Pure Peppermint Oil is a natural pest repellent to deter rats, mice, spiders, ants and snakes. To keep both insect and animal pests away, apply 5-7 drops to each cotton ball and place in various locations around the house. You can also make a pest-repellent spray.
Place the cotton balls in the oil and allow it to soak the oil until completely saturated. Place the cotton balls at entry points (windows, doors, or known crevices). You can also place them in spaces containing food like cupboards or known nesting locations like attics, garages or crawl spaces.
Peppermint oil is an effective method for keeping mice and rats away. These rodents cannot stand this oil's robust and minty smell, so a few drops around your home can go a long way in keeping them away.
Add 1 cup of water to your spray bottle first. Then, add 10 to 15 drops of pure peppermint oil. Shake the mixture up well, and you're ready to go! Spray your new repellent around your home anywhere rats might get in.
Peppermint oil and mice
Nope! It will make your home smell good, but it certainly won't get rid of your unwanted lodgers. Peppermint oil is assumed to be a great mouse repellent because, in high concentrations, it can be quite potent and mice have a very sensitive sense of smell.
EarthKind founder, Kari Warberg Block, tested using peppermint oil for pest control extensively in her farm equipment over a 3 year period. Kari says, “It would work for a couple of weeks, and then just lose its scent.
Peppermint contains a potent compound known as menthol, which irritates rodents' nasal cavities and disorients them, causing them to stray away from areas that contain the scent. To incorporate peppermint into your home, you can either grow peppermint plants or use essential oils.
Peppermint essential oil is another oil commonly added to water, and ideal for a refreshing drink on a hot day. It can be soothing and aid in digestion.
How often do you need to use them? After mixing the ingredients in the bottle, you can spray the repellent in the common entry points or areas with high mouse activity. The pleasant scent from the spray will eventually fade after a few days so it's recommended to re-apply them every week.
Rats cannot tolerate smells such as ammonia, mothballs, peppermint oil, crushed cayenne pepper, and pepper spray due to their intensified sense of smell. Clean and uncluttered homes and yards scare rats due to the lack of food and places to hide, as well.
Perform a thorough exclusion and pest-proofing service on your home, sealing off all possible entry points. Set up live active traps in strategic locations where rat activity has been observed, such as near food sources and nesting sites. Monitor the traps regularly and promptly remove any captured rats.
Because peppermint oil has a potent aroma, mice are believed to find the scent irritating and off-putting due to their keen sense of smell. Though it seems like a straightforward and simple remedy, many variables can affect peppermint oil's effectiveness when it comes to repelling mice.
It's cost-effective: Using salt to deter rats is one of the most cost-effective methods of keeping these rodents at bay. Salt is readily available in most homes and hence doesn't require you to purchase additional products.
While peppermint is generally a bug repellent, there are some types of insects that are actually attracted to the smell of mint and/or mint plants. The really neat thing is that the insects mint attracts are actually beneficial!
Prepare the Mouse Repellant
You can also make a spray by using 1 cup of water for every 2 tablespoons of peppermint oil. If you prefer to buy something on the shelf, look for sprays that use mint as the main ingredient. There are also plug-ins that can last 45 days, or repellant packs that last 30 days.
Mice will avoid going in areas with a high concentration of peppermint oil because it irritates their nasal cavities. If you place the oil in an area of your home where you know they've entered in the past, they'll probably shy away from that place. That being said, peppermint oil is not going to kill mice.
In addition to being ingested, peppermint oil can be used topically or in aromatherapy. Topical application may help to soothe chronic itches. The smell of peppermint oil may help reduce nausea, particularly in patients who have had recent surgery. However, the results are mixed.
Peppermint essential oil is so potent that undiluted it will cause your skin to tingle or burn. It can cause your eyes to water and nose to run. Ingest it undiluted and it's an intense diuretic.
A quick search online explained that mice find the smell of peppermint overwhelming and confusing, so they stay away from the scent.
“You can make your own homemade natural rat repellent spray with cayenne pepper or chilli flakes.” To make this repellent spray mix cayenne pepper or chilli flakes with water and heat the mixture vigorously to infuse the chilli. Then allow it to cool - the longer you leave it, the more potent the chilli will be.
Peppermint obviously has a strong scent, one that mice dislike. According to Victor Pest, peppermint contains very potent menthol compounds that irritate their nasal cavities. A whiff of peppermint certainly does keep them away. So do these best mouse repellents, by the way.