[BBQ] Almost cooked a mouse

[M A V I C]

I fire it up this evening, and it is a nice evening. Then I notice something gray moving near the back of the BBQ, under the grill. I realize it's a mouse right as the flames kick in. I quickly shut it off. I tried to scare it off but it wouldn't go. So partially pulled out the bottom pan it was sitting on, then started banging on the BBQ. It raced off.

Looked gray to me, about 6" long not counting the tail. Wife says she saw it when it ran out and it was brown... I only saw it inside the BBQ.

Took the pan out, scrapped it off, sprayed it down. Put the BBQ back together with all burners on high and let it cook up to 550° for a while.

I didn't put the cover on the other day, so I'm guessing that's why he got in. Plus some branches from a nearby tree now touch the deck so I'm guessing that helped get him up there. Any tips on managing this situation? Should I put more effort into cleaning the grill, or is having it on full heat for a half hour enough?

Thanks