Mice in kitchen cabinets: what to do now

Opening a cupboard to find droppings next to the cereal, or a chewed corner on a bag of rice, turns your stomach. Mice in kitchen cabinets are one of the most common reasons Ottawa homeowners call us once the weather turns cold. Here is how they get in, what to throw out, how to clean up safely, and how to get rid of them for good.

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Mice in your kitchen cabinets: the short answer

If you find droppings, chewed packaging or shredded paper in your kitchen cabinets, mice are travelling through your kitchen at night, and they have found a route from the walls into the cupboards. Clear out and clean the affected cabinets, move food into hard containers, and book mouse control. The mice are almost never living only in the cabinet: the cupboard is where they feed, and the nest is usually in a wall, under the cabinets, behind the dishwasher or in the basement.

That is why cleaning alone does not fix it. The droppings come back within days, because the mice are still in the house and the gap they use is still open. Getting rid of them means treating where they live and travel, and then sealing the way in.

How do mice get into kitchen cabinets?

Mice can squeeze through a gap about the width of a pencil. In most kitchens, the routes into the cabinets are hidden behind or underneath them:

• Pipe holes under the sink: the openings cut for water lines and the drain are often much bigger than the pipes, leaving a gap straight into the wall.
• The toe-kick space under the lower cabinets, which is open to the floor and often to the wall cavity behind.
• Gaps behind the dishwasher, stove and fridge, where power, gas and water lines come through the wall.
• The back of the cabinets, which is often thin or open to the wall, especially in older kitchens.
• Gaps around heating ducts, vents and baseboard heaters near the kitchen.
• Openings from the basement: gaps around pipes and wires passing up through the floor into the kitchen.

Those inside routes connect to entry points on the outside of the house, such as gaps around utility lines, worn door sweeps, garage-door seals and gaps at the foundation. Our guide on how mice get in and how to keep them out shows the most common ones.

Signs of mice in kitchen cabinets

Mice are active at night and quiet in the day, so most people find the signs before they see a mouse. Check for:

• Droppings: small, dark and rice-shaped, about the size of a grain of rice, often in the back corners of cupboards, in drawers, on shelves and under the sink.
• Chewed packaging: small holes or torn corners in bags of cereal, rice, pasta, crackers, flour, nuts, chocolate or pet food.
• Scattered food: crumbs, seeds or kibble pulled into corners or behind boxes.
• Shredded paper towel, napkins or cardboard in a drawer or under the sink, which can be the start of a nest.
• Gnaw marks on cabinet edges, the backs of drawers, or plastic containers.
• A musty, stale smell when you open the cupboard.
• Greasy smudge marks along the edges where mice brush past, and droppings along the baseboards or behind the stove.
• Scratching or rustling in the walls or under the cabinets at night.

If you are not sure the droppings are from mice, our guide to the signs of mice in the house shows how mouse droppings compare with others, and our guide to scratching in the walls at night explains what those noises mean.

Why are mice in my kitchen cabinets in the fall and winter?

As Ottawa nights turn cold in October and November, mice look for warm shelter, and a house is the best option around. Once inside, they look for food and water, and the kitchen has both. Cabinets are perfect for them: dark, quiet, close to the warmth of appliances, and full of food in paper and thin plastic packaging.

Homes next to fields, ravines, the greenbelt or new construction often see mice earlier in the season. Subdivisions in Kanata, Stittsville, Barrhaven and Orléans are common examples, but older homes in the city core get mice too, through aging foundations and gaps around pipes. If you saw a mouse before you found the droppings, our guide on what to do if you saw a mouse in the house covers your first night.

Is food safe to eat if mice got into the cabinet?

Mouse droppings and urine can carry germs, so be cautious. Public health agencies in Canada and the United States give simple advice for food in an area where mice have been:

• Throw out any food in a package that has been chewed, has droppings on it, or looks wet or stained. This includes paper, cardboard and thin plastic packaging.
• Throw out loose food, such as fruit, bread or nuts, that was left out in the cupboard.
• Food in sealed cans and glass jars can usually be kept: wash the outside well with soap and water, or a disinfectant, before opening.
• Wash dishes, pots and utensils from the affected cabinet in hot, soapy water before using them.
• When in doubt, throw it out. If anyone gets sick after eating food mice may have touched, see a doctor and mention the mice.

How to clean kitchen cabinets after mice

Do not sweep or vacuum dry droppings: that can stir dust into the air. Public health guidance in Canada recommends wet cleaning instead:

• Open windows and air out the kitchen for a while before you start, especially if a cupboard has been closed up for a long time.
• Wear rubber or disposable gloves, and a mask if there are a lot of droppings or a nest.
• Empty the cabinet completely and bag any food or packaging that mice have touched.
• Spray droppings, urine stains and nesting material with a household disinfectant or a diluted bleach solution, and let it soak for several minutes.
• Wipe it up with paper towels, put everything in a plastic bag, seal it, and put it in the outside garbage.
• Wash the shelves, walls and doors of the cabinet with disinfectant, then wash your gloves before taking them off, and wash your hands well.
• Deer mice, which are common near fields and wooded edges, can carry hantavirus. If you are cleaning a large amount in a closed-up space, or anyone feels unwell after cleaning, see a doctor.

Write down which cabinets had droppings and where they were heaviest. It helps your technician find the route the mice are using.

What to do right now

These steps take food away from the mice and make treatment work faster:

• Move dry food, including cereal, rice, pasta, flour, snacks, baking supplies and pet food, into hard plastic, glass or metal containers with tight lids.
• Keep food off the counters overnight, including fruit bowls and bread.
• Take out garbage every night and keep the kitchen bin closed.
• Clean behind and under the stove and fridge, where crumbs and grease build up.
• Do not leave pet food out overnight, and store bags of kibble and birdseed in sealed bins.
• Fix leaks under the sink. Mice need water as well as food.
• Check other likely spots: the pantry, the basement, the laundry room, and the garage if you have one.
• Book mouse control online. The sooner the mice are treated, the less they breed and the less cleanup you face.

What not to do about mice in your cabinets

• Do not put poison in your kitchen cabinets or anywhere children and pets can reach. Loose bait near food is a risk for everyone in the house, and mice that eat it can die inside the walls, leaving a smell that can last for weeks.
• Do not rely on peppermint oil, dryer sheets or plug-in sound devices. They are popular online, but they do not get rid of an established mouse problem.
• Do not seal the holes under the sink before the mice are dealt with. Trapping mice inside the walls can push them to chew new holes, sometimes into another cabinet.
• Do not plug gaps with spray foam, steel wool alone, caulk or newspaper. Mice chew through or pull out soft materials.
• Do not ignore it and hope they leave in spring. Mice breed quickly, and a kitchen with food and shelter is a year-round home.

How many mice are in my kitchen?

Usually more than one. Mice live in family groups and breed quickly, and they are good at staying out of sight. Droppings in more than one cabinet, droppings that come back the day after you clean, or signs in the basement as well as the kitchen all point to several mice and a regular route.

If you find much larger droppings, about the size of a raisin, or bigger holes in packaging or cabinet backs, it may be rats rather than mice. Rat droppings are much larger, and rats leave bigger gnaw holes. Our mouse and rat control covers both, and rats can need more stations and more follow-up, so we confirm the price after the inspection if the job is larger than a standard treatment.

How professional mouse control works in a kitchen

Professional mouse control deals with the mice where they live and travel, not just where they feed. Here is what a visit looks like with us:

• Inspect: we check the kitchen, the cabinets, behind appliances, the basement, the attic access, the garage and the outside of the house for droppings, runways and entry points.
• Treat: tamper-resistant, locked bait stations go where mice travel, away from children and pets, and we tell you where every station is. We do not put loose bait in your cabinets, and we do not use snap traps or glue traps.
• Seal: small gaps are sealed with steel mesh on the first visit, and you get a photo report of the entry points we find.
• Follow up: we come back to check activity and top up or adjust the stations.

You do not need to leave the house or empty your whole kitchen for the visit. The bait works over several days, so most homes see activity drop within a week or two.

Keeping mice out of your kitchen for good

Once the mice are gone, closing the gaps is what stops the next ones. The most important spots for kitchen cabinets are the pipe holes under the sink and behind appliances, which are best packed with copper or steel mesh and sealed over. On the outside, check door sweeps, the garage-door seal, and gaps around pipes, cables and vents. Our winter mouse-proofing checklist walks through the house from the outside in.

For bigger or harder-to-reach gaps, our rodent proofing service seals entry points with steel mesh, metal flashing and sealant, and installs door sweeps and garage-door seals. It is quoted after an inspection, with photos of each gap and a written price before any work starts.

Quick answers about mice in kitchen cabinets

• Will mice leave if there is no food? Taking food away helps, but mice eat very little and will find crumbs, pet food or garbage elsewhere. They rarely leave a warm house on their own in winter.
• Can mice climb into upper cabinets? Yes. Mice are good climbers and can reach upper cabinets through wall cavities and gaps around pipes and range hoods.
• Are mice in the dishwasher or stove a problem? Yes. The insulation and warm space around appliances can hide nests, and mice can chew wiring. Mention it when you book.
• Is bait safe in a kitchen? We use locked, tamper-resistant stations placed where children and pets cannot reach them, never loose bait in cupboards.
• Do I need to leave the house? No. You can stay home during the visit.

How much does mouse control cost in Ottawa?

Our mouse and rat control is one flat price of $299 plus HST for houses, townhomes and condos, including the follow-up visit and our six-month guarantee. Rodent proofing is quoted separately after an inspection. You can see every price on our pricing page.

Book mouse control online

Pick a day and time window on our booking page and we will email you to confirm. Mouse and rat control includes a full inspection of the basement, attic access, garage and exterior, tamper-resistant locked bait stations placed away from children and pets (we do not use snap traps or glue traps), a photo report of the entry points we find, small gaps sealed with steel mesh on the first visit, a follow-up visit to check activity and adjust the stations, and a six-month guarantee: if mice or rats return, we re-treat for free.

Have a question first? Read our pest control FAQ or contact us.

Book online See mouse & rat control ($299 + HST)

Keep reading

• Saw a mouse in the house? What to do next
• Signs of mice in your house

Sources

• Rats and mice, Health Canada
• Hantavirus: spread, prevention and risks, Public Health Agency of Canada

General information for homeowners. Every home is different; your technician will confirm what applies to yours.