Home-Made Remedies That Can Help Get Rid of Mice

There are some very basic ways to win the war against mice infiltrating your home, restaurant or place of business in Des Moines. One is simply using peppermint oil to get rid of mice. While the fresh scent of the peppermint may smell wonderful to you, it will send mice fleeing in the opposite direction. Simply place a small amount of the oil on cotton balls, and strategically place them in points of entry and anywhere else where you have seen mice activity.

Onions are another strong smell that mice despise. However, this remedy comes with a caveat. Onions are toxic to some animals, such as cats and dogs, so they must be placed where a household pet does not have access to them to avoid accidental ingestion. Onions also tend to rot after being left out for several days. Trust us, this will not smell like peppermint oil!

Another natural way to combat mice is with ammonia. Simply put, ammonia smells like the urine of a possible predator to mice. Homeowners can fill a cap from a bottle with ammonia and leave it out anywhere mice could have an access point. This includes under the sink, or inside the pantry. With the use of ammonia, caution is advised. Ammonia must be out of reach of small children or household pets.

There are also some lesser-known homemade remedies listed below that will take some time and effort to set up but will have the ability to kill mice dead in their tracks. One involves store-bought, instant-mashed dried potatoes. Simply sprinkle a few tablespoons where the mice are known to go. They will eat the instant dried potatoes (you can mix with peanut butter as well), but the flakes will soon expand in their stomachs and kill them before they’re fully digested. Another more drastic measure is using a bucket that is filled with water and dish soap. Fill a bucket halfway with water. Place a piece of wood, acting as a ramp, placed at an angle on the outside of the bucket. Then cover the surface of the water with leaves and place some peanut butter on one of or all of the leaves. The mice may be tricked into thinking there is ‘free food’ available to them when they try to access the peanut butter, but they will slide under the surface and drown in the water.

The basic mousetrap, which is spring-loaded, is still the most popular and effective means of capturing and getting rid of unwelcomed mice. Many homeowners find adding a small amount of peanut butter to their traps are more effective in getting rid of mice than traps without peanut butter. Despite numerous cartoons over the years, mice generally eat seeds or nuts. Mice enjoy the scent and flavor of nuts and peanuts. They will be attracted to the scent of peanut butter. There are ‘glue-board’ traps in which peanut butter can be placed in the middle, and when a mouse, or mice, venture onto the board, they effectively have their legs stuck to it. You could also use mouse poison pellets to get rid of mice.

You can find mouse poison pellets at your local store or in our online store located here.

There are other types of traps on the market that prevent the ‘hunter’ from seeing the ‘hunted,’ to efficiently get rid of mice. There are ‘no-view, no-touch’ traps that allow any trapped mice to simply be disposed of. Cats are also very effective in reducing and eliminating potential mice threats to your home.

For those who want a more humane route for removing and getting rid of rodents and mice, they can buy reusable traps in which the mouse is not killed, but rather detained, and can be released at some point outdoors and away from your home.