What smell repels mice: how to safely drive rodents out

Harm from mice

Rodents that have settled on the site will cause a lot of damage both in the house and outside it.
They multiply quickly, eat and spoil human supplies, leave excrement and even transmit diseases. At the dacha, mice are capable of:

• gnaw the bark of a tree;
• eat root vegetables;
• damage the root of the flower.

Indoors they are:

• spoil stocks;
• leave a smell;
• spoil communications.

Daffodils

More precisely, not the flowers themselves, but their dug up bulbs. To protect plantings of root crops (potatoes, carrots) from mice, in the summer they dig up daffodil bulbs and distribute them over the entire area of ​​the beds, mixed with coriander stems, and then cover them with mulch.

Daffodils are able to protect against mice and their bulbous “colleagues in the flowerbed” - tulips. Mice are always ready to taste their bulbs. To protect these flowers, daffodil bulbs of low-growing species are planted around the tulip bed in the fall.

What smells repel mice

A good and safe way to keep your area and home free of mice is to use repellent scents. For the most part, they are safe, easy to use, and affordable.

Plants and herbs

Plants that can affect animals include:

• sagebrush;
• peppermint;
• hazel grouse bulbs;
• coriander;

• chamomile;
• daffodils;
• pyrethrum;
• tansy;

• Solanaceae;
• lavender;
• heather;
• chrysanthemums.

These herbs are absolutely harmless to both humans and animals.

Poisonous herbs

The use of poisonous and toxic plants has a good effect. However, they can only be stored in places where children and pets cannot reach. These herbs include:

• wild rosemary;
• elderberry;
• blackroot.

Possible disadvantages of the method

Aromatherapy is considered the cheapest and most humane way. But there are certain nuances:

• habituation of rodents to odors, alternation is recommended;

  Rodents have a good sense of smell.

• the smell of dry herbs is more persistent in tightly tied clean linen bags;
• You should not give preference to freshly cut plants, as they quickly lose their aroma;
• It is best to use several scents at the same time;
• It is prohibited to use allergenic plants.

How to use plants and herbs

It is worth noting that proper handling of herbal raw materials will ensure maximum results.

1. Leaves and stems are placed on the floor and in the corners of rooms.
2. Dry grass is placed in bags.
3. It can be divided into several small bunches and dipped in boiling water to enhance the aroma.
4. It is also recommended to fumigate the rooms.
5. You can place plants that are unpleasant for rodents in flowerpots or pots on windows, although their effect is short-lived.

Many aesthetes believe that this spoils the interior of the room. In this case, preference is given to essential oils and extracts. Their concentrated aroma greatly deters pests. Cotton pads are soaked in the product and placed in doorways. Replace with fresh ones periodically.

Are you afraid of mice?

Very Not a drop

Why “aromatherapy”?

Because it is a cheap, accessible, humane and safe way to get rid of rodents. Whichever other method you choose, you will have to face certain difficulties.

For example, the use of chemicals, despite their high efficiency, is not always possible. If there are children, allergy sufferers or pets in the apartment, the use of poisons can result in tragedy. In addition, this method, like the use of mousetraps, forces one to deal with the need to dispose of corpses, which is extremely unpleasant. Add to this the deadly smell if the rodent that has eaten the chemicals manages to hide securely before dying.

As for the ultrasonic device, it is not affordable for everyone. In addition, it works over a certain area, so on a large scale it requires knowledge of approximate mouse routes.

Against this background, phytoprotection recipes are an excellent alternative to getting rid of uninvited guests. Aromas that mice do not like cause the latter to hastily leave the premises and prevent them from repopulating.

Seasonings and spices

Fragrant herbs and spices are an excellent solution in the fight against rodents. It is absolutely safe for people. Suitable application:

• cilantro or its seed;
• sage;

• carnations;
• red hot pepper.

Field mouse.

First, grind the seasonings into powder and sprinkle on the baseboards. Pests most often appear in these places. Freshly roasted ground coffee has a similar effect. The downside is rapid weathering. Sprinkle sage and fumigate the room.

Vinegar is very effective. It is poured into small containers and placed on the floor. Such manipulations are carried out in non-residential rooms.

Using the contents of the kitchen cabinet

If you don’t have a cat and don’t want to spend money on purchasing plant extracts, ordinary spices available in the arsenal of any housewife will help. The smell will help save supplies from the invasion of gray guests:

• carnations;
• coriander or cilantro;
• red pepper;
• sage;

It is allowed to use powder or seeds of these seasonings. Dry sage leaves, which are best burned, are also suitable. The strong aroma of coffee will also help repel rodents; freshly roasted beans work best.

Also, pests do not like the scent of vinegar, which can be poured into small containers and placed around the room. Although this option is more suitable for protecting cottages from rodents in the winter, since constantly inhaling a pungent odor is not only unpleasant, but also unsafe. The aroma of bleach scattered in the corners is also suitable for the same purpose.

Natural flavors

Animals that hunt mice will help solve the problem. You can get a cat. The smell alone will scare the pests and they will leave the room.

If this is not possible, it is possible to simulate the presence of a cat. It is appropriate to use used cat litter. They sprinkle it on the corners and entrances to burrows. They also use rags soaked in cat urine.

Faster results can be achieved by imitating snakes and rats. For the former, mice are food, for the latter, they are competitors in the struggle for food sources. A small amount of snake and rat excrement will repel pests. They are placed in the place where the rodents appeared. You can get excrement at any pet store.

Light

Rats are nocturnal animals, and other things being equal, they prefer to be in dark places and go out in search of food at dusk and in the dark. However, they easily and quickly adapt to light, and if they do not encounter any dangers in illuminated places and in bright rooms, they quickly cease to be afraid of light. Often, rats become diurnal and forage in daylight.

This means that although in general rats are afraid of light, it will not be possible to use this as a permanent repellent. If you leave the light on in the room, then after a few days the animals will stop paying attention to it.

On a note

Interestingly, due to the specific nature of their vision, rats do not perceive infrared light. In zoos, this is used to switch nocturnal rodents to daytime mode: during the day a red light is on in the enclosure, and the animals believe that they are in the dark, and at night a regular incandescent lamp is turned on, and the rodents go to sleep. As a result, visitors during the day can observe animals that lead a nocturnal lifestyle.

Healthy recipes

Loud sounds

This factor is very specific: rats are really afraid of loud sounds, but it is inconvenient to use them in a living room. As an exception - loud music, in which pests will not dare to get out of their hiding places, but it is impossible to listen to it around the clock, and at night, in silence, the animals will calmly rule in the kitchen or basement.

On the other hand, rats are afraid of noise only until it becomes familiar to them. And they get used to different sounds quite quickly, especially if you try to scare rats often and regularly. Therefore, to scare away rodents, it is irrational to use ordinary sounds audible to humans.

On a note

Like most wild animals, rats, even indoors, are also afraid of quiet sounds - various rustles and creaks. This is understandable: in the wild, a predator always creeps up on its prey quietly, trying to make a minimum of sounds, and therefore the quiet crack of a broken twig under its paw or the rustling of leaves foreshadows great dangers for the rat.

At the same time, at large industrial enterprises - grain warehouses, transshipment depots, ports - rats calmly collect grain under trucks with running engines, run under rumbling conveyors with vegetables and nuts, and do not pay attention to noisy presses at oil extraction plants. They know that these particular noises do not pose any danger to them.

Tips for eliminating pests

A few recommendations for complete destruction:

• do general cleaning;
• set a mousetrap using peanut butter, cheese, lard as bait;
• get a cat;
• mix any cereals with cement and sprinkle the corners. Jars filled with water are placed nearby;
• Ultrasound is used - the most expensive method.

By following the link to the portal's article, you can read about 50 effective remedies that will help fight a large number of mice in the country and in the house.

Rat "screams of terror"

Like some other animals, rats can be repelled by playing their own danger signals. This method is sometimes used to scare away birds and to control monkeys on tropical farms. Once a recorded cry of danger is enough to use it almost constantly and effectively.

It’s also useful to read: 8 effective DIY rat traps

However, some rules must be followed:

• The sound should not be played regularly so that the animals do not get used to it;
• The sound should be clearly audible throughout the room;
• The actual cries of danger must be recorded, and not just squeaks;
• Recording and reproducing equipment must capture the ultrasonic frequency range.

In domestic conditions, the implementation of this method will in most cases be ineffective. Firstly, using a smartphone or computer microphone to record rat squeals is not the best option, since the ultrasonic component will not be recorded at all (even vibrations above 15-17 kHz will be recorded with distortion). Secondly, reproduction will also require emitters (speakers) capable of reproducing ultrasonic vibrations without significant distortion. Well, and thirdly, few people would want to live in a house where a loud rat squeal is constantly suddenly heard.

The use of ultrasonic rat and mouse repellers in this regard would be more justified.

On a note

People know the harsh old-fashioned way of scaring away rats: they used to simply catch a live rat and nail it to the wall. While the animal was dying, its relatives heard the terrible screams of its agonizing fellow. However, for humane reasons, such a method should in no case be considered for practical implementation.

Sagebrush

Wormwood is no less effective against mice. The protective properties of the herb known to many people lie in the bitter-tart aroma with which it is endowed. Our ancestors also layered sheaves of grain with dried wormwood to protect against mice. Many summer residents still use wormwood today, girding tree trunks in the garden with it for the winter, since mice can gnaw the bark of apple trees, or lining pantries with food supplies with small bunches of grass.

Is ultrasound effective?

Specialized stores offer ultrasonic devices that, according to manufacturers, repel rodents. Indeed, rats and mice perceive ultrasound, and certain frequencies cause anxiety and even panic in them. This option is considered by many to be the most acceptable, but to ensure results, several factors must be taken into account:

• purchase high-quality and powerful devices, avoid useless counterfeits;
• the device must distribute sound evenly in all directions;
• It is desirable that the ultrasound frequency changes automatically, so it will be more difficult for rodents to get used to it.

You should also remember the disadvantages.

• Firstly, despite the fact that people do not hear high-frequency sounds, prolonged exposure to radiation can cause deterioration of health and headaches for some.
• Secondly, ultrasound is heard by hamsters, dogs and cats, so the device can both scare away rats and cause discomfort to pets.

How to drive rats out of non-residential premises

If it is necessary to expel rats from a non-residential premises, for example, a bathhouse or a barn, then you can use products that emit a strong odor. And here we are not talking about special chemicals. But what smell are rats afraid of? Let's look at this issue in detail.

Vishnevsky ointment

It must be diluted with water to obtain a thick consistency. The resulting mixture should be spread on the floor in a non-residential area and closed for several days. It is important to note that Vishnevsky’s ointment is not suitable for external treatment.

Singed wool

It is necessary to burn natural fur over a fire and bring it indoors. Also suitable for this method are fluff or burnt rubber. It is installed next to the minks.

Various substances

These include:

Do not forget that during the treatment all animals and birds should not be allowed into the room, and after the treatment the building must be ventilated.

Plants with an unpleasant pungent aroma

The plant rats are most afraid of is black elderberry. Summer residents plant it next to the beds in order to save the harvest. Spruce feet and juniper are also suitable. Their barbed needles can injure the paws of rodents, which can drive them away.

Ledum copes well with this task. If it gets into the stomach of a rat, it can cause death.