Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Generic How To ..... keeping mice out!

I just learned that mice HATE Peppermint oil..

so this winter I am adding some to the heat/AC ducting to keep the mice out, as well as soaking some cotton balls with it and stuffing them into various small openings in the van where I saw mice getting in and out last winter.

when I run the heat or the AC, it will smell like peppermint!

they also hate Bounce. the fabric softener sheets. if you place them around the van they will not get in to make a home. just thought i would let you all know.

I'm doing battle right now... got out to my garage early enough yesterday to see daylight near an electrical conduit... garage is new... couldn't believe it. Stuffed a dryer sheet (the white stringy ones) in there, so I hope I've stemmed the tide of squatters taking up residence near my van!

The ones I've got are being dealt with by using electronic traps... it's working, but too often. Traps have been tripped more than I thought they would. Hopefully soon, I'll be alone working in my garage.

Astro, that sounds like a great smelling idea! I don't know if I would get in a vehicle if I saw mice getting in and out!

i noticed last winter the tracks in the snow, and when I first got the exhaust done this spring, I started the van then went around to the passenger side to check things out and stuck my head under the passenger side door and had one about jump on me as he was trying to escape! they were getting in and out at the junction of the fender and the running board, I tried traps, they didn't touch them, bought a sonic mouse repeller, which kept them out of the cab area, but wasn't strong enough to keep them out of the duct work.
when i put it in the garage I am going to install a couple of good sized sonic units, as well as adding the Peppermint Oil in key places on the van

I've not had consistent results with sonic repellers or scented repellants like pepper oil, but the peppermint oil and fabric softener sound easy enough to try. Who knows; perhaps it smells like skunk to a mouse? We can hope!

I've had mice set up shop and eat food right in front of sonic repellers. My suspicion is that the contents of the room has a large effect... too much stuff around to absorb the sound and there won't be much effect. Still, if it at least upsets their sleep, perhaps there's some eventual effect.

I stick with mass quantities of rat poison, particularly the green soap bar types. I buy the tubs. Ive had mice like those so much that two mice at once came up to chew on one I just sat down, while I was only 3 feet away, and they didn't even leave when I raised my voice and waved at them!

My favorite deterrent is a cat... they frequently take extended breaks though, and you can't really use rat poison if you've got cats. I've seen lots of mice think they were clever and sneak past cats, only to later regret it on the return trip.

It is possible to get a lemon of cat though. One of my friends has a big stocky, tough-looking white cat, and he said one day a mouse ran across their living floor in front of it, then the mouse and the cat saw each other at the same time. The mouse stopped cold, but the cat leaped straight up, pawing at the air, let out a horrible squeak, twisted around in midair, and when it came down it bolted for the door and scratched at it like crazy, trying to get away! Can you even imagine such a thing!

Clear skies!

Ways in can also be pluged with steel wool, according to the RV magazines, rodents hate it and won't attemp to get through it. On the fabric sheets, I understand only one brand works.

Wow Starlord, if it can be kept dry so it doesn't stain things the steel wool sounds pretty awesome.

Holding that thought, on a whim I just checked Mcmaster-Carr, and they sell stainless steel, aluminum and bronze wools!

http://www.mcmaster.com/#stainless-steel-wool/=46jvr9

Get this - it says right in the description "They're also good for plugging holes in foundations and baseboards to protect against rodents and other small intruders."

Is that cool or what!! I'm sold already.

Clear skies!

Our cat Sophie would have a mouse waiting for me in the living room at least once a week. She would sit there waiting for me to come down in the morning to see what a good job she did. I miss my Sophers.

I had to remove other food sources (prev tenants left a bag of bird seed) last week. My electronic traps (victorpest) worked within an hour that day, using peanut butter for bait. Well, one of two did, as my bait placement seemed to trap a larger mouse, but allow a smaller one to get all the way in to the trap without touching the pos and neg contact pads and clean out the bait.

With peanut butter bait strategically placed in the trap, they make a kill within an hour of setting out, even the smaller ones! Now none are safe, but possibly all are gone... My traps have been dormant since yesterday evening!