Are you tired of finding mouse droppings in your pantry, chewed-up wires, and holes in your walls? Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
Mice can be a real nuisance, but using chemical repellents can be expensive and harmful to your health. Luckily, there are many effective and natural mice repellents that work.
In this blog post, we’ll share with you 18 mice repellent home remedies that work, so you can take matters into your own hands and protect your home and family from these pesky rodents.
From peppermint oil to steel wool, these home remedies are affordable, easy to use, and safe for your health and the environment.
So, whether you’re dealing with a full-blown infestation or just want to prevent mice from entering your home, keep reading and discover the power of natural mouse repellents.
18 Mice Repellent Home Remedies
Here is a compilation of mice repellents that work.
1. Peppermint Oil
While peppermint smells pleasant to humans, mice do not like it and even find it confusing and overwhelming.
Therefore, they will likely stay away from your home if they smell it. You can use peppermint as a rodent repellent using peppermint oil or peppermint plants.
If possible, plant peppermint on your property and let the smell deter mice from entering. Alternatively, buy peppermint oil from a local store, dip paper towels or cotton balls in the oil then place them in strategic areas.
Use castor oil if you cannot access peppermint oil.
Related: How to get rid of mice in walls fast
2. Pepper Spray
Choke the mice in your home using a homemade pepper spray remedy made of Cayenne pepper and habanero. Here’s what you need to do to make and use this recipe:
- Boil water.
- Use your hand or food processor to blend the peppers.
- Put the blended pepper in a bucket, then the boiling water.
- Cover the mixture and leave it for 24 hours.
- Filter the solution using a cheesecloth to remove the pepper bits.
- Pour the pepper spray into spray bottles
- Spray the pepper spray on mice-prone places.
Related: Can You Kill Mice With Salt?
3. Ammonia
The pungent smell of ammonia is sure to keep the rodents away, making it an effective mice repellent. Mice will not likely come back to your property once they smell ammonia.
Create the home remedy by mixing 2 cups of ammonia, a ¼ glass of water, and a couple of spoons of detergent in a bowl. Next, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then spray it around the infested areas.
Related: Does irish spring soap keep mice away
4. Cloves
This is another ingredient that keeps mice away through its strong smell. You can use whole cloves or clove essential oil for this mouse repellent. If you use whole cloves, wrap them in muslin clothes, then place them close to mice holes.
For the clove essential oil recipe, just soak multiple cotton balls in the fluid, then put them in areas mice will likely pass or stay.
5. Dryer Sheets
Take advantage of the dryer sheets to get rid of mice by putting old dryer sheets in mice-prone areas, then wait for the smell to act.
Related: Killing Mice With Toothpaste
6. White Vinegar
White vinegar is a versatile product used in cooking, disinfecting, repelling rodents and bed bugs, and cleaning. Therefore, you can use it to eliminate mice.
Saturate cotton balls with vinegar then put the balls in crevices, gaps, and small holes mice use as entry points to your home. You can even use it to deter mice from your car.
Also Read: Does pine sol keep mice away
7. Onions
Rodents tend to avoid the smell of onions, so you can use this readily available ingredient as a mice repellent. Keep them in your kitchen and other areas you will likely find these tiny rodents. However, onions can harm pets such as dogs and cats.
In addition, you must replace the old onions with fresh ones because they rot after a couple of days.
Related: Does bleach repel mice
8. Potato Flakes
Instant mashed potatoes are an economic, pet-friendly mouse repellent. The potato flakes in this rodent repellent expand a mouse’s stomach until it ruptures after eating the mashed potatoes.
9. Moth Balls
While moth balls keep mice away, you must put them in areas your pets and kids cannot access since they can harm them. This recipe chases away the mice already in your house and keeps the ones outside from going in.
Related: How to get rid of mice in the house
10. Bay Leaves
Put dried bay leaves in the mice’s entryways once every five days to eliminate these pesky rodents. The mice will think the bay leaves are food, but they will choke and die once they consume them.
11. Garlic Bulb
Like other recipes in this list, this one acts against mice through its strong smell. Chop garlic and mix it with water, then sprinkle it around your home. Alternatively, spread garlic cloves strategically.
12. Cocoa Powder and Plaster of Paris
This mouse recipe kills mice by suffocating and dehydrating them. Sprinkle the mice trails in your home with a mixture of cocoa powder (one tablespoon) and plaster of Paris.
13. Cow Dung
Cow dung causes stomach inflammation in mice and eventually death. Spread the cow dung in your attic, garden, and any other place your deem necessary, and wait for mice to eat it.
14. Natural Predators
Solve your mice infestation problem by having a cut at home and letting them hunt and eat these tiny rodents. You will notice a significant drop in the mice population within days. Alternatively, make your property attractive to barn owls, who will then hunt the mice.
15. Baking Soda
Like vinegar, baking soda has many uses at home, including teeth whitening, removing food sourness, and poisoning mice.
Create mouse repellent out of baking soda by mixing equal sugar and flour (a cup each), adding a cup of baking soda, and then blending the mixture well.
Place the mixture in different areas frequented by mice. The baking soda kills the mice while sugar attracts them. Put on protective gloves when handling baking soda.
16. Steel Wool
Use steel wool balls to cover small gaps, cracks, holes, and crevices around your home to eliminate the entry points of mice. This method does not kill these small rodents but instead keeps them away.
17. Tabasco Sauce and Soap Detergent
Thoroughly mix a gallon of water, a tablespoon of tabasco sauce, and ¼ cup of soap detergent, then pour the solution into spray bottles. Spray this mouse repellent in areas frequented by mice.
18. Kitty Litter
Mice and cats are natural enemies; all the mice need to run away is to smell cat urine. For this reason, put the litter boxes of your cats in areas mice typically go to turn these rodents away. Alternatively, put the litter in tiny containers instead of moving your cat’s litter box.
Final Remarks
You do not have to looker further for products to kill or chase mice away because the common household products are effective. Choose a remedy that suits you best and rid your home of these pesky rodents without spending too much money.
I’m Mike Hyle, an exterminator with 7+ years of experience handling all sorts of pests, including mice, cockroaches, bed bugs, and termites. I also write for Pest Solutions DIY blog to share my knowledge and help homeowners keep their homes pest-free. Outside work, I enjoy hunting, snowshoeing, and exploring nature. Check out my blog for helpful pest control tips!