How to Keep Mice out of your BBQ Grill for Good

November 30, 2019

Mice need a dark, quiet place to nest and breed, and your outdoor BBQ grill is the perfect shelter for settling and raising their young. There is nothing more disgusting than mouse droppings around food.

Mice and food simply don’t go together. In other words, it’s a deadly combination because they expose you to many health risks.

So, you probably wonder how to keep mice out of the grill. It might not be that easy, yet it’s not impossible. There are ways to get rid of these annoying critters and rodent-proof your gas grill efficiently.

Rodents Can Cause a Lot of Damage

If rodents invade your property, that’d be something to concern about. First of all, you must be aware of the health risks you’re exposed to by you or your food being around vermin.

They’ll contaminate your food with urine and droppings they leave behind, which eventually will be a cause of food poisoning. That’s why you must keep mice out of the grill in the first place. Additionally, you can get infected by many viruses through the aerosolization of virus-contaminated rodent excreta. Not to mention that many of them can be fatal.

Moreover, they can cause a lot of damage to your property. Making holes in the furniture, damaging the insulation, chewing the electrical wires that can cause fire are just a few out of many hazards they’ll bring. Hence, your only option is to get rid of the pests as soon as possible.

How to Rodent-proof a BBQ Grill?

Your gas grill can become a sanctuary for the rodents, especially during wintertime, where they are protected from the wind, harsh weather, and predators. So, once they come across it, they probably won’t pass it by. Quite soon you’ll start noticing not only mouse nests in the grill but also feces and urine they leave behind all over the place. Therefore, to keep mice out of the grill, for a start, you shouldn’t give them a reason to go there.

Remove the Food Source

Food is the primary thing that’ll encourage rodents to take up residence. So, you better make the grill less appealing to them. Even though it probably isn’t one of your favorite things to do, once you’re dealing with a mouse problem, you should thoroughly clean your outdoor grill after every use. Any food leftovers will trigger their keen sense of smell and guide the rodents right to them. Therefore, so you don’t tear your hair out later, sanitize the grill following the steps below:

Disassemble the grill following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Use a putty scraper and wire brush to scrape off any debris and mice feces from all the parts of the grill.
Clean the grill parts of any debris using a hose.
Mix a gallon of soapy water with ¼ cup of white vinegar and wash the grill.
Clean the grill parts of any debris using a hose once again.
Wipe the grill down with a lint-free cloth.
Put all the parts together
Heat the grill and let it run for 30 minutes.

Tip: It’s recommended to give your grill a thorough cleaning especially after a rodent invasion. Make sure you wear rubber gloves and a mask, so you don’t inhale the rodent excreta.

If you want to take the easy way out, just run the grill up to 30 minutes after grilling, and empty the drip pan regularly.

Additionally, make sure there aren’t any other food sources in your yard, such as outdoor pet food bowls or unharvested fruits from the trees, which will also attract the pests. Additionally, keep the garbage sealed. The rodents don’t mind whether the food comes from the dinner table or the trash.

Repellents

Convince the rodents that your gas grill isn’t the place they need. In other words, find the right repellent, and they won’t even pass by it anymore. Consider the following options to rodent-proof your gas grill efficiently.

Scents

Place some of these, whose scents mice hate, under the grill and in the grill box to keep the pests at bay:

Mothballs
Cloves
Peppermint
Ammonia
Camphor
Cat Fur
Commercial Mouse Repellent.

It’s a simple, yet very efficient way to rodent-proof the gas grill.

Ultrasonic Pest Repeller

These compact devices emit ultrasonic sounds and electromagnetic waves, which are outside a human’s range of hearing, but irritating to mice ears.

Annoying sounds won’t guide the rodents right to your BBQ grill for sure. Most importantly, you won’t have to get rid of dead bodies afterwards.

Poison

Well, it’s rather mice killer than a repellent. However, if you aren’t uncomfortable with getting your hands dirty and disposing of dead rodents, it’s the way to go. Be cautious when using it. One of the best brands out there would be Tomcat. The only drawback is that you can only use it if you do not have pets or kids.

Mouse Traps

Once again, not mice repellents. But then again, not necessarily mice killers. If keeping the rodents at a distance seems like a mission impossible, catching them might be your only option left. Mouse traps are a very effective way to get rid of the critters and to rodent-proof your gas grill. Depending on whether they kill the pest or just capture it, they come in several types:

Electric Mouse Traps
Humane Mouse Traps
Glue Mouse Traps
Rolling Log Mouse Traps

Enclose the Grill

To keep mice out of the grill, make it hard to access. If it doesn’t come with a metal casing, keep the grill in a shed when you don’t use it. Another option is to get yourself a grill cover. Make sure there aren’t any gaps where the rodents will find their way inside. Invest in the right material that won’t crack or warp under any circumstances, so it keeps the vermin out. Also, keep the area around the shed clean since any clutter can attract rodents.

On the other hand, if, for some reason, you can’t place a shed in your backyard, store the gas grill indoors. However, leave the propane tanks outside, protected from the elements, since they can cause hazards indoors.

All of Them

Being in a constant battle with these annoying critters which invade your gas grill is quite exhausting. However, if they keep coming inside the entire time, you better combine all of the above-mentioned methods to keep mice out of the grill efficiently. You must try everything to achieve victory over them.

Otherwise, if you’ve had this problem only once, you can take the easy way out. Just make sure to clean the grill thoroughly and burn off the food leftovers after every use. Of course, if you want to be precautious and ensure they won’t come back, go with the rest of the methods we previously mentioned.

Conclusion

Let’s recap on how to keep mice out of your BBQ grill. These 3 ways will solve your BBQ grill mice infestation:

Repellents (scents, ultrasonic repeller, poison)
Enclosing the Grill
Removing any Food in there
Buying Rodentproof BBQ Grill

It’s as easy as it sounds, however, some of these require proper maintenance. The last one, though, is a permanent solution. Hopefully, however certain we are, one or all of these will help you have pleasant BBQs in your backyard.

How to Keep Mice Out of Grill FAQs

How do you repel mice naturally?

If mice have found your place suitable to settle in, they’ll never leave by themselves. So you better make it less appealing to them in the first place. Take into consideration the following ways to turn your home into a space that doesn’t encourage mice or other rodents to get inside and stay for a while:

Seal up the entries
Remove all the food sources
Make your outdoor grill inaccessible
Clean your house and yard regularly
Spread some scents that mice hate all over your place.

What attracts rodents to your yard?

It’s for the best to store your gas grill indoors, beyond the reach of critters and the harsh weather. However, leave the propane tanks outdoors in a sheltered place since they can be hazardous inside. This way, you’ll also prevent the mold from growing on your grill. Even though it doesn’t grow at temperatures below freezing, temperatures at the end of fall and beginning of the spring can be perfect for mold growth. Any food leftovers, moisture, and grease will encourage its growth, so before storing the grill, make sure to clean it thoroughly.

Is it OK to leave a gas grill outside in Winter?

How do I keep mice out of my grill?

Prevention is better than cure and this is true when it comes to keeping mice out of grills. In general, you can do the following to have a rodent-proof bbq grill:

use repellents
use a grill cover to make it hard to access
use mouse traps
remove any food and clean the grill after every use.

Martha M.

I'm passionate about small DIY projects and my modest garden. I'm always up for a challenge! Soon after getting out of university, I realized I won't find many if I don't set the ground myself. Soon after, TopYardDesign.com was created.