Rodents are one of the most common pests in any home and establishment. It doesn’t even matter if your home is squeaky clean, but if they’ve found a way to get inside your home, they’ll use the same entry point as frequently as they can in search of food. The more times they gained access into your home and to their food source, the bolder they get. In no time at all, they’ll be there to stay. If you don’t do anything to control their population or eliminate them completely, your home will soon be overrun with these pests. This is definitely something that you don’t want to happen because rodents are known carriers of pathogenic organisms, such as viruses, bacteria, parasites.
You can use rodent killers to get rid of them, of course, but the main problem with this type of pest control products is that the poisoned rodent tends to look for a “safe” place where it could die. More often than not, the places are hard-to-reach and hidden, making it much harder for you to look for their carcass. Your home will smell from the decomposing carcass, and if you do find the dead rodent, it’ll be a mess to dispose of. Definitely not a job for the faint-hearted.
If you want to get rid of rodents, then do it the natural way. Below are three natural ways for getting rid of rodents.
Use Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is too strong a scent for rodents; one whiff of this and they scamper off.
What you can do is to soak cotton balls with peppermint oil and then scatter them in the areas where you commonly see rodents. You can place them in and under your cabinets, under the stairs, under the kitchen sink, behind large furniture-anywhere, really, that you suspect rodents use as entryways and hiding places.
Get a Cat
If you’re not allergic to cats, then get a cat. They are the rodents’ natural predator, and if they get even one whiff of a cat’s scent, they’re going to avoid your home. Because your cat can’t be in all the places rodents typically infest, then what you can do is to scatter cat hair in these places, particularly the wall cracks and mouse holes. They’ll avoid their usual entry points if they catch a scent of your cat.
If you’re allergic to cats though, then there are sprays that mimic the scent of a cat’s urine. You can also purchase dried snake feces, which is available in pet stores. These also work well to deter rodents.
Seal All Holes
Rodents gain entrance into your home because of a hole in the wall, for example, or a hole in the floorboard or even an open drain. Because it’s wood, they can easily chew through the material, giving them access into your home. The best solution for this is to seal the holes up. For open drains, you can install metal covers or seal them up with steel wool. They’re harder to chew through.
Of note; if these methods can’t control the rodent population in your home, then get in touch with your local pest control company who can.
Jennifer Daisley is a blogger for interstatepest.com She mostly writes about natural ways of getting rid of pests.
