You don’t have to use heavy chemicals to drive mice out of your home. We’ll show you how to get rid of mice naturally with these 5 tips.
No matter how much you might love animals, mice taking up residence in your home without your permission isn’t cute. To help you send them on their way without hurting them, check out our list of tips for how to get rid of mice with home remedies.
1. How to Keep Keep Mice Out of Your House: Close All Openings
Mice have a way of getting through even the smallest openings in your home. The first thing to do when you’re trying to figure out how to keep mice out of your house is to find out where they’re getting in. If you can prevent them from getting inside in the first place, you won’t even need to bother with natural mouse repellants. Common invasion points include:
- Small holes in outer walls
- Door gaps
- Pipes
- Cable ducts
- Open windows
- Open cellar windows
To get rid of the mice naturally, search your home for any other small openings or points that might be vulnerable and seal them with plaster, silicone, or mortar.
Remember: Be careful to make sure that the mice are not inside the wall or the ceiling when you close any holes you might find. If you accidentally lock them in, they’ll starve to death.
2. How To Get Rid of Mice Naturally: Prevention
How to keep mice out of your house? Remove their motivation: food. Here are some things to pay attention to:
- Try to be as neat as possible when you’re eating, and get rid of your garbage immediately. Don’t leave any crumbs on the couch or uneaten food left on the counter.
- Learn how to store food correctly. Mice can quickly nibble through packaging to get to pasta, flour, or herbs: try storing food in airtight containers to keep them from helping themselves.
- Place garbage cans as far away from your home as possible, and make sure that they are closed with lids.
- Do you have a rabbit or a hamster? Dirty animal cages attract mice and other rodents, so make sure you’re cleaning your pet’s home regularly.
3. How To Get Rid of Mice: Home Remedies
Mice have an extremely powerful sense of smell, which is why they’re so good at finding sources of food. But that can be used against them with these home remedies.
- Peppermint Oil: Peppermint oil isn’t only good for relieving throat pain: it can also be used as a natural mouse repellant. Pour a few drops of oil on a rag and leave it in small openings or in places where you suspect that your unwanted house guests often hang out.
- Vinegar: Vinegar is an especially effective natural mouse repellant. Fill a bucket with hot water and add vinegar until you can clearly detect the pungent smell. Using a rag, wipe the mixture on your floors, being careful not to miss the hard to reach places. Soak rags in pure vinegar and place them in the areas where you suspect your house mice gather. Tip: If you have any left over, try adding vinegar to your laundry for softer and fresher clothes.
Using peppermint oil and vinegar to get rid of mice naturally is environmentally friendly as well as cruelty-free: no toxic chemicals are required, and aside from having to put up with unpleasant smells and no longer being able to chill out on your sofa, the mice aren’t made to suffer in any way.
Warning: Even if you’re desperate to keep mice out of your house, don’t use chili powder, or anything that is similarly spicy as a repellant. Hot spices will hurt the mice, and cause them to have difficulty breathing.
4. How To Get Rid of Mice Naturally: Kitty Litter
Still looking for how to get rid of mice with more home remedies? If you want to keep mice out of your house for good, cats are probably your best natural defense. Often, just the smell of a cat is enough to keep mice far away.
You can use this to your advantage. Fill a canvas bag with used kitty litter and lay it wherever you can tell the mice have been. When they get a whiff, the mice will do their very best to stay away, to avoid getting caught by their natural predators.
5. Humane Mouse Traps
If you’ve already tried every natural mouse repellant there is, and the rodents just won’t stay away, it’s time to try a live mouse trap. The principle is simple: the mice can get into the trap, but not out again. Once they’re inside, you can take them away to a nearby wooded area and let them out.
You can buy several different kinds of live mouse traps at your local hardware store, or you can try the DIY version: The Bucket Trap.
Get Rid of Mice Naturally With a Live Mouse Trap – What to Do:
- Find a small bucket that is at least ten inches high (mice can jump up to about 8 inches, so it’s important that the bucket is tall enough). Place the bucket right-side-up near the place where you suspect that the mice enter the room.
- Place a piece of bread or cheese on a small plate and lay it inside the bucket.
- Build a little staircase next to the bucket for your rodent friends with books or wooden blocks. Make sure the space between the steps isn’t too big so that it’s easy for the mice to climb.
- Place another small piece of cheese or bread on each step, to lure the mice up. Once they reach the top, with a bit of luck, they’ll fall into the bucket.
- Carefully lay a towel over the top of the bucket and bring the mice outside. To keep the mice out of your house, release them a good distance away, so that they don’t try to get back in right away.
Warning: Don’t leave the mice in the bucket for too long. Being caught in a small space is very stressful for them, and in the worst case, can lead to death. Make sure you check your trap regularly so that you can release trapped mice as quickly as possible.
Careful: To avoid getting bitten, don’t reach into the bucket with your hand to release the mice! Instead, tip the bucket over, away from you, and let them run off.
This article has been translated from German to English by Christie Sacco. You can read the original here: Mäuse vertreiben: 5 tierfreundliche Hausmittel
** Links to retailers marked with ** or underlined orange are partially partner links: If you buy here, you actively support Utopia.org, because we will receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.Do you like this post?