Outdoor Patio – Page 2 – Furnishing Tips

Wicker furniture is a fantastic decorative and functional piece for your outdoor patio or porch. However, there can be some worry about pests damaging that beautiful furniture. So, you might be asking yourself, “will mice eat wicker furniture?” The answer is, unfortunately, yes. If you’ve chosen to decorate your patio or deck area with wicker furniture, you may have noticed a sudden uptick in mice in and around your property. This can be driven by the wicker furniture, as the material can attract mice and other rodents. But don’t worry, you won’t be plagued by these invasive mice forever. There are measures you can take to keep mice away and protect your furniture from damage. You can protect your wicker furniture from mice by finding the mice in often unexpected places and removing them before they strike, or by employing a few protective strategies to keep your wicker furniture safe even if the mice find their way in. In this article, we’ll explain why mice are so attracted to wicker furniture and share insights into the unexpected places you can find them on a back patio or deck. Then, we’ll share our top tips to protect your wicker furniture from mice and prevent them from making a home on your property. What Eats Wicker Furniture? There can be a few culprits that eat away at your wicker furniture. MiIce being one of the most prevalent since they can be found just about anywhere. However, squirrels can be just as troublesome for people with a strong squirrel population in their area. Both of these critters try to trim their teeth down using your furniture. Why Mice Are Attracted to Wicker There are a few different reasons mice will find their way to your wicker furniture. They might be searching for warmth and shelter underneath chairs or tables, looking for anything to keep their growing teeth a reasonable length, or finding good spots to hide their food. Warmth and Shelter The main reason mice are attracted to wicker furniture is the warmth and shelter they can provide, as with any kind of outdoor furniture. This is especially true in the cold winter months or during bad weather, like thunderstorms. They like to hide in the crevices of the furniture to stay dry and warm. They also love the cushions typically found on wicker furniture, and they may bite through the fabric and try to live inside the cushion because of the extra protection. Keep Teeth Filed Another reason they are attracted to wicker is because of their constantly growing teeth. Mice’s two front teeth will continue to grow, which requires them to constantly chew on things to file them down. In addition, wicker is much easier to bite through than other materials like metal and not as hard as wood, making it an easy target for mice with an urge to gnaw. Food Storage The holes and cracks found in the natural pattern of wicker can be good places to store food for mice. In addition, you may find small food particles, like crumbs, rice, or seeds lodged into your wicker furniture, which is a telltale sign that a mouse has been there and will likely come back. Unexpected Places You Might Find Mice On Your Patio If you are trying to keep mice away from your wicker furniture, you first need to make sure you’re looking at all the places mice like to hide on the patio. If you miss the mice when you sweep the area, they may find their way back to your wicker furniture and make their mark. To avoid this, be sure to check these unexpected places where mice like to hide outdoors: Grills Barbecue grills, especially those with the cover on, can be a great hiding place for mice to nest if there are any food crumbs from the grill that didn’t get cleaned up, even better. Then, the mice will have a place to nest and find food before hiding it in your wicker. Decks Any structure with some vacant space level below it, like decks outdoor features like gazebos, can attract pests like mice. It’s because they offer covered protection from the elements, a perfect place for the mouse to hide when it’s not snacking on your furniture. Hot Tubs Mice love to chew on things and need to chew almost constantly. If they see electrical wiring from a hot tub, they might be inclined to take a bite out of it to keep their teeth filed down. Outdoor Sound Systems Similar to the attraction to hot tubs, mice can also be hiding around outdoor sound systems where there are plenty of wires to chew and small spaces to hide in. Be sure you check these areas diligently as part of your mice deterrent strategy. When you are sure that no mice are hiding in these places, your risk of them ruining your wicker furniture will be greatly reduced. Natural Mice Prevention Once you’ve swept the entire area for lingering mice, it’s time to set up preventative measures to keep them out or deter them from your precious wicker chairs and tables. Here’s what we recommend in terms of natural mice prevention: Wrap Furniture If you live in a state where it gets cold in the winter, you may not be using your patio furniture all year long. If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to store the furniture that will go unused for a long period of time and keep it wrapped to prevent critters like mice from sneaking in. You can find waterproof fabric furniture covers, but you might want to consider something heftier, like doubling up on plastic wrap and fabric covers to make it harder for mice to chew through. Use Essential Oils Mice dislike the scent of peppermint, as they have an acute sense of smell much stronger than ours. Their sensitivity to smells also keeps them away from scents such as pepper or cayenne. If you're looking for a natural way to keep mice at bay and away from your wicker patio furniture, try using essential oils in these scents or the spices and herbs themselves. Some of the best scents to use are peppermint, pepper, cloves, and cayenne. To use essential oils as a mice deterrent, first, soak a few cotton balls in the oil (you can dilute with water if you want, but the stronger the smell, the better). Then, leave these soaked cotton balls near your wicker furniture. As soon as the mice get close to these cotton balls, they’ll run the other way and leave your wicker furniture alone. Keep Patio Clean If you’re wrapping your furniture and using essential oils and the mice are still coming back, try keeping your patio as clean as possible and get stricter about not leaving any clutter around where they may be able to hide out of sight. Remove Cushions When Not in Use Wicker chairs often use padded cushions to make the seat more comfortable, but this cushion is a major attraction for mice. To reduce the chance that they’ll find their way into your furniture, try removing the cushions from the wicker chairs anytime they’re not being sat in. The best option would be to place them inside and out of reach, but even storing them in a closed container on the patio that a mouse won’t be able to bite through can be protection enough. Last Resort: Pest Control If none of these strategies are working, your next best bet is to call a local pest control agency. They may set mouse traps or use other tactics to trap mice or keep them away in the first place. Keeping Mice at Bay and Away From Your Wicker Keeping mice away from your wicker furniture is a serious task that might involve more work than you’d like. But it’s worth it to protect the integrity of your wicker furniture, whether it’s brand new or a family heirloom passed down for generations. Once you’ve done a full sweep of the area to track down any lingering mice, use the natural preventative measures shared above to keep the mice from coming back. In a worst-case scenario, rely on a trusted pest control company to handle the issue on a professional level.