Sunday, February 7, 2010

What do mice dislike? I have heard that they dislike a certain herb but I can't remember what it is.?

Peppermint oil. Get pure, concentrated peppermint oil from the healthfood store. Not the stuff that is in the baking aisle, it won't work.


If you know where they are coming in, moisten a cotton ball with the oil and place it near the hole. They hate, hate, hate it and won't cross it.


You will have to set traps inside because they won't have a way out now.


Clean up, under, over, inside and around anything, and anywhere the mice have been. And they get into EVERYTHING! Make sure that if they are getting a food source from you (ie birdseed, pet food, etc) that you remove it or store it in an airtight container to keep them out.





I found out accidentally that those pesky little mice really, really enjoy kitten food! There was a small amount of dry kitten food in a container sitting on a shelf where I couldn't see it and the mice, well, they were having a feast!


I foster several litters of kittens from spring through fall and unknowingly invited, then continued to feed my ever-growing mouse colony; quite well I suppose.


I guess I should have fostered an adult cat or two and I bet I wouldn't have had that problem! Anyway, between foster litters one weekend I cleaned every inch of the basement, and then some. I left all shelves clear, cabinet doors open and the mouse hole unencumbered. They had 12 hours to git. Then I let my adult cats downstairs to roam for the next 12 hours. After that I put out the cotton ball with just a few drops of oil (a little goes a looooong way) in strategic spots. We set mouse traps, with peanut butter...it works! (we used it in the garage).


The cats and the traps came up empty handed. Phew! I was sweatin' it because in spite of the fact that I despise having mice as guests I do find them sort of cute and they make me think of Stuart Little...yeah I know...SUCKER!!!


I've checked their favorite spots several times and all remains clean of mouse droppings to this day.


(It's been about 4 weeks, give or take.)


I learned that the key is to do the cleaning on a warm, dry day so the mice will be willing to sneak out while you're not looking. If it's raining or temperatures are too extreme, they will find new spots to hide until you have finished the housekeeping then they'll return. This will result in you having to dig out those nasty, albeit sucessful, traps and getting rid of them. I would just rather not.


so, how's that for a very NOT brief answer...


Peppermint Oil baby! It's a good thing. LOL


Good luck.What do mice dislike? I have heard that they dislike a certain herb but I can't remember what it is.?
peppermint extract or catnip,mice hate both!What do mice dislike? I have heard that they dislike a certain herb but I can't remember what it is.?
cats... big cats.
  • no credit check loan
  • No comments:

    Post a Comment