As I write this article, I’m currently dealing with a mice problem in my home.

Being a bird owner, like you, it’s risky having these rodents running rampant through the house as they pose a threat to my cockatiel. A few nights ago at 3:21 AM, I heard noises coming from my cockatiel’s room and you wouldn’t believe what I saw…

A mouse has gotten INSIDE the bird cage and was eating a piece of leftover millet spray.

I’m not kidding.

Since that night, I’ve taken measures to stop mice from entering my cockatiel’s cage.

This post explains what I did to successfully stop mice from entering the cage in hopes of keeping your bird safe from these pesky rodents.

Quick Navigation:

• How To Mouse-Proof Your Bird’s Cage
• Remove Mice From Your Home – Keep Them Out Of The Cage
• How Mice Can Harm Your Bird
  • 1. They Can Spread Diseases
  • 2. They Can Give Your Bird Mites & Fleas
  • 3. Mice Can Bite Your Bird

How To Mouse-Proof Your Bird’s Cage

The very first step I took to keep my bird safe from mice exposure is mouse-proofing the cage.

Once you make the cage harder to get into and less inviting, you likely won’t see a single mouse in there ever again, which is what I’ve experienced.

Below are a few ways you can mouse-proof your bird’s cage:

Elevate The Cage

If mice can’t reach an entry point to the cage, they won’t get inside.

Mice are excellent climbers, so you must elevate your bird’s cage in a way that is impossible for them to climb. Don’t heighten the cage in a way that causes a convenient staircase for mice, instead, make it completely verticle.

If you keep a small bird in a small cage, stack the cage up vertically using boxes.

Stack it high enough so the mice can’t simply jump up to the cage.

Making Wheel Stand Bird Cages Harder For Mice To Climb

If you keep cockatiels, budgies, or lovebirds, you probably have a large wheelstand cage.

Obviously, you can’t stack these cages on boxes.

Although my wheelstand bird cage is quite elevated, mice were still able to find their way inside.

To prevent mice from climbing these cages, I suggest removing anything that they can grab onto to help climb, specifically on the stand legs.

But this is difficult as everything that helps with climbing is essential to the cage’s assembly.

The red arrows in this image point to what mice used to climb my cage:

Even the little screws were convenient climbing handles for mice.

What you could do in this difficult situation is attach something above any handles that will stop mice from climbing any further. For example, I could attach a piece of cardboard above the little screws, which would prevent them from being used as handles.

But all cages are structured differently, so what works for me might not work for you.

Look at your bird cage and figure out how you could block mice from ascending it.

Keep The Cage Floor Food-Free

“Why do mice even go into bird cages?”

Well, that’s pretty simple, they’re looking for food.

Since all birds are messy eaters, lots of pellets and seed crumbs end up on the cage floor, which is alluring to hungry mice. These rodents have a very powerful sense of smell, so they can easily sniff out leftover bird food in the cage.

My suggestion is to keep the bottom of the cage as food-free as possible.

That’s what I’ve been doing, and it seems to be working like a charm!

After all, if there is no food in the cage, why would mice want to get inside?

This is a very simple solution and all it takes is a bit more cleaning at the end of every day.

Set Mouse Traps Near Your Bird’s Cage

One of the best ways to keep mice out of the bird cage is to set nearby traps.

Of course, mice may ignore traps and get inside the cage, but this is less likely to happen if you put food in the trap. Instead of being attracted to crumbs inside the cage, the mice will hopefully be drawn to the baited trap instead.

So far, I’ve caught 2 mice using traps near the cage:

A simple setup like the image above should work wonders.

Here’s the way I see it:

If these traps weren’t here, the mice would still be in the area, except they’d be more interested in the cage.

Wrap The Cage In A Ventilated Cover – Mouse Proof The Cage

Ventilated covers can stop mice from entering the cage while still allowing proper airflow.

These covers are often called “seed catchers”, “guard mesh”, or simply “cage covers”.

Although they’re designed to keep pellets, seeds, and mess from leaving the cage, they also work for keeping mice out of the cage. Granted, they will likely try biting through the cover if they can smell food from within the cage.

But they won’t bother if there is nothing inside the cage for them to eat.

All you need is a ventilated sheet that covers at least the bottom half of the cage.

Here’s a strong cage cover from Amazon that is suitable for all cage sizes.

Remove Mice From Your Home – Keep Them Out Of The Cage

The best way to stop mice from getting inside your bird’s cage is to remove them from your home altogether. While mouse-proofing the cage is a strong deterrent, there is always a risk while mice are roaming your house.

Below are a few ways you can remove these pesky rodents from your home…

Get Yourself Some Mouse Traps

Not only should you have mouse traps near your bird’s cage, but you should also set them around the house. Mice often travel the entire house, so if you can get them before they even reach your bird’s room, that would be ideal.

Mice are nocturnal, so you should set the traps before sleeping.

Catching one mouse is one less mouse you need to worry about getting inside the cage.

The ideal mouse trap placements are along the walls and in the room corners.

Mice are hard to spot because they don’t expose themselves to the middle of the room, instead, they run fast along the wall edges and use available cover.

To catch them, you need to set traps along their popular travel routes.

Don’t have any mouse traps?

There are 2 main options for you:

1. Use the traditional mouse-killing traps

2. Use humane, no-kill, catch-and-release mouse traps

Either of the two options will help remove mice from your home and keep your bird safe.

Important Note: If you choose to use the catch-and-release traps, you must travel a good distance away from your home before releasing them, otherwise they’ll get back inside. VictorPests suggests releasing captured mice at least 2 miles away from your home to be safe.

What Food To Use On Mouse Traps

Mice are not fussy eaters, so they’ll be drawn to almost anything you put in the trap.

Since they’ve shown an interest in your bird’s cage, they likely want your bird’s food, so you could use whatever crumbs are on the cage floor as bait. Since I’ve seen mice eating millet spray and pellets, I use those on the trap and that was pretty successful.

Other good mouse bait options include:

• Peanut butter

• Cheese

• Nuts

• Dried fruit or berries

• Beef jerky

Find Out Where The Mice Are Coming From

Mice often get in the house through structural anomalies, such as wall holes or floor gaps.

When dealing with mice, removing them is not enough, you need to find out how they got inside to stop more from arriving. Once you find and block their little entry point, you’ll have ensured your bird’s long-term safety from mice exposure.

Check the walls, especially places that are covered by furniture or household objects.

Look wherever you don’t normally look as there could be a mouse opening.

Openings in the ceiling can also make convenient dropping points for mice.

Although very rare, mice can also appear out of sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, so it’s a good idea to keep these holes blocked when not in use.

Once you find an opening you believe could be used by mice, block it with duct tape.

Avoid Using Toxic Aerosols

There are certain aerosol repellents that can be used to spray an area you don’t want mice to hang around in. This might repel mice, but aerosol sprays are toxic to birds, so I wouldn’t suggest using them in the home.

Instead, mouse-proof the bird cage, use traps, and block their entry points.

That’s the most bird-safe way to keep mice out of the cage.

How Mice Can Harm Your Pet Bird

Throughout this article, I’ve been pushing the idea that mice are not safe for birds.

But what can mice actually do to hurt your bird? Why are mice unsafe?

Let’s discuss 3 reasons why mice are dangerous to pet birds:

1. They Can Spread Diseases

It’s common knowledge that mice, rats, and other rodents are disease carriers.

They spread their illnesses through droppings, fluff, and direct contact.

This means you need to properly disinfect the cage if you believe mice have been climbing on it. If they went on your bird’s perches, you must clean those too.

Related: Ultimate Guide To Safely Cleaning Your Bird’s Cage (With Vinegar)

If mice have been in the cage, they likely left some droppings as well.

You must remove these, disinfect the cage, and ensure your bird has no contact with them.

2. They Can Give Your Bird Mites & Fleas

Mites are tiny parasitical creatures that survive by drinking the blood of their hosts.

Mice don’t enjoy having them, but they’ll gladly spread some to your bird, which can lead to a range of health issues, even death. Fleas are not fatal, but they can still harm your bird through frequent bites.

3. Mice Can Bite Your Bird

Although it’s a rare chance, mice can bite your bird.

Not only is this painful for the bird, but a mouse bite can also lead to nasty infections.

Mice would only bite pet birds if they’re extremely hungry and have a numbers advantage. You mainly need to worry about the other two reasons, but keep this one in mind.

Based on these 3 ways mice can hurt birds, it’s vital to keep them out of the cage.

Short Summary

Let’s go over the key points we discussed in this article…

How to mouse-proof a bird cage:

1. Elevate the cage to deter mice from climbing
2. Keep the cage floor food-free – If there’s no food in the cage, why would mice want to go in?
3. Set mouse traps near the bird cage
4. Wrap the cage in a ventilated cover or seed-catching guard

Brief overview of how to remove mice from your home:

1. Place mouse traps around your home
2. Find out where mice are getting in and block their entry
3. Avoid using toxic aerosols – Some aerosols work well for repelling mice, but they’re toxic to birds.

I also mentioned 3 ways mice can hurt your feathered friends:

1. They can spread diseases
2. They can give your bird mites or fleas, which are both awful for birds
3. They can bite your bird, but only if they’re desperate or feeling bold

What I’ve discussed in this post has worked for me, so I’m hoping it’ll also help you keep mice out of your bird’s cage.

Let me know in the comments if you have any further info I could add to the article to help more bird owners with mice problems.

Thanks for reading!