You’ve heard of indoor rodent pest control options, but is there an outdoor mouse repellent that will keep mice or rats away from your home?
Keep reading to find out what preventative measures you can use to eliminate the rodent presence in and around your property!
Many rodents start flocking indoors during colder months for warmth and a consistent food source. These pests comb through your pantry and kitchen, leaving droppings behind as they sneak through your home.
But these nuisances have to come from somewhere! While common indoor pests, rats and mice primarily live outdoors until food becomes scarce or the temperatures grow too cold for them to survive.
Indoor rodent repellents effectively eliminate the pests that crawl inside, but how do outdoor options measure up? Check out our recommendations!
Use Plants Mice Hate
Mice surprisingly have a highly advanced sense of smell. How else would they find your hidden treats?
However, one of the most effective pest control options is using their sniffers against them! Homeowners often utilize potent essential oils like peppermint or eucalyptus to repel invading rodents.
Similarly, you can plant flowers or plants outside and around the perimeter of your home to discourage mice from sneaking inside. If you’re an avid gardener, you may already have a few of these plants nearby and handy!
Here is a list of plants that may help repel mice:
Because of these plants’ strong smell, many mice will run the other way whenever they catch a whiff. While these options won’t smell as pungent as essential oils, they could help keep mice from entering exterior crevices.
You can even try creating a scented mist to spray around your home’s foundation! Puree onions and garlic and add the mixture to a spray bottle filled with water. Spritz this on the side of your home and any areas with visible cracks or crevices too!
While some of these plants can’t survive frigid temperatures, most will persist in milder regions. Plus, some of these are perennial, so you can expect to see them again whenever spring rolls back around!
Spread Coffee Grounds Outdoors
While rodents are typically picky when it comes to a good snack, they'll shy away from a few foods and drink items. We all love a good, strong cup of coffee, but mice and rats, surprisingly, aren’t fans!
If you have an indoor mouse infestation, you shouldn’t worry about these pesky rodents snacking on your gourmet brew. Coffee’s bitter smell and taste aren’t appealing to many household pests.
Coffee grounds are a relatively cheap and easy outdoor mouse repellent that you can craft from items already in your pantry. If you don’t have a bag of tart coffee grounds handy, many online retailers or grocery stores have cheap options you can purchase.
After making your morning cup of joe, take the used coffee grounds and apply them around your home. Remember that you’ll need many coffee grounds to send rodents packing.
If you have plants or a garden near your home, don’t fret. Coffee grounds are a helpful addition to soil and are an excellent fertilizer! Always research before incorporating anything new into your precious plants, but rest assured that coffee grounds work well for most leafy greens.
Before solely relying on coffee grounds as your next rodent repellent, remember that this option may only partially keep the pests away. Mice and rats are persistent critters when it comes to their next meal, and a bitter scent may not impact their drive.
Seal up Outdoor Cracks and Holes
While this isn’t a direct outdoor mouse repellent, home repair will keep them from invading. Mice can squeeze through small crevices to reach the indoors and typically enter buildings and residential homes through exterior damages or holes under your foundation.
Contact a home repair company to assess the problem if you have noticeable home damage. Larger cracks in your home’s foundation could indicate structural issues not easily remedied by DIY measures.
Plaster, caulk, or stucco can seal up any unnecessary gaps or breaks. Plug up holes with steel wool to prevent mice from crawling or chewing through.
Unlike other pest control options, steel wool isn’t a pesticide treatment. While pesticides are vital to resolve many pest problems, there are other natural solutions you can use to help combat rodents.
Rodents can chew or claw through many materials, but steel wool is too sharp and rigid for many standard household mice and rat species. However, never touch this product without protection, as it may also injure you!
Steel wool is flammable and will catch fire if heated. Avoid using steel wool in areas routinely exposed to fire or extreme heat. DIY pest control options are great in a pinch, but always exercise caution when trying something without a technician’s advice.
So, should you trust an outdoor mouse repellent to curtail challenging rodent infestations?
Many of the above options can help prevent mice and rats from entering your home, but natural remedies are only partially guaranteed to keep mice at bay. Rodents are hardy creatures and may power through their discomfort to reach their ultimate destination.
We suggest utilizing many of these options inside and outside your home to prevent rodents. Exclusionary methods also help to make your home less desirable for rats and mice should they sneak inside.
Start by removing available food sources by securing items in your pantry and thoroughly cleaning your kitchen, dining area, living room, and bathroom. If mice have nothing to eat, they may choose another place to settle down.
Because rodents head indoors to raise their young, female rats and mice will bed in old boxes, unused drawers, and attic spaces. Remove any potential breeding area for mice and place all your items in clear plastic containers.
Plus, whenever you have pests indoors, Zunex can help you out! We cover many different species of rats and mice and can remove any difficult infestation you have. Contact us today!
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