So you’ve found yourself with a furry “friend” at home—perhaps more of an unwanted visitor. You know the kind … they eat cheese and zip around looking for their next place to hide (or family member to scare). Mice, while cute, are not the most welcome of visitors. From droppings left behind to chewing electrical wires in your drywall, mice can wreak havoc without you realizing.
The question then becomes, how do you get rid of mice? Or, better yet, how do you not get rid of mice?
What to Avoid
We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: steer clear of home remedies like essential oils that promise pests will be gone forever. Bloggers will have you believe that peppermint essential oil can be used to get rid of mice. Articles online tell you to put peppermint oil on cotton balls and scatter them around your house where mice tend to enter—and reapply regularly. Supposedly the pungent scent of the peppermint oil is supposed to overwhelm and confuse mice (probably because mice are known for their strong sense of smell). However, there is no scientific evidence supporting this claim. Simply stated: peppermint oil will not deter mice, nor will it eliminate them from your home.
It’s also imperative to note that essential oils (especially peppermint oil) are toxic to pets. And, they can be hazardous to your own health if ingested.
Other things to stay away from when trying to curb the mice population:
- Letting cracks fester in your foundation. Don’t put off sealing any openings—stop by the hardware store for sealant after you do a careful inspection for any holes or cracks.
- Overgrown landscaping. Mice can climb shrubs or trees and then jump from the landscaping onto your siding or window ledge (#nofear). One tiny hole in a window screen is all it takes to enter your home. What’s the lesson? Trim your shrubs.
- Providing easy access to food. Mice live for one thing: finding their next meal. And if they find it, they’ll stick around. So what can you do to prevent them from staying? Make it difficult to find. Eliminate crumbs, sweep and vacuum regularly and wipe down counters as they love to follow the scent of food anywhere.
What to Do Instead
To prevent and get rid of mice, you should instead seal any cracks or crevices where they might enter—and clean your home (especially your kitchen) to avoid attracting them. If you have a full-blown mice epidemic, consider calling a pest control professional like ScherZinger for help.
ScherZinger Pest Control, a trusted pest control company in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, including Dayton and now Columbus. We’ve been pioneers who have engineered new standards for ways of eliminating and controlling bugs and pests. Contact us by phone at 1-877-748-9888 or through our website, Facebook, or Twitter.