How to Get Rid of Mice Naturally

Small poop droppings and chewed holes in the packaging in your kitchen are two obvious signs that mice are in your home. Although they may not seem like aggressive invaders, mice and rats carry diseases, and a bite may transmit diseases to humans and pets. To protect yourself and keep your house rodent-free, discover how to get rid of mice naturally.

Mice are active throughout the year, but it’s common to find them indoors during winter. As temperatures drop, rodents find their way inside, searching for a food source and a place to make a nest. Common areas that mice nestle inside your home include behind walls and in the insulation.

If you find a mouse or notice signs of mice activity, it’s vital to figure out how to eliminate them to avoid an infestation. Rodents are well-known for their ability to reproduce rapidly. A couple of mice could turn into a mouse infestation in a few weeks.

Natural Remedies to Get Rid of Mice

Mice are one of the home invaders that immediately trigger a response to hire a professional to control their presence. Because a mouse infestation quickly grows out of control, professional interference may be necessary. Still, there are many home remedies to help control a mouse problem.

How to Use Baking Soda for Mice

While commercial rat poison is effective at killing rats, having poison in your home risks accidental ingestion by humans or pets. To get rid of mice without using a harmful substance, create a mixture with a baking soda base.

Baking soda is a crucial ingredient for getting rid of rats because of the compounds in baking soda that react to the moisture in the mouse’s stomach. Once ingested, the reaction creates a gas buildup inside the rats, causing fatal internal damage.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl until evenly mixed. Sprinkle the baking soda mixture across plastic lids or on paper plates. Place the mixture throughout the living space where you’ve noticed mice activity. Check these areas often for signs that rats have visited.

Using Ammonia to Repel Mice

Ammonia has a strong odor, and it is beneficial to manage mice activity around the home. Because mice have sensitive noses, placing a source of pungent odors in the right areas is a simple way to keep mice from free roaming.

Use gloves to dip cotton balls in ammonia to deter mice. Place the soaked cotton balls on a plastic lid near areas where mice hide.

Can You Use Potato Flakes to Kill Mice?

Because mice chew through various materials in search of food, it may seem odd to use instant mashed potatoes to kill mice, but instant potato flakes are an effective method for getting rid of mice.

The same instant potatoes found in the grocery store are deadly to mice once ingested. The flakes rehydrate and fluff once ingested, creating a blockage in the digestive system of the mice.

Mice may consume potato flakes independently; to increase the odds, mix in granular sugar. Sprinkle the mixture on a lid or in a bowl and leave it near a small dish of water to encourage mice to drink. Keep an eye out for a dead mouse after using this method to get rid of mice.

How Kitty Litter Helps Get Rid of Mice

If you have a cat, used cat litter is an effective weapon against mice. The odor of cat urine triggers a response in mice that makes them avoid any space filled with the smell. Cat urine has a strong smell, and the longer it sits, the more organic compounds break down, making the scent stronger.

With gloves, remove a clump of cat litter your cat urinated on and place it in a container. Place the container in the most mouse activity area to deter them from venturing into the open.

Cayenne Pepper Sachet

Cayenne pepper’s spicy scent is popular as a DIY insect repellent. The pepper’s oil, when used on pieces of cotton, is easy to place around your home to keep mice from roaming freely.

To use dry cayenne pepper against mice, wrap the cayenne in cheesecloth or cotton fabric. Tie the sachets with string or staple them shut and leave them behind appliances or furniture to prevent mice from hiding there.

Using the Smell of Cloves Against Mice

When looking for natural remedies to get rid of mice, the smell of cloves is effective. When mice smell fresh cloves or the scent of clove oil, they avoid the surrounding area. Mice avoid the smell of cloves on cotton balls.

Use a dropper to soak a cotton ball with clove oil. Place the cotton ball in areas that mice often visit or where you’ve spotted their droppings or urine trails. Use a scrap of cotton cloth to wrap whole cloves and place them strategically.

How to Get Rid of Mice Naturally

Essential oils, pressed from the leaves of plants, are not fatal to mice; however, they are some of the best ways to get rid of rats fast. Mice and other rodents hate many natural scents like peppermint, and using a concentrated oil around your home helps reduce mice activity.

To use peppermint or lemon essential oils to get rid of mice, soak cotton with peppermint oil or lemon essential oil and leave the cotton balls around the house to control where mice are active indoors. If you’ve identified an entry point in your home’s foundation, leaving an oil-soaked cotton ball in that area helps prevent mice from getting inside.

Soap Spray for Keeping Mice Away

Use Tabasco sauce to make a strong-smelling spray that mice avoid. Add a thickening agent like laundry detergent and spritz it around your home. Spraying outside helps keep mice from entering.

Fill a 16-ounce spray bottle with water before adding the sauce and detergent. Shake well before spraying around your house.

Eliminating Mice with Bay Leaves

While the scent of some plants acts as a natural mouse repellent, bay laurel leaves are unique because of the damage they cause to rats once ingested. Chopped bay leaves are one of the easiest natural remedies to get rid of mice.

Cut bay leaves into strips and put them out for mice to eat. Eugenol is a compound inside bay leaves that damages the rat’s liver once ingested. The smell of bay laurel leaves tricks mice into believing it’s a food source.

How to Use Boric Acid for Mice

Boric acid is helpful for glasswork, cosmetics, preservatives, and as an antiseptic. Boric acid also effectively eliminates insects and other pests indoors. Once ingested, boric acid decreases the acidity in the pests’ body, resulting in respiratory distress.

Mix boric acid with chicken broth, adding a teaspoon of broth at a time until the mixture is thick and difficult to stir. While wearing gloves, roll the mixture into small balls and place them on a paper plate. Leave plates with bait in areas where you spot mouse droppings for the mice to find and eat.

Making Homemade Mouse Traps for Mice

Snap traps are tried-and-true methods for getting rid of mice in your home; however, most commercial traps are not humane. Live traps are not fatal to mice; instead, they help you catch mice, allowing you to release them into the wild. You can build a simple DIY bucket mouse trap at home or design a glue trap.

To make effective glue traps, create a mixture that does not dry out like regular craft glue.

To make bait, pour corn syrup and water into a pot on the stove, warming until they become a paste. Remove the syrup mixture from the heat to cool before storing the sticky paste in airtight containers.

Cut the cardboard into manageable shapes to create a trap and place a rolled strip of duct tape on the bottom of the cardboard. Spread the corn syrup across the pieces of cardboard before placing your traps around your home.

Note: Place pet food in the middle of the board to entice mice to your glue trap.

Natural Ways to Get Rid of Mice

Because mice are sensitive to strong smells, using a homemade spray made from various peppers is a helpful way to keep mice away. While this is not a homemade spray to kill mice, spraying a concentrated spray where mice live causes an unpleasant burning sensation in their eyes and nostrils, causing them to avoid treated areas.

Boil water on the stove while blending jalapeno peppers with chili flakes. Place the mixture in the bucket before pouring the boiling water over the peppers and covering the bucket for a full day.

Cover the bucket with cheesecloth and strain it into another before tossing the solids. Use a cup to add the water to a spray bottle for use around your house. Spray around the entrances of your home and areas where you find evidence of mouse activity. Keep the bucket covered and out of sunlight.

Vinegar Spray for Repelling Mice

Vinegar is among the safest natural ways to get rid of mice, as it is one of the scents that repel mice. The pungent smell of vinegar is popular for dealing with pests inside, and creating a simple spray made of apple cider vinegar prevents mice from exploring your house.

Mix cider vinegar and water equally in a spray bottle. Spray around the baseboards and near cracks or gaps in the walls to use this solution as a homemade mice repellent. Reapply the vinegar at least once a month to keep mice away.

Cats for Pest Control

Cats are natural predators of mice, and introducing a cat to your house is a natural remedy for dealing with a house mouse problem. Cats naturally hunt and kill smaller animals, and if you own a pet cat, they’ll seek out mice on their own, sometimes bringing them to you for approval.

Deciding to own a cat isn’t a simple decision, but leaving food outside for strays helps draw cats to your house, where they’ll feed on any field mouse populations nearby. Having a cat around also works as a natural deterrent because the pheromones in urine repel mice.

Creating Homemade Bait Stations

Controlling mice activity can be challenging because mice are small and easy to lose if they flee. Mice often scurry along the same route every day after deciding on a safe path. Mice chew holes in wood and cardboard to find food and shelter, preferring to feed without being in the open.

If mice aren’t eating your bait, the mice may not feel safe eating there. Commercial bait stations provide mice a safe space to eat bait before returning to their nests. To make a station, use a wooden board or PVC pipe beside a wall with homemade bait inside. These stations provide mice an entry to feed on the bait and an exit.

Can You Use the Smell of Moth Balls Against Mice?

Mothballs are thought of as helpful as mice repellents; however, they are ineffective. Mothballs contain naphthalene; over time, the solid balls turn into a toxic vapor that kills moths. The amount of naphthalene in mothballs isn’t high enough to kill rodents, and the scent it gives off warns rodents of toxicity that they avoid.

The level of naphthalene required to kill mice is also toxic to humans. Even prolonged exposure to mothballs with regular levels of naphthalene has health risks, including nausea, headaches, and respiratory damage.

Tips for Avoiding Mice in Your House

Although mice thrive outdoors, as the temperature drops, the warm safety of a home becomes an ideal place to nest for rodents. To protect your home from invaders, inspect and seal any cracks in the foundation.

Avoid leaving dirty dishes in your sink or food scraps on the counter and sweep the floors and cover the trash every night. Pet food is another food source; sealing pet food packages in airtight containers prevents mice from smelling it.

Mice multiply quickly; female mice birth new litters about ten days after mating. Finding one or two mice in your house shouldn’t be ignored, as their numbers quickly get out of hand.

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