Mouse Control in Beaverton

A house mouse, the gray-brown mouse that moves into garages and kitchens in the fall — A house mouse. Small enough to use a gap you'd walk right past.

Mice are a big share of what Beaverton homeowners call about, and they tend to show up when the weather turns wet and cold. You'll hear light scratching in a wall, find small dark droppings in a drawer or behind the stove, or see chewed corners on boxes in the garage.

There are two mice to know about. The house mouse lives indoors and is gray-brown all over. The deer mouse has big eyes and a tail that's dark on top and white underneath, and it's more of a shed, garage and outbuilding mouse. Deer mice can carry hantavirus, so the cleanup is different. See deer mice and hantavirus.

Where Mice Get Into Beaverton Houses

Mice use gaps you'd walk right past. The usual spots:

Garage door corners and a worn bottom seal
Crawl space vent screens that are torn or rusted through
Where the dryer vent, gas line and water lines go through the siding
Gaps under exterior doors without a sweep
Openings around pipes under the kitchen sink

What the Tech Does

Mostly inspection, traps and sealing. Snap traps go along the walls where droppings show up. Small gaps get packed with steel or copper wool and sealed, the way OSU Extension recommends for openings down to the size of a dime. Most companies come back after a week or two to check traps and look for new activity.

If the mice are in a shed or a detached garage, ask about cleanup out there too, since those are the places deer mice favor.

Your Part

Keep cereal, rice, flour and pet food in hard containers with lids. Get the boxes in the garage up on shelves. Don't leave pet bowls full overnight. When you clean up droppings, treat every one as if a deer mouse left it: wet it down first and never sweep it.

Questions People Ask

Why do I get mice every fall?

Cool, wet weather pushes them toward dry shelter, and a garage or crawl space is the closest dry spot. The fall rain guide explains the timing.

Can I vacuum up the droppings?

No. Multnomah County's health guidance says never to dry sweep or vacuum mouse droppings. Clean them wet.

Serving Central Beaverton, Cedar Hills and West Slope, Aloha, Hillsboro, Tigard, Cedar Mill, Bethany, Sexton Mountain and Murray Hill, Raleigh Hills and Garden Home, Lake Oswego.