Yes, and mice often will enter through dryer vents. Mice are very small, and it’s easy to use a built-in four-inch hole in the wall to gain access.
When you think of a dryer vent, you think of a pipe that lets hot air out of the home. It’s an exit, in short. But mice see dryer vents in the opposite way: as entrances.
Vent covers help keep various things from getting into the dryer, but they aren’t built to last. Louvers and flaps go brittle after enough sun and cold, then crack. They can get jammed open when lint builds up, and it’s also possible for them to break off entirely. By the time that happens, the duct is an open tunnel that runs right to the laundry room like a little mouse expressway.
It doesn’t help that warm, laundry-scented air may even draw them to the home in the first place. On a cold Nassau or Queens night, a vent puffing humid air with a dryer sheet smell may as well be a pie cooling on a windowsill.
Beyond the vent itself, there is also often a gap around the duct where it passes through the wall but is almost never sealed properly. Installers cut openings generously and leave the perimeter loose. If you can see a crescent of daylight around a duct, that means there is enough room for a mouse to get in.
Once inside, a mouse can easily reach the wall cavity and the laundry area and drag nesting material back into the duct. This restricts airflow and can even be a fire risk. To prevent this from happening, first replace the vent cover if it’s broken. A working flapped or louvered cover is a good choice, ideally a rodent-resistant one. Then seal the collar around the duct with chew-resistant material like metal flashing or hardware cloth behind the sealant.
If mice are getting in around your vents or foundation, Mosquito Squad of Nassau County and Queens can help. Mosquito Squad finds how mice are getting in, clears them with traps and bait stations, and seals the entry points with chew-resistant materials. Annual inspections will help you protect your home over time.
