I never thought of it but it makes perfect sense, the heat from the coils and the fiberglass insulation make a perfect home for mice.

First of all you need to get rid of the mice, you could call a pro to set traps or just buy the sticky traps at Home Depot.

If you don't see mice anymore then I wouldn't worry about the fridge, mice usually don't damage things. If you want to clean up the dropping then always use a nuisance mask and rubber gloves, mice transmit diseases in their droppings.

http://www.orkin.com/rodents/mouse-control/how-to-clean-up-after-mice-infestation/

This post was edited by moviegeek on Sun, Oct 5, 14 at 22:32

Don't use the sticky traps. They're cruel.

Pull the refrigerator out and find the hole where they're getting in back there and plug it up with coarse steel wool.

Plugging holes is a good idea, but you have to check the entire house. The mice could be coming in from any opening and going to the refrigerator.

Thanks for the information and links. My original question was whether removing the fiberglass under the refrigerator would lead to a second set of problems. Presumably, the fiberglass is there for a reason. Does it moderate the heat from the coils, dampen sound, or do something else? Thanks.

Post over in the Appliances Forum, the people there can answer your questions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliances forum

Okay, thanks for the tip.

The drip pan under the fridge catches the moisture resulting from the defrost cycle and prevents puddling on your floor.

I suspect the fiberglass is to deaden noise.

Actually, mice can cause damage. They chew on wires, which can cause electrical problems. Aside from carrying disease. In our area, they are the major carriers of lyme ticks. I don't know if you should remove that fiberglass or not, I'd check with the refrigerator manufacturer, or possibly your fire department? You have to plug up all the little spaces that mice can get in, and they can get in very very tiny cracks and crevasses. Plugging with steel wool is a great idea, its non toxic and they won't chew through it (hopefully). You'd think with 2 cats in my house mice would stay away, but they do sometimes get in. I read somewhere that if you put dryer sheets in places where you get mice, it will keep them away. I think it works, we sometimes got mice in our garage, and we used moth balls to keep them away, which worked but the smell was awful. So, we switched to stuffing dryer sheets in various places where the mice tended to go, it seems to be working and adds a nice fresh scent.

They are probably using the fiberglass as nesting material. I don't want to alarm you, but I have had this issue in two homes I have lived in. You will need to check all your appliances now. The oven- has fiberglass insulation. Pull it out and tip it over, or get someone to tip it over and check the shelf areas for droppings, also look in the bottom drawer, if you have one. Also check under the dishwasher. The unholiest of mouse nests was discovered under there when I moved in here. Biggest mess of droppings I ever did see. I also found droppings and evidence of mice under and behind my washer and dryer, under the cabinetry, etc. It's very common that if you have a mouse or mice under one appliance that they will be under more. I use snap traps. They kill quickly. Poison is a bad idea because they can eat the poison and die in a wall, or a pet can find and eat the poisoned animal and die as well.

The insulation under the fridge is there for a reason, so I would leave it be. And no...mice are dirty, their droppings can be infected with all kinds of stuff and where there is one, there are probably a bunch. On the steel wool thing, you might try putting that under the fridge to keep them from going in there.

Otherwise, I would use a mouse bait. Put it under the fridge as well; they will eat it go to their nest to die. Putting it under the fridge will also keep it away from pets or children. You can buy it at Walmart or any grocery or hardware store and its inexpensive. Of course, if the nest is under the fridge, then you'll have to deal with getting the dead mice out, but they might just head outside to another place to die. The sticky traps are more inhumane as they die slowly. Good luck with that. This is the time of year they start looking for someplace warm for the winter, so nip it in the bud now. And good luck looking for a hole. They can get in through ridiculously small cracks and crevasses.

We have just finished cleaning mouse droppings and a nest of insulation from the bottom of our refrigerator around the motor and we had to order a new stove, which we won't move in for another week hoping we won't find anymore mice by then. It was beyond saving, no way to get at all the droppings. Mice can be very destructive. We used live traps and caught 2 mice the first night which we relocated to a forest with some open fields about 3 miles away. We have not caught any more but I am not complacent because everyone says if you see 2 mice you can be sure there are more and i can't believe that 2 mice did all that damage. I feel hopeful, though, because every morning I check the whole kitchen for mouse droppings and all areas have been clear for 2 weeks now. We have never seen any sign of mice elsewhere in the house, only in the kitchen. We are keeping the traps in the kitchen until it warms up outside. We're pretty sure we'll have mice again in the fall because we have not yet been able to find their entry point or points so we'll have to be very vigilant from now on.

Hi everyone, I’ve recentky discovered a mouse living in the refrigerator motor.. the thing is it stinks!!! So bad.. like something died. The mouse has been stealing dog food and storing it in there, along with lots of poo . We’ve moved the fridge to the garage, taken the back off the fridge, vacuumed and removed as much as possible but it still reeks! Do you have any advice for removing the smell? At this point I’m thonking a new fridge is the only option unless we can get rid of the smell. Thank you, Jenna

I am having the same problem. Did you get an answer to your questio?