The best way to get rid of mice – natural & effective
There are many tips online on using a mouse deterrent without poison. The oldest and most known one is the cat. Unfortunately not every cat is a born hunter (mine is scared of mice!), and you might not have any desire to have to deal with the gory aspects of their mousehunting.
If so, of all home remedies for mice Peppermint oil is my best way to get rid of mice. Rodents do not like the smell (I LOVE it), which is far too strong for them, so they keep their distance. The smell of peppermint also helps to mask food odors that attract mice.
Peppermint oil really does work to repel mice, especially when used as a preventive measure. Plus it’s a non-toxic, pet and child friendly way to keep those pesky critters out of your house. And it smells fresh and clean unlike other solutions like using mothballs or ammonia based solutions.
Now just to be clear, mice and peppermint oil do not make a surefire solution for all problems with mice. For example, once a mouse has made a nest in your home, it can be pretty tough to get rid of them using just a few peppermint leaves. But as a preventive measure, the peppermint oil mice solution can work wonders.
Peppermint oil masks the pheromone trails the mice leave behind, and which other mice use to find their way around. Naturally they don’t like this, and prefer to spend their time in areas where they can easily navigate.
The strong peppermint oil scent also irritates the nasal cavity of the mouse. Mice have an extremely acute sense of smell. The menthol in the peppermint oil which we find refreshing is at very strong concentrations quite irritating to the mouse. So they will avoid any area in which the scent is too strong.
This is also why some folks do not have success using peppermint oil as a mouse repellent – they are simply not using a strong enough solution. The key to using peppermint oil correctly is to make sure to keep the concentration as pure as possible. Don’t over dilute the peppermint oil solution too much to save a few pennies or you will simply be wasting your time.
Let’s take a look at 5 different innovative and easy ways you can use peppermint oil to repel mice in your house or RV!
Using essential oils as home remedies for mice – a great alternative
1. COTTON BALL METHOD
What you need
Do you have cotton balls in your bathroom? Perfect. Now go out and buy some high quality 100% pure peppermint oil. There are so many other uses for peppemint oil, you’ll become a fan in no time!
How to do it
Deposit about 5 drops of oil onto a cotton ball. Distribute the cotton balls in areas where mice may enter your home. This works at its best as a natural mice repellent. Remember: if the mice are already in your home, they will simply avoid the areas where you put the cotton balls. That said, they still can be helpful in areas where you specifically don’t want the mice to go and hide.
Once a month or so, add new oil to the cotton balls. The scent will fade with time, and you need to keep the cotton balls fresh.
2. MIX WITH CLEANERS TO REMOVE PHEROMONES
Here’s another great tactic.
what you need
Get a spray bottle filled household cleaner, and add some peppermint oil to the mixture. Shake it up to make a solution.
how to do it
Use your household cleaner as you normally do. While you are cleaning, you will distribute the oil around without even thinking about it. Since you hopefully wipe down your surfaces regularly, this is an easy way to keep up with the peppermint oil and discourage mice in all areas of your home.
3. USE A PEPPERMINT SPRAY
If you need to cover large areas, and you don’t necessarily want to use a cleaning solution, another easy solution is to make your own spray.
what you need
is to get a spray bottle and mix peppermint oil and water in a 1:1 ratio. The 2-ounce spray bottles are the perfect size, since you can use an ounce of peppermint oil and an ounce of water. Shake it up so the mixture is homogenous. Over time, oil and water separate, so you have to do this before each use.
how to do it
You can spray this mixture anywhere you need to and cover large areas this way.
4. PLANT MINT AROUND THE BASE OF YOUR HOUSE
Since peppermint is most effective as a preventive measure, it makes sense to simply plant peppermint around the base of your home! This makes your yard an unattractive environment. Mice will naturally avoid your home and build nests closer to other homes that haven’t taken this measure of prevention. Mint spreads quickly, so growing it is easy if you have the right climate. If they are less likely to come near your house, they are less likely to enter it.
5. STORE-BOUGHT SOLUTIONS
Ninja Trick: Fast and Easy
Eco defense – one of the most popular repellents for mice
If you want something easier, there are now great store-bought solutions which you can use. The Eco Defense is my top pick, a perfect blend of essential oils. You can check the current prices and reviews here.
And here are some good alternatives, that you might know already:
Mouse Away
Mouse Away is a great choice from Dreaming Earth Botanicals. It’s all-natural, and contains a blend of peppermint and spearmint oils.
Fresh Cab – Rodent Repellent
Fresh Cab Rodent Repellent by Earth-Kind is another botanical blend that provides powerful protection against rodents. It is all-natural and biodegradable.
Both Mouse Away and Cab Fresh are available in pouches which you can place strategically around your home.
You can find peppermint essential oils in most health/food stores in the essential oil section. There are also many health webshops that sell them. Make sure you buy organic 100% pure peppermint oil. My go-to oil is this one by Majestic, but if you want to start out with a cheaper oil, Plant Therapy is an excellent choice:
Once you discover all the other benefits the oil has, like a calming effect on the digestive system, improving the health of your scalp and hair, you will be inspired to use essential oils for a lot of problems. The variety and applications are endless!
Getting rid of mice is one thing; making sure they keep coming back is another. To make your home as unattractive as possible for mice is very important. Here are some additional things you should do next to using peppermint oil for mice:
Mice get in your house looking for food and a place to build a nest. The best way to keep mice away, is through making the food and nesting sites inaccessible. Mice eat only 3-5 grams per day and can survive without drinking water, the moisture they get from food is sufficient. Mice have a preference for grains, nuts and legumes, but they also like to eat high-fat foods such as cheese, bacon, fat and butter.
There are some practical steps you can take to keep mice out.
Food Storage – Mice gnaw through cardboard and plastic packaging. Store food therefore closed off in metal boxes, glass jars or heavy plastic containers.
Waste – Put waste directly into closed bins.
Clean – A few crumbs under the refrigerator, under the stove in kitchen cupboards or pantry are enough for a mouse. Make sure there are no crumbs hiding in places that are invisible to humans.
Pets – Mice love to eat the food of your pet. They also find birdseed very tasty. Keep pet food in a sealed container and dispose of food that your pet has not eaten immediately.
Clutter and Mess – Mice love to use this as shelter or nesting material.
Mice are very agile and can enter your home through the smallest hole. Because of their soft skeleton, they can fit through holes as wide as a pencil. In addition, mice are good climbers, they can climb upward on rough surfaces or via thin wires.
Doors – A small crack under the door is enough for a mouse. Therefore, placing a door brush under doors can help deter mice.
Wires and tubes – Many homes have holes in the outer wall for electricity, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers. Mice regularly enter your house through these holes.Especially when appliances are replaced, new holes are drilled and the old holes are not closed properly. Gaps around pipes and cables should be filled with stainless steel plates, steel wool and kit.
Plants – mice easily climb bushes and trees to gain access to your home through the roof. Poorly maintained gardens with lots of weeds offer shelter. Make sure tree branches do not touch your house and take care of the plants and flowers around your house as well. Preferably leave a space between your house and the plants so mice can not hide here.
In Summary
Choosing peppermint oil to get rid of mice is an environmental friendly decision, and there are so many other benefits to using it! It drives mice away rather than kills them, and it is non-toxic, making it safe around kids and animals. It doesn’t make a mess, and there are so many different ways you can use it. Add to that the fact that it is cheap, smells great, and can drive other pests away too (like ants and flies), and you have a ton of great reasons to try it. So head to the store and pick up a bottle of 100% pure peppermint oil and some cotton balls, or buy some peppermint plants to distribute around your home. You should see some great results right away!
