How Do I Keep Pests Out of My Garage?
Seal the four entry points, remove what attracts them, and the occasional scorpion becomes a rare one.
Seal first, clean second
Sealing the gaps is 80 percent of pest control in a garage: a fresh bottom seal, tight perimeter weatherstripping, and a threshold seal stop the mice, scorpions, snakes, and roaches that walk in under the door. The other 20 percent is removing what draws them.
A mouse needs a gap the size of a dime. A scorpion needs less. If you can see daylight under your closed door, your garage is open to everything that lives in a Hill Country yard, and after a hard rain all of it is looking for dry ground.
The four entry points
- Under the door A cracked or flattened bottom seal is the front door for pests. The most common failure we see.
- Around the frame Shrunken or brittle perimeter stop leaves corner gaps. Check where the seal meets the floor.
- Uneven slab A wavy floor beats any bottom seal. A threshold seal glued to the concrete closes the low spots.
- Wall penetrations Gaps around pipes, vents, and where the garage meets the house. Caulk and steel wool handle these.
Remove what attracts pests
Seals keep them out; housekeeping keeps them from wanting in. Pet food in bags instead of sealed bins is a mouse magnet. Cardboard on the slab is roach housing, especially when it gets damp. Birdseed, grass seed, and open trash all ring the same dinner bell.
Move storage into sealed plastic bins on shelves, keep the floor clear, and fix moisture problems, since damp garages attract everything. If the door area smells musty, solve that first: why garages smell musty.
San Antonio’s usual suspects
On the North Side and out toward Bulverde, the calls we hear about are striped bark scorpions, mice after every Hill Country downpour, the occasional snake following the mice, and roaches year-round. None of them chew through a healthy seal. All of them walk through a failed one.
New seals are one of the cheapest jobs on a door: what weather stripping costs. If you already have an infestation, call a pest pro first, then seal. We handle the sealing.
FAQ
How do mice get into a garage?
Usually under the garage door. A mouse fits through a dime-sized gap, and a worn bottom seal or a low spot in the slab provides plenty. Corner gaps where the perimeter seal meets the floor are the second most common entry, followed by gaps around pipes and utility penetrations in the walls. Mice follow warmth, pet food, and nesting material. Sealing the door and moving food into hard bins removes both the door and the reason.
Can scorpions get under a garage door?
Yes. Striped bark scorpions are flat enough to slip through gaps that look sealed, and they are active in the San Antonio area from spring through fall. They hunt at night and shelter in cool, dark gaps during the day, which describes the space under a garage door perfectly. A tight bottom seal with a threshold seal on uneven concrete is the most effective barrier. Clearing stored clutter near the door removes their hiding spots inside.
What is the best way to seal a garage door against pests?
Start with the bottom seal: replace it if it is cracked, flattened, or shrunk. Add a threshold seal glued to the concrete if the slab is uneven, since the bottom seal cannot contact low spots. Then check the perimeter stop molding for corner gaps and replace any brittle sections. Finally, caulk gaps around pipes and vents in the garage walls. That combination blocks nearly everything that crawls or slithers.
Do garage door seals keep snakes out?
A tight bottom seal and threshold seal block the gaps snakes use, yes. Snakes enter garages following mice, so sealing plus removing rodent attractants works as a pair. Gaps of a quarter inch are enough for small snakes. Keep vegetation trimmed back from the garage exterior and do not store firewood against the door, since cover near the entry encourages them. If snakes are recurring, the mouse population is the real problem to solve.
Your garage door won’t wait. Neither do we.
We keep same-day openings when the board allows. Either way: diagnosis first, written price second, then the fix.