How to Keep Mice Away From Your Bed
Nothing is more disgusting in a home than a rodent infestation. Women, in particular, find mice scurrying across the floor, depositing their little “pellets” in drawers, gnawing on boxes, and eating containers of crackers and nuts something they won’t tolerate.
When it comes to keeping mice away from your bed, the larger question is how to keep them from coming into your house at all.
Rodent infestation is something that all Americans, in all 50 states can expect to experience. Even the most well-built home is subject to invasion by Mus musculus, the scientific name for the common house mouse.
The skull and body of a mouse are incredibly flexible. They can reduce themselves to just one-quarter inch when squeezing through a gap in a wall, under a door, or in any crevice in a home with access to the outside that small.
How To Keep Mice Away From Your Bed
There are ways to prevent these unwanted pests from entering your home, or eliminating them if they’ve already arrived.
Get a Cat – Yes, Seriously
Getting a cat is a tried and true method. A house cat is nature’s perfect killing machine. Any mouse within a house cat’s domain is a former mouse. But not everyone wants a cat.
Try a Common Mousetrap
Another method to try is the common mousetrap. The Royal No. 1 was patented on November 4, 1879, by James M. Keep of New York. Ever since Mr. Keep introduced the mousetrap we’ve all heard the expression, “build a better mousetrap.” No one has.
Mousetraps are effective, but they only treat the symptom, not the problem.
Block Any Entry Points
A more effective solution is to search for areas of mouse activity, located the holes they might be accessing, and stuff those holes with steel wool. Mice can chew through paper, wood, even the protective covering on electric lines, but they won’t touch steel wool.
Steel wool is readily available at any hardware store, and in many grocery stores. It is easy to tear apart into small sizes that can be pushed into a crevice with a pencil or ruler, and it is durable, lasting long after your house has fallen apart.
Be Weary of Mice Poisons
Some people resort to poison, as in bar bait, a tasty pellet filled with the poison warfarin. It is incredibly effective against mice, but if you have children, cats or dogs it is deadly to them as well. Most homeowners with children or pets don’t even consider anything containing warfarin.
Try Peppermint!
The final product with a solid track record against rodents is a sweet-smelling solution. Mice hate the smell of peppermint.
While you can’t stuff fresh peppermint into a wall crevice and expect it to last, you can use peppermint oil to thwart the advance of those nasty rodents.
Peppermint oil is available in grocery stores, home improvement centers, and of course, online (you can buy it for less than $10 HERE). It is easy to use, relatively inexpensive and it works.
Squeeze a few drops around a problem area that has mouse droppings or damage to food containers and those tiny pests will not return.
No one has to live with rodents in their home. The solutions offered above, solo or in combination can greatly reduce or eliminate the problem.
Randy Tucker
