Mouse Repellents

[Liquesce]

Can anyone tell me about their experiences with mouse repellents?

We had a mouse in our apartment yesterday, which we got rid of quickly enough, but because it is an apartment, and our landlord is not the type to really ever take care of a problem properly, we don't have any kind of control over making sure there aren't others coming into our neighbor's apartment or the basement.

I'm not really sure where it got in so I'm also not sure how well I can seal up entry points ... I was hoping to get some anecdotes regarding how well the sonic repellents or the EO-based ones work.

[JD5351]

I never had any luck with repellents. We had the outlet plug things, and also a thing in the ground outside.

You have to find where they are coming in to avoid them. Check around pipes under your sinks. If you find a gap big enough to stick an ink pen through, a mouse can get through. stuff any gaps you find with steel wool.

[cristeen]

They hate mint. We had mice that loved the kitchen drawers, so I put a mint tea bag in each drawer - they haven't returned.

[HeatherAtHome]

I second the steal wool.

[4evermom]

My SIL and brother had success with cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. They put them in the doorway to their apartment since there was a gap under the door from the hall. That won't make them go away once they've visited your apartment but it might make them not come exploring in the first place. You have to replenish the oil every few days.

I have kept them out of parts of my house by cutting strips of cardboard and putting them across the thresholds so there in no gap under the doors. They can chew through the cardboard if they have been in before or smell something interesting on the other side. Covering the cardboard with duct tape makes that much more difficult for them. You can keep them out of closets or bedrooms or any room with a door. Just keep in mind they can get through spaces the size of a dime so make sure the cardboard strips fit well. I even taped the cardboard to the floor and edges of the door frame so there was no crack when the door was shut.

Check around pipes and all around the walls for any holes or large cracks and stuff them with steel wool. I've tried aluminum foil which I think would keep out a mouse that had never been there before. But a mouse that has gone through the hole can chew through that.

The sonic repellents work kind of like lamps in that objects cast "shadows" which block the sonic waves. How they are placed determines if they work. If you have one in a plug at counter height it will do nothing for the floor. The counters will cast a "shadow" on the floor so the waves don't reach there. They won't work behind a fridge, etc. I've never actually used them but I considered them and studied the box in the store before deciding they wouldn't help our situation.