In January, the holiday boxes go to the attic, the garage or the basement. They are usually cardboard, often half-empty and stuffed with tissue paper, ribbon and old felt. If you wanted to design the ideal rodent nest, you would start with exactly that.
This article is about packing and placing those boxes so that mice find a hard shell and not a soft bed.
Why decor is such good nesting material.
Nests need soft, shreddable, insulating stuff. Tissue paper, wrapping scraps, felt, yarn, cotton batting and stuffing all fit. Add a dark corner and a bit of food residue from candy or gingerbread, and you have a nursery.
Mice also like to chew cardboard simply to wear down their teeth. A box becomes both shelter and exercise.
Pack with the animal in mind.
- Use plastic tubs with snap-on lids instead of cardboard.
- Wrap fragile items in cloth that you can wash, not loose paper.
- Leave no food residue; wipe candy tins and cookie jars.
- Place a label on each tub so you do not open them needlessly.
- Store ribbon, wrapping paper and fabric in sealed bags inside the tubs.
If you keep real greenery, wreaths or dried arrangements, bag them in sealed containers or discard them. They hold scent and crumble into nesting material.
Where the tubs go.
Shelving beats the floor. A few inches of space between the tub and the wall lets you see droppings and lets a technician reach behind. Avoid stacking tubs tight against each other.
| Spot. | How exposed. | Suggestion. |
|---|---|---|
| Attic floor. | Moderate to high. | Keep tubs on a platform, away from vents. |
| Garage shelf. | Moderate. | Raise off the floor, leave a gap at the wall. |
| Basement shelf. | Low to moderate. | Check for moisture and use sealed tubs. |
| Closet shelf. | Low. | Tubs still help. |
| Shed. | High. | Metal bins, not cardboard. |
Lights, cords and cables.
Strings of lights have thin plastic jackets that rodents chew. Wind them neatly around a spool or a piece of cardboard and store them in a hard container. Inspect cords before use in December for gnaw marks, and discard any with exposed wire.
Skip the guesswork and describe the trouble to a live person.
(888) 686-4821Checking in during the year.
A short look every few months can catch a problem early. Open one tub, check the corners of the others and look at the floor for pellets. Doing it while changing the batteries in smoke detectors makes it routine.
If you find signs, leave the area as you found it and call. The garage and basement page explains the visit.
Safe cleanup if you do find damage.
Droppings and nest scraps should be handled wet and with gloves. The CDC box at the end lays out the method. Do not shake out boxes, and do not vacuum dry waste.
Unpacking in the new year.
When the decorations come out again, treat the boxes as a small inspection. Open each bin on a table, not on the floor, and look for shredded paper, crumbs, pellets or a sour smell. A bin that was sealed with a snap lid usually stays clean, whereas an old carton may hold a nest that formed unnoticed.
Wipe any storage shelf you used before putting things back. If something was disturbed, wear gloves and a mask, dampen the area and wipe it up rather than sweeping dry dust into the air. Anything chewed through is best thrown away, and a photograph of the damage helps if you decide to call a technician.
Finally, note where the boxes sat. A corner of the attic or the back of a garage shelf that held a nest this year will draw visitors next year too, so closing the nearby gap now pays off by the time the lights go back up.
CDC method: wet it down first.
Following this routine keeps airborne dust low during the wait.
- Holding anything dry, be it broom, duster or can of compressed air? Trade it for a spray bottle.
- Garages, attics and sheds trap stale air, so give them thirty minutes of fresh flow before you step in.
- Because fingers drift to the face, gloves stay on until the last bag is knotted shut.
- Pick up the wet waste with paper towels and no dry rags, and spray again whenever anything looks dusty.
- Knot the bag before carrying it, and walk it straight to the outdoor bin.
- Our skill is pest work, which means sickness belongs with a health professional.
Federal sources for the steps above.
A one-line summary accompanies each link.
- Rodent cleanup steps from the CDC: Soak time, protective gear and the last stop for the sealed bag.
- CDC tips to seal homes against rodents: Seal, trap and clean as three linked jobs.