The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
There’s nothing that ruins the joy of a well-stocked pantry faster than discovering uninvited guests—especially the mouse kind with a penchant for hoarding dog food. If you’ve ever cracked open a bag of oats and found tiny gnaw marks or swept suspicious droppings from the back of your silverware drawer, you already know: mice mean business.
But don’t panic, I’ve have experience in this – mice sort of come with the territory when you live in old farmhouses. You can do this, let’s get these critters out of your cabinets and closets.
For more strategy, visit How to Mouse-Proof Your Pantry.
For special critter situations, such as campers, furniture storage, and farm equipment, check out the mouse and critter-proofing in unique situations article.
Table of Contents
👀 First, Let’s Talk Mouse Behavior
Before we dive into solutions, let’s understand the enemy.
- Can mice get in cabinets or drawers? Absolutely—especially lower cabinets. Upper cabinets are less accessible, but if there’s food up there and a gap nearby, a determined mouse can make the climb.
- Can mice open cabinet doors? Not usually on purpose—but if they’re loose or push-style, a mouse could easily nose them open, especially if there’s no magnetic catch.
- How do mice get into cabinets or cupboards? Through dime-sized holes in walls, back panels, floors, and even around plumbing. They’re acrobatic, persistent, and very quiet about it.
If you’re seeing evidence of activity, that means you need to evict them, pronto!
Do Mice Hoard Food?
Both field mice and house mice are notorious food hoarders—but they do it a little differently depending on their environment.
- Field mice (like deer mice or meadow voles) are especially known for caching seeds, grains, and nuts in underground burrows or sheltered outdoor spots. It’s a survival strategy for winter when food is scarce.
- House mice, on the other hand, adapt this behavior indoors. They’ll stash food in wall voids, behind appliances, inside furniture, or even in drawers and cabinets—anywhere close to their nest and out of sight.
Both types are opportunistic and will hoard anything from birdseed and pet food to cereal and candy. If you’ve ever found a pile of kibble in your boots or a stash of sunflower seeds under the sink, you’ve likely stumbled upon one of their secret pantries.
As a farmwife living in an old farmhouse, I’ve seen it all. One year I was puzzled to find mice poison (blue pellets) inside of a winter boot I had in the basement. Then I realized that hoarding was going on. It was shocking that the mice could transport that much poison (at least 1/2 a cup or more)!
🛠️ Step 1: Seal and Secure
Mouse-proofing starts with prevention. This means sealing every possible entry point.
- Inspect your cabinet backs, baseboards, and around appliances. Use silicone caulk or steel wool stuffed with expanding foam to fill any gaps (especially where the countertop rests on the base cabinets, the gaps where the cabinets are against the wall, and the toe kicks. Yes, mice can chew through silicone alone, but they won’t bother with a steel-reinforced blend.
- Install magnetic closures or child locks on easy-to-nudge cabinet doors and drawers. Bonus points if they’re made of metal—mice are less inclined to chew where it’s tough going.
- Use kick-plate barriers to block access under cabinets. Mice love to nest there unnoticed.
🔎 Pro Tip: A flashlight and patience can help you spot daylight or signs of entry from behind pantry shelving or plumbing holes.
Once mice make it into a kitchen base cabinet, they can hip and hop all the way across every single base cabinet, due to the gap between the countertop and the cabinets! Then it’s just a matter of sliding down a stack of inside drawers to get where they want to go.
🪤 Step 2: Remove the Buffet
Your pantry and cabinets are basically a 24-hour all-you-can-eat for mice. Let’s shut it down.
- Store all grains, pastas, flours, and dry goods in airtight, mice-proof storage containers. Choose glass, thick BPA-free plastic, or metal. Look for large mouse-proof storage containers for bulk items like rice and oats.
- Don’t forget your dog’s kibble. Store it in a latching, chew-proof dog food container. Mice will hoard dog food—sometimes more enthusiastically than your pets.
- Bread boxes, bins, and bins again: Invest in a mouse-proof bread box and mouse-proof bin for onions and potatoes. Avoid anything made of thin plastic or woven basketry—mice see those as light snacks.
🧽 Step 3: Clean Like You Mean It
A clean kitchen is far less inviting to mice.
- Wipe down your counters each night, and don’t leave fruit or snacks out overnight.
- Vacuum under your lower cabinets and stove. Yes, even if it’s a pain. When is the last time you moved your stove? Yeah, it’s crumb city under there.
- Keep the silverware drawer spotless. That random sprinkle of sugar or cracker crumb can attract mouse activity fast.
- Change out your kitchen sponge and wash cloth – the mice smell the food in them!
There is another benefit to cleaning routinely in hidden locations: knowing when the next wave of activity strikes. Sometimes I even write a date down on a note and stash it in the area so I can recall when I last vacuumed out a spot (such as my attic stairs).
This pest control guy does a great job pointing out gaps that can be UNDER THE TOE KICK in the kitchen. About the 1 minute mark he gets down on his hands and knees and even puts the camera in to show the gap he is talking about.
Wash Up to Break the Mouse Cycle
Did you know that mice follow the urine and feces of other mice? Mice use urine and feces as scent markers to communicate and navigate. Their urine contains pheromones that signal everything from territory boundaries to sexual availability, and other mice can detect and interpret these cues with remarkable sensitivity.
Here’s how it plays out:
- Trail following: Mice dribble urine as they move, creating scent trails that others can follow to food sources, nesting spots, or safe routes.
- Social cues: The scent of another mouse’s waste can indicate whether an area is already claimed or if it’s a hotspot for resources.
- Infestation spread: This behavior is one reason infestations can escalate quickly—new mice may be drawn in by the scent of previous visitors.
So if you’ve had mice in your kitchen or pantry before, even after cleaning up the visible mess, lingering scent trails can still attract newcomers. That’s why deep cleaning with enzymatic or bleach-based disinfectants is so important after any mouse activity.
Human Safety Handling Mice Droppings
And let’s talk about your safety. The bizarre death in the news related to actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, uncovered Betsy’s death as related to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Although they kept a clean house inside, this presence of infected rodents occurred in outside buildings and abandoned equipment.
This is just a friendly reminder to wear a mask and gloves when cleaning, and wash up your skin thoroughly (and clothes, too!) after a heavy cleaning.
If you’re wondering how to keep mice out of drawers and cabinets after a deep clean—pair your tidiness with tightly sealed storage and deterrents (see next section).
🌿 Step 4: Traps, Poisons, & Deterrents
For those of you who desire a gentle, effective, and non-toxic approach to mice, do this:
- Sachets of peppermint oil–soaked cotton balls tucked into drawers and the back corners of cabinets can help. Mice hate the smell.
- Cloves, cedar chips, or balsam fir oil work for some folks too. Bonus: your pantry will smell amazing.
- Ultrasonic repellents (if you’re open to tech) may discourage activity—but results vary, and placement is key.
- Use humane traps baited with peanut butter. Check them twice a day and release far from home (at least 2 miles).
Don’t forget the “weak links” in your house, such as attached garages or porches. I like to drop the pretty sachets in these locations. If guests happened to see them, I’m not so embarrassed. After all, it’s a Captain Obvious moment: visible mouse traps scream I have a rodent problem.
🛑 If you are worried about inside pets, avoid mothballs, dryer sheets, or harsh chemical deterrents. They’re unpleasant and can be unsafe around food and pets.
All Out War on Mice
I wish I could say I live in harmony with nature, but I don’t. I’ve lived in two old farmhouses, and it’s all out war to keep the mice out.
Here are some tips from an experienced farmwife:
- Don’t store the natural deterrents next to poison. The poison packs could absorb the essential oils and strong smells of things like cedar chips. If you’re using poison packs, you want the mice to be attracted to the poison.
- Avoid poison traps in kitchens or pantries. Dying mice can end up in inaccessible places— decomposition can spread over weeks.
- I toss mouse poison up in the attic in the fall and later in the winter to deter the mice looking for a warm home.
- Mouse poison in my basement is barricaded from our farm dog (dogs can eat mouse poison and get very lethargic – if you see this behavior, they need to be taken to a vet as soon as possible. Many times, mice will die out in the open, but I have noticed that my pets don’t want anything to do with poisoned critters.
- Set mouse traps along edges to catch the “mouse runs.”
- I put sticky traps in the bottom of some select base kitchen cabinets.
House mice are tricky, they can eat the food off of a traditional mousetrap (still the best trap made). If you’re not catching the mice, switch to a sticky trap. If you suspect field mice, put fluffy quilt batting on a traditional mouse trap – field mice, or as we call them “country mice” are in it for the nest material.
🚫 After the Mice Are Out
Once removed, disinfect thoroughly, and re-seal access points. Replace any chewed packaging and check nearby drawers and cabinets.
Scan the exterior of your home to identify rodent entry points. My family finally identified the entry point in my mother’s old farmhouse: a gap under a set of wooden stairs. Make it your seasonal job to mouse-proof – you have to be ready before the season strikes!
⚠️ Got a serious mouse problem in your kitchen, pantry, or laundry room? Call a professional. An infestation can be bigger than it appears.
🧰 Bonus: What to Put in Drawers to Keep Mice Out
Besides peppermint oil and clean habits, consider:
- Drawer liners with essential oils infused in them
- Cedar blocks or chips tucked in corners
- Motion-detecting LED lights that flash when disturbed (I have not tried these!).
- Drawer dividers that eliminate cozy nesting spaces
- Sticky traps.
📦 Mice-Proof Pantry Products Worth Investing In
| Product Type | Pantry Passion–Approved Features |
|---|---|
| Food Storage Container | Thick plastic or glass, airtight seals, stackable design |
| Bread Box | Metal or ceramic with tight-fit lid |
| Dog Food Bin | Heavy-duty plastic with locking mechanism |
| Silverware Tray | Plastic or metal with snug drawer fit—no food debris |
| Pantry Cabinet | Sealed back panel, metal shelving, magnetic doors |
🛍️ Look for products labeled as “mouse-proof,” “chew-resistant,” or “airtight”—but use common sense. If it flexes easily or has vents, skip it.
🧘 Final Thoughts: You vs. the Mice
Look, dealing with mice isn’t exactly a dream pantry scenario. But it’s fixable. It starts with understanding how they get in, how to get them out, and how to keep them out—long term.
Mouse-proofing isn’t just a chore—it’s a pantry power move. It preserves your food, protects your peace of mind, and keeps your space as intentional as everything else in your home.
And remember: you’re not alone in this. Whether you’re mouse-proofing a single drawer or rethinking your entire pantry setup, Pantry Passion is here to help make every square inch of your space more joyful, functional, and fur-free.
