The typical house mouse (Mus musculus) can squeeze through a dime-sized hole. That's less than three-quarters of an inch!

If you have a mouse infestation, you'll want to give your home a roof-to-foundation inspection for gaps in foundations, walls, siding, eaves, floor joists, and utility access points. Once you find them (and you will) be ready to seal them up.

Here's what you need to keep mice from entering your home: 

• Soap-coated wire wool: A cheap and dirty stopgap that most of us already have on hand. 
• Fill fabric: Similar to steel wool but finer and with a tighter weave.
• Caulk or expanding foam: There are products out there marketed specifically for rodent exclusion but any type of silicone caulk or expanding insulating foam will do. Use it to seal up voids you've stuffed with fill fabric or wire wool. 
• Hardware cloth: Quarter-inch hardware cloth (you might call it "wire mesh") works great for eave vents and gaps where caulk and fill fabric aren't appropriate. Even better? One-eighth-inch hardware cloth, as it will also keep bees and wasps from setting up shop inside your walls. Don't forget tin snips for cutting wire mesh and a staple gun for tacking it down.

The best time to execute your exclusion strategy is the end of summer or early fall. As outside temperatures drop, mice start looking for warm, cozy places to spend their winters, and pest control professionals kiss their personal lives goodbye.

Mice and cockroaches are the biggest pest villains, and both move in when the buffet's open. You might keep a spotless house, wiping down surfaces and cleaning floors any time you even think there's a smudge, but you might miss these often-overlooked attractants to rodent and insect pests: 

• Pet food: Keep bowls clean, and acclimate your dogs and cats to set feeding times. Clean up any spilled kibble or canned food, and keep food and treats in airtight containers. 
• Garbage and recycling cans: Thoroughly rinse trash and recycling containers whenever you notice that "funk". Use heavy-duty liners, and keep indoor trash bins covered. 
• Kitchen appliances: Mice love the crumbs that build up in toasters, and they'll sneak inside stoves and broiler drawers for crispy treats given the chance. Remove crumbs from inside, under, and around major and countertop appliances. 
• Leaks and condensation: Pests are drawn to moisture seeping from leaky pipes, dripping faucets, poorly-sealed foundations, and condensation. All of these also cause dangerous and damaging mold or even structural failure, so regularly check your crawl spaces, basement, attic, plumbing fixtures, pipes, and exhaust vents. 
• Garden debris: Mice love dropped fruit and tree seeds, spilled birdseed, and the grubs that live in piled-up leaves. Keep your landscaping tidy, especially in the fall. If you maintain a compost pile, move it as far from your house as possible, or invest in a mouse-and rat-proof design. 

Thoroughly clean up any trace of prior infestations.  Mice are trailblazers, leaving signs for new waves of invaders. Mouse "turds" are pretty obvious, but most people don't know that mice leave behind almost constant trails of urine as they scurry about their business.

That mouse urine not only causes that telltale musty, mousy smell but it contains a protein that attracts other mice and insect pests.