Not only that mice in your home can create a mess, cause property damage, and produce an unpleasant odor, but they also pose potential health hazards that you must be aware of. If you don’t know what to do to repel and remove them, you might end up using poisons and toxic chemicals which are dangerous for you and your family’s health as well.
Therefore, we present you with six safe ways to effectively remove these uninvited guests from your home, without using any toxic chemicals.
1. Keep Your Home Clean
Mice are often drawn to homes while looking for food. So, if they don’t find anything to eat, they will most likely go away. Therefore, make sure your food is properly stored in airtight containers, or somewhere safe from mice attacks Smith’s Pest Management.
2. Peppermint Oil
The smell of peppermint oil acts as a natural deterrent for mice, as they find it too strong. So, the peppermint scent will keep them away, at the same time disguising any leftovers that have been missed when cleaning. Unlike most synthetic chemical repellents, peppermint oil is not toxic, and will even make your house smell wonderful. This oil is available in major grocery stores and health food stores (2).
Put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton ball, and place it near or under your garbage can to prevent mice from getting into it. You can place the cotton ball by heat vents, doorways, or any other place mice are likely to enter your home. Replace the cotton balls every 5-7 days. Another great way is to grow your peppermint plant near your doorways. In this way, you will have both, mice deterrent and food ingredients.
3. Zap Them with Ultrasonic Sounds
Mice hate the ultrasonic beeping sound emitted from certain electronic units that can be found online or at local home improvement stores. You should know the precise path the rodents take, as they work only in a single line of sight. Also, mice can easily become used to these units, so they serve as short-time mice repellents (3).
4. Use Dried Snake Feces
Look for some dried snake feces in your local zoo, or pet store, and place them in places mice are likely to go, such as near entrances. This will keep them away from Smit’s Pest Management. Keep this unusual mice repellent out of the reach of children and pets.
5. Commercial, Organic Deterrent
A lot of companies that produce organic home and garden products, make mice repellents that are more environment-friendly than the traditional poisons. Most of these products contain natural ingredients known to be unpleasant for mice. One such ingredient is peppermint. With the help of these products, you will be able to keep the mice away from your home without harming or killing them. You can find these products at your local home improvement or garden center.
6. Get a Cat
If you have a cat and let it outside to play, it might find the mice that are sneaking around your house. However, not every cat is a mouser, especially kittens. They have to be trained by their mother to chase mice. Also, if your kitty is well-fed and kept indoors, it will probably see the mouse as a toy, and be quickly bored by it after scaring it away.
- Whether a cat is a mouse hunter or not, is not something that shelters and adoption agencies know. They have to test them to find out, which is very rare;
- “Barn cats” are excellent mouse hunters, but, terrible at getting socialized with people;
- Another option is to place tubs of used cat litter at certain places in your home like near your doorway, so you don’t even need to have a cat. The smell of cat urine will deter the mice;
- Also, a cat might not be enough in case you have a mouse infestation. After using other means to get rid of them, a cat will serve to prevent reinfestation (5).
Via Wiki How