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We have a cottage on Maine coast - To keep the lil pests from getting in you have to act like one - They likely are getting in through a small plumbing hole or the likes - I have plugged all holes with steel wool - they won't go near it. Once they get in they will look for food/nesting - Make certain to give oven/stove good cleaning before closing up - their urine is putrid -

@jejvtr....not to hijack the thread but I am jealous of having a Maine cottage..Dh is from Maine and we love it there...just wish we could stay somewhere else besides the inlaws!!!

Thanks, jejvtr! Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to find all the holes in this old cottage that are possible entry points for the l'il critters (we do our best, but...). So we have to think instead about how best to seal up or plug up the stove. Were you suggesting steel wool to plug up orifices in the stove?

Funny you should mention this. I was just talking to a plumber who was doing some work for us at a summer house, and he mentioned that he attached wire mesh around the back openings of his stove at a hunting cabin. He takes it off when the stove is in use. I asked if we should do that too, but he avoided the question.
I'll certainly think about that next winter.
We also have too many openings (try as we might to check on the stone foundation, since the smallest crack in the mortar is big enough) to seal completely.

Chester, great idea! I was thinking along those lines, and the wire mesh seems like a good fix. I think we might do that + tape sheets of 'Bounce' to the mesh as an added precaution(the mice hate Bounce. Hope it works -- We're buying a new stove for the cottage and I don't want to waste $$ if the mice are going to ruin it during the first winter! Thanks again to all for your advice!

We have a Maine summer house too and for the 2nd time in 12 years, we have lost a range to mice nesting in the insulation. Frankly, I surprised it took 12 years to happen again. I'm pulling out all the stops. We've stuffed some of the major entry points with copper mesh which will allow to stove to vent but will hopefully deter the mice!

You can usually buy replacement insulation for the stove. I have a cottage in Ontario that is a shack with alot of holes. and this is what I do. Its a fair bit of work to take the stove apart but cheaper than buying a new stove. Everything else can be cleaned but the insulation is what they nest in. Also every fall before I close up I make sure everything is in tupperware boxes and leave no food at all. The last thing I do is set up a Newfie mouse trap and use RV antifreeze. When I come back in the spring I have just decomposed mice that I throw out in a bag. Most of the antifreeze has evaporated over the 6plus months.