Keep rats and mice away by adding 1 natural item to your home that ‘irritates’ them

As the temperature drops rodents are likely to come into homes to scavenge food and look for a warm place to nest, but there is one simple way to keep these pests out of your home.

It is much easier to take measures that prevent and from coming into your than get rid of them once they begin nesting as they reproduce quickly which can cause an infestation in a short period of time.

Mel Lockcuff, a household expert and founder of Adventures of Mel, has shared that she had a major problem with rodents coming into her home but she was able to find a highly effective natural solution.

In a , Mel said: “There were lots of little crevices, and they could get in the tiniest of holes, it seems like so and they would get in our cabinets, they would get in and just wreak havoc.

“So we finally got fed up, and I started looking at remedies, and that’s when I discovered peppermint oil.”

How does peppermint oil work to keep rats and mice away? 

Peppermint oil great rodent repellant as mice and rats have highly sensitive noses that can easily be overwhelmed by its strong minty scent.

Mel said: “Peppermint oil is a great deterrent, and I have read that what it does is it actually masks their pheromone trails so that other mice aren’t attracted to that area.

“And then I’ve also read that it irritates their nasal passages. They don’t like it. And it actually it worked. It worked for us in a couple of different old, really old houses that we lived in.”

What makes peppermint oil so great is that it will also help mark natural food odours in your home to make it harder for rodents to sniff out food, which can reduce their motivation to explore and nest in an area.

How to use peppermint oil to keep rats and mice out of your home? 

Cotton ball method

Applying this deterrent is incredibly simple as all you will need is a packet of cotton balls and a bottle of pure peppermint oil that you can buy out of pharmacies and health food stores.

Mel said: “You can put probably at least five to six drops on a cotton ball, and then put those cotton balls in different areas where you think the mice might be coming in, or where you’re finding evidence of mice.

“So around your cabinets, around baseboards, maybe even around, like outside entrances, like your garage door, things like places like that.”

You can also place the peppermint-infused cotton balls under sinks as rodents often enter homes through gaps around plumbing pipes but make sure to put them near windows, doors or any place you suspect the rodents are using to enter your home.

Homemade spray 

One other highly effective way to use peppermint oil is to turn it into a homemade solution by simply mixing it with water and spraying it around your home.

Mel said: “Another thing I did, I took it one step further, and I used a spray bottle, and I mixed up water with lots of peppermint oil, you want to make sure that it’s potent enough so that it will smell, so it’ll smell strong enough to deter them.

“A lot of people recommend a one-to-one mixture. I didn’t go that strong. That was way too strong because it will fill your house with minty fresh smell. You could use, like 25 drops for eight ounces, or you could use two teaspoons of peppermint oil for eight ounces for maybe a cup of water.

“Just make sure that when you spray it, you can smell it really well. It’s really strong, and you’ll have to keep replenishing your cotton balls and your spray every couple of weeks. Just to keep it strong.”

You can spray this homemade solution anywhere in the home and even in the garden or around your shed, just make sure to reapply it whenever it rains or once a week.

Peppermint oil is one of the most natural and cheap ways to prevent mice or rats from becoming a problem during the colder seasons so you can enjoy staying warm in your home without worry rodents becoming a problem.