Barriers on the plants preventing Mice contact
Commercial plastic tree shelters, tree bark guards, tree wraps, or wire guards made of very small mesh extending at least 6 inches below the soil line effectively prevent mice and voles from attacking tree bark. If you are unable to sink the wire mesh into the ground, you will still save many trees by wrapping the bark with wire and pushing it down against the ground. Do not wrap the wire against the bark unless you use a very small meshed wire. If you use a one-inch mesh, the mice can nibble the bark through the one inch gap in the wire. The quarter inch or half inch square mesh is better for rodent control.
Barriers to entering the house
If a mouse is really hungary it will almost always find a way to get into the house. Whether it stays in the house depends on whether it finds a source of food. So a good strategy for controlling mice from coming indoors is to store all food materials in rodent-proof containers. Collect and dispose of refuse and ensure the proper storage of usable materials.
Feeding birds in the winter is an indirect way to keep the mice outside. They usually feed at night and are happy to work on the dropped seeds from the birds feeder.
