What is the most effective natural method of repelling mice & keeping them out of your house?

Question

I moved into a house last year that is surrounded by a combination of woods & a cow pasture. I keep a VERY clean house but I've still had problems with mice. Now I've just ordered some really expensive Mission furniture that will be on the lower/first level of the house where the mice have been most prevalent. I saw an ad more than a year ago on one of those shopping networks (QVC or HSN) for a book on natural pest control & related natural remedies. The problem is that I can't remember the title of the book. Can someone recommend anything other than conventional spring or glue traps for catching mice? Ideally, I want to repel them and keep them out of the house completely. I'm afraid that they could do serious damage to either the leather upholstery or the solid wood frames of my furniture. All suggestions are welcome.

Answer 1

You may find my answer a bit crazy, but here it goes.

Read an article about a zoo, I think in Arizona (doesn't matter) that had a bad mouse problem in there bird section at the zoo.

What they did was dried some bread and put hot sauce on the dried bread and put it around the bird housing section.

Not a mouse to be found and the hot sauce bread was never touched.  Must be the Oder of the hot sauce that made them run the other way.

If it worked for the zoo, it should work for your problem.  It sure is easier then setting traps.

You're going to have to check where the mice are coming in.  Check around your foundation for any warm spots that they can get through.  Remember, they can get through very small splaces like the size of their heads.  These places will have to be closed up.  Check for other possible places that they can get into.  They're looking for warm places to enter.

Place the hot sauce bread around the inside of your house if possible.  If pets or children take a test of the hot sauce bread, I don't think they'll be back for more.  One little nibble should hurt eather of them.  Could make them very thirsty.  Just try to put the bread pieces where the children (if any) can get a hold of it.

Don't forget the crawl space if you have one.  Maybe you could put around the foundation of your house and they won't come in.  Maybe do this 1st and if it doesn't work, put it into your home.  If I had your same problem, that's the way I would go.  You have nothing to loose, but the mice.

Good Luck