In the cold weather, mice have even more reason than usual to try to move into your home. There really isn’t anything good about mice sneaking in your home. Mice don’t just gnaw holes into walls and floors and destroy your wiring, they can also bring in germs and disease. Oh, and one more reason to seriously want mice gone – if your home is on the market, or going to be on the market, mice will scare away potential buyers. Here are some tips to help keep them out.
1. Prevention is the Always Your Best Defense
Don’t keep yucky rodent hangouts like trash cans, piles of junk and old firewood close to your house. Make sure your garage and outside areas are clear of these. Don’t forget to bring your garbage out on garbage day every week.
Look around to see where the pests have been getting in, then stuff those holes with steel wool or aluminum foil — both of these will stand up against the sharp mouse teeth. Make sure you are careful to seal up both the inside and the outside of your house.
2. Use Scent to Scare Them
Certain smells make critters believe that you have dozens of predators guarding your house. Try to sprinkle ammonia (it smells a bit like predator urine), or used kitty litter around your yard. This smell should scare them from coming into your yard.
Mice don’t like the smell of peppermint. Soak up some cotton balls with 100 percent peppermint oil, then put them in the back of your cabinets, behind the fridge and other places that mice like to hang out. Remember to replace the minty cotton balls at least once or twice per month.
Mice hate the smell of fabric softener sheets also. Leave a few around the house in their favorite spots. The stronger the smell the better.
3. Get a Pet
If you were trying to decide whether that cute dog at the shelter was for you, this might push you over to the yes side. Cats and dogs will hunt down the mice; it’s just in their nature.
Ready to market your home now that the mice are gone? Contact me today!
