Keeping your house free from mice is essential for your health and the health of your family. If you have a problem with mice in your home it’s important to know how to prevent these tiny creatures. Mice have a remarkable sense of smell. Just as some odours attract mice there are also many smells that mice dislike. Moreover, many people prefer to just deter them from ever entering the home instead of trapping or killing them. If you want to know about the Smell that Mice Hate, this article will be a great option for you. In this article, you will get some most effective ingredients which will help you to deter mice from your side.
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List of Smell that Mice Hate Most
There are so many smells mice do not like which could most effective to keep them away from your property. Let’s check the post to get some most useful information.
Peppermint Essential Oil
You may find the smell of peppermint refreshing, tangy, and pleasant but mice find it offensive and overwhelming. As mice have a stronger smell sense the scent of the peppermint oil irritates their olfactory nerves. Because of that, they do not like the strong smell of this essential oil. However, peppermint oil is really useful to prevent mice, especially when applied on a regular basis and in high doses. Additionally, using peppermint oil is a non-toxic and safe way to keep mice away from your house. However, you can apply only oil on the entry points of your house or can create a peppermint mice solution. The smell of this essential oil will keep mice away from your house.
Citronella Oil
Though citronella is best known to deter mosquitoes and other flying insects still it can also prevent the mice. As the mice do not like the scent of citronella they tended to stay away from the bait that had been treated with citronella oil. Moreover, a daily application of this essential oil could act as a potential natural rodent repellent. Like peppermint oil, this oil also environment-friendly so you can apply it inside of your house. To repel mice from your house you need to apply this essential oil on a regular basis. Otherwise, mice will start living in your house again.
Eucalyptus Oil
The strong scent of eucalyptus seems to be offensive to mice and could prevent them from living in your home. Some Pest control experts claim that a solution of 10% eucalyptus oil can prevent mice from the house. They also observed that the mice avoided food that had been sprayed with the eucalyptus solution. Even though mice do not like the aroma of eucalyptus, the pleasant fragrance will keep your home smelling fresh.
Chili Powder or Chili Oil
Chilli oil is a common natural ingredient known for causing frustration when ingested or inhaled. The pungent smell of chili makes difficult for the mice to breath and threatened their survival. Chulalongkorn University researchers tested the effects of natural smells, like chili, on mice. Their research exposed that chili did prevent the mice from returning to the lure. However, if you have large quantities of mice around your home chili oil may not be a reliable solution to prevent them in your home.
Naphthalene or Mothballs
Another smell that mice hate most is the smell of the mothballs or naphthalene. Naphthalene is made from an organic compound anyway. Using mothballs to deter mice is quite simple and easy. Just place and keep them in the places where you saw the rodent’s activities like your cupboard, sink or toilets. The potent aroma of mothballs will make mice go away. However, mothballs or naphthalene can cause various health effects if too much is inhaled. This can include dizziness and nausea as well as kidney and liver damage. So you should be careful when placing mothballs and keep your child and pets away from this chemical-based solution.
Ammonia
Most homeowners tend to prefer ammonia as a mice repellent because it’s considered 100% safe to humans and pets. They believe that ammonia is one of the smells that really repel mice from the house. This may be because of its unpleasant odor that emits into the air. Mice hate the smell of ammonia because it smells like the urine of predators that keep them away. Not only to repel the mice but ammonia is also useful to remove stains and smells mice behind. However, ammonia can cause severe health effects so it’s recommended to use gloves and mask for safety’s sake.
Predator’s Smell
One of the scents that mice definitely dislike is the scent of their predators. If a mouse comes across the smell of an animal such as cat or owl they’re likely to stay away. Cats are not just good as a natural predator but even their smell seems to act as a pest deterrent. So, keeping a cat in your house to keep critters away might not be such a bad idea after all. However, the urine of predators has a specific compound that mice hate. To humans, the smell of predator’s urine is slightly offensive. But, to mice and rats, the smell of predator’s urine is the smell of danger.
Cayenne Pepper
Another potential effective mouse repellent is cayenne pepper that you might have around your house. Sprinkle cayenne pepper powder wherever mice live. The acute smell of this pepper will make difficult their survival and they will leave your area as soon as they smell it. Or you can make cayenne pepper spray to get into hard to reach area or holes of the mice. Soak cayenne pepper with horseradish and garlic in oil for a few days. After that, strain it and put it in a spray bottle with a little water. This spray will stick on surfaces and repel mice for some time. However, cayenne pepper can cause eye irritation of cats or dogs so you should keep them away from it.
Final Words
Finally, you know the Smell That Mice Hate, now you can use the smell against them. But remember that, each mouse’s nose will react a little bit different to the same odours, and each home environment and situation differs too. So you should keep experimenting until you find something really work. However, any good mice prevention and control process should incorporate a multi-faceted method of keeping the critters out. So, first, make sure that mice have no way to enter your house
