blown mouse infestation. At LaJaunie’s Pest Control, we take rodent control seriously. We inspect attics, garages, and basements for entry points, seal off access, and place bait stations strategically around your home to keep mouse activity under control.
And because mice don’t hibernate, our pest control services offer year-round protection, with follow-up visits included to ensure those unwanted guests stay gone.
If you suspect you’ve got a mouse problem, or you just want peace of mind as the temperatures drop, get in touch. Whether you’re in Thibodaux, Metairie, or anywhere else in South Louisiana, we’ve got a technician ready to inspect your home and provide expert rodent control services.
Let’s make sure mice spend the winter outside where they belong.
