Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Mice
When you’re experiencing the pitter-patter of little feet and it’s not a walking, talking bundle of joy standing on two legs, you may have a furry intruder in your home that needs attention. Hiding in a kitchen cabinet or tucked away in the corner of a shed, mice find ways to enter the cleanliest of homes, apartments, and other human dwellings. When the thought of using poisonous bait or inhumane traps is too much to bear, consider the following home remedies before resorting to other tactics.
Signs of a Mice Problem [1]
A mouse is a nocturnal creature, meaning they do their dirty work when the sun has set and the lights are out. Mice are rarely spotted during the day unless a heavy infestation exists. Usually, a mouse problem is detected with one or more of the following signs:
- Droppings: Mouse feces are moist, soft, shiny and dark, becoming dry and hard within a few days. Old droppings will look dull and grayish in color.
- Little Holes: When small holes with chewed edges appear on items, such as cereal boxes, this is a dead giveaway that a critter is gnawing away at your packages. Scan your pantry and look for tooth marks and shredded paper.
- Sound: At night, you may hear unexplainable movement, as well as gnawing or scratching in the walls or an attic.
- Odor: Mice can cause a musty odor to infiltrate your home.
- Nests: Hidden in boxes, mice will use chewed paper and cloth to create a nest for themselves in basements, attics, sheds, and drawers
Mice Home Remedies
When it comes time to get rid of mice, many people wish to repel and drive out critters before clearing away traps, locating dead carcasses hidden in walls, and shelling out the money to hire an exterminator. If you are looking for home remedies to get rid of mice, consider the following suggestions:
a) Peppermint and Peppermint Oil:
In just about every home remedy circle, you will hear that mice cannot stand the scent of peppermint or peppermint oil. Soak a cotton ball in the oil of peppermint and place it at a suspected entryway.
b) Remove Food Supply:
While mice enjoy a nice meal of cereal grains and crumbs, they will also adapt to anything else they can sink their teeth into. If you remove their food supply, most mice are forced to look for other places to eat. Remove edible temptations from low kitchen cabinets. Place cereal and other boxed items in glass containers and plastic Tupperware.
c) Mint:
Keep new mice from entering your residence by adding mint plants to the foundation of your house. If you are already battling a mouse problem, sprinkle mint leaves in the parts of your home that the mice like to frequent. Mint is known to repel mice in most cases, but you must remember to replace old leaves with fresh ones on a regular basis.
d) Bay Leaves:
Some people have been successful in keeping mice away by sprinkling bay leaves in their kitchen and about the pantry.
e) Mothballs:
Mice have a reputation for setting up shop in a shed or garage for the winter season. If you place mothballs around your garage, mice will look for other places to live. In the house, mothballs are used to deter mice from kitchen cupboards, drawers, and other storage spots.
f) Steel Wool:
Mice enter your home in the most creative manner, but once you have pinpointed an access point, use steel wool to block their way. The material is much harder for mice to gnaw through than other options, like wood and newspaper.
g) Onions:
The smell of onions has helped some individuals solve their mouse problem, as they say the odor is offensive to the pests.
h) Baby Powder:
When you are having a problem locating the point of entry of your uninvited guest, use baby powder (or flour) to check for tracks. Scatter a small patch on the floor along a wall or other frequented places. Some people like to bait a mouse by placing a cracker with a bit of peanut butter in the middle of the patch. Hopefully, you can locate their access point or at least, determine the direction in which they originate.
i) Ammonia:
Some people have driven away their mouse by leaving small bowls filled with ammonia in the places they like to frequent. It is said that the scent repels mice.
j) Peanut Butter:
Are you looking for an effective bait to lure your unwanted visitor? The next time you lay traps, use peanut butter as bait – a treat that a mouse cannot resist. Since the peanut butter is sticky, he or she is unable to swipe it before setting off a trap [2].
Resources
[1] http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/L384.htm
[2] Reader’s Digest Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things; pg 251
I read somewhere that you can add ½ cup of soap detergent and one tablespoon of Tabasco sauce to one gallon of water. Put the mixture into a spray bottle and spritz this home repellent around the home, as well as nooks and crannies. This is a much desirable alternative to laying down toxic poisons in your home.
if you find a mouse in your house and you have a cat or cat’s.Just turn them lose in your house and show them the mouse and let them do the dirty work.I have seen it done before.Trust me it works.
I use the peppermint oil and it works GREAT! Mice hate it and as long as you re-apply the oil at least once a month, you’ll never have to worry about the little buggers.
If you use a gassy drink like coke and put it into a small container where the mice frequent, the mice will drink it.
Whats with that you might be thinking.
The mice cannot burp or fart, they get bloated on the gas and die.
I might try the Peppermint oil now though.
ok..perppemint oil… that s a new one. I will try that one.. moth balls not to well for me. Thtas funni though….they will get bloated and die brian? lol
I don’t have a tip, I have three cats and a mouse problem under my sink, cannot figure out how they are getting there, I have plugged all the holes that they can get in, and I checked my dryer vent that is on the outside of my house, but that vent goes directly into my dryer……help?
Linda-
Try sprinkling baby powder down and see where they are coming from underneath your sink!
i havent slept in a weeek… will definetly try the pepper mint an let you know!!… have got traps out not working! their too clever.
Well I will try the Peppermint Oil because my home is infested and is driving me crazy….I also live the idea of the gassy soda thats so funny
October 27th…I stayed up all night listening to a mouse conference…Aside from being petrified I was disgusted knowing that these little critters are having a ball in my apartment while I’m in bed paralyzed with fear. My landlord had the exterminator put poison and traps with peanut butter…which only helped for about a week.
I’m going to try peppermint and sonic plug-ins this week.
About two weeks ago I found a mouse just sitting on the hallway floor. I looked at her and she looked at me…we did not move. I immediately called my neighbor and she came over with a shoe box and removed the mouse. It was weird because when my neighbor picked up the mouse there was a bllod spot. My neighbor believed that she was in labor considering her size…I was surprised at how fat the little critter was thinking shit …must be having a fiesta all night with the froot loops. Anyway…wish me luck people.
I think I am goin to try the ammonia one I tried 2 find the peppermint oil but can’t find it. And I read fox urine works but that’s just nasty but if it works 4 ppl so b it.
I found out the little shits were coming from next door. We are in a new house and bloody builders were useless, holes everywhere. My husband took all plinths off bottom of kitchen cupboards and filled with expanding foam also sprayed peppermint oil under there. I am so scared of them i have everything to keep them out!! outside filling all holes with wire wool and peppermint spray again ha ha.Read you have to spray quite often though. I have had them 2 years running!! Wish i could buy an owl to sit in my garden that would do the trick as they can eat up to 15 a day .
I have had them for about 2 years when the kitchens were replaced in my block of flats. I have tried the plug in thing and have not heard them for about 3 weeks. I used to always have moth balls around the flat but my children did not like the smell. I think I will go back to the moth balls and try the peppermint oils also
I have a mouse problem. I live in an apartment and would like to think there is only one but the droppings are making me believe they are multiplying. I have tried traps and the sticky glue pad with no luck.
I searched the net and found something called critter out. Has anyone heard of this stuff? The advertisement says it repels rodents and it has a money back guarantee but people will say anything to get you to buy their product.
I have read some of the other tips and I will give them a try as well.
We too had a mice infestation problem and I was considering the peppermint oil but on some sites, it said it didn’t work. I don’t know if that’s because the peppermint smell dried up and wasn’t replaced? Well anyway. I was on a site last night that said to place small bowls of pine sol (original) in the house (keep away from kids and pets). They hide out in our kitchen and come out seeking food after dark. I placed a bowl on top of the stove and a lid with Pine sol under the stove, and so far, so good. By now, I would have seen a mouse at least 2 or 3 times. Pine sol sure does stink!
pepermint oil confined a mouse to a closet then we used a gluboard and he’s gone but somehow more are coming in ??? the apartment managers weren’t helpful really I’m spending money I can’t afford that, now I’m seeing the peppermint won’t work and the oil loses its power after one day, Now I’m starting over, it cost $7 an oz I bought $30 worth thinking it worked I am so bummed out now I have to deal with traps because I won’t use gluboards anymore and the 2 i have aren’t catching a thing it’s dreadful to find mice poo o the back of your couch they are patying on my couch while I sleep YUK!!! and are so nasty they poo all over just YUK no one has any answers I’ve looked on-line for hours it’s time to trap them and start a fire with my landlord….
I am going to try the peppermint oil and coke! And if I find where they are getting in, the steel wool too. I have the sticky pads now but the mice get on them and then dive to the floor where the pad gets stuck to the carpet more to them and they are able to peel themselves off. I must have some bald mice running around. I also have the round traps w/ PB in them that are supposed to enclose the mouse when he gets in there but its been a week and they have not gone in one of them yet!
no tips but the oil is in little bottles it is for like making hard candy it is flavor oils
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