As my DD is going back to school I would like to send her with something to keep her room mice free. Her dorm is old and constantly has mice problems. She tried to not keep any food in her room but the dorm is suite style and has kitchen and of course it’s not very clean. Towards the end of the last year she was trying to avoid staying in her room because she seems to be allergic to mice. She would only return to her room at night. Is there a solution to how keep mice away from her room? Any type of repellent?
Peppermint oil
Thank you so much @2016BarnardMom !
We work in an old building, and they have an assortment of electronic non-lethal traps that sit around the edge of the floors here and there. Just in case the peppermint oil doesn’t work.
The plastic “JAWZ” traps are very easy to set (and easy to re-use… you can dispose of the mouse without having to touch it). We live on a farm and there are always mice in most of the buildings. (We’ve tried all kinds of deterrents, but these little guys are relentless.) The traps are inexpensive and the most effective ones I’ve used.
If you use mousetraps, we found that a smudge of nutella works great in them.
I am assuming the college owns this building. Has she or anyone else reported the mouse problem to building services? They may have some way of handling this.
^^ Yes, I agree! This would not be ok with me! (or my college aged kids!!!) Is the college doing any prevention?
Also send her with cleaning supplies and the knowledge that less crumbs and such might = less you-know-what!
“If you use mousetraps, we found that a smudge of nutella works great in them.”
Makes sense. I suspect if we knew we had to go, many of us would choose to have that happen immediately after eating Nutella. One awesome last meal…
The college should hire a professional exterminator to control the problem. Placing bait stations at strategic points in the cellar, for example, is effective in getting rid of mice throughout a house.
Thank you all. College is well aware of those problems, but it’s an old building in Boston so they have this problem all the time. I like the idea of peppermint . I read online about peppermint oil, but I wonder if dry peppermint will have the same effect.
Get a cat, especially one who likes to hunt. They will take care of the problem.
I’ve read dryer sheets help, too, along with peppermint oil on cotton balls.
Years ago we faced this problem in the old house in which we lived then. We tried lots of traps and repellents and poisons (which were especially problematic with a crawling baby). I did a survey of the neighborhood, and discovered that there were two mutually exclusive types of house: houses with mice, and houses with a cat. We got a kitten, and our mouse problem was gone in less than a week. I have never heard of anything remotely as effective.
I had (past tense!) a rodent problem for years. I have an exterminator service out every 6 weeks, and still nothing really changed. Late July I bought this, put it on the “chaotic” mode, and honestly have not seen or heard one rodent since. The day I got it and plugged it in the 3 neighbor dogs went crazy in their yards, I don’t know if it’s because they heard the sound or??? But this was worth the $60 - https://www.amazon.com/CLEANRTH-CR008-Advanced-Ultrasonic-Repelling/dp/B01D3S2YW2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8
Careful on those considering a cat. Read recently that cats don’t naturally hunt mice. Supposedly they have to be taught by their mother. We had 2 cats. One never cared. The other simply would catch and release, as a form of play!
@JustaMom I have those also and they do help. But really the kids have to be diligent about keeping the food in containers and the dishes done. Put any food in plastic containers. I know it’s hard with college kids though.
@kjofkw Wow I didn’t know that! I thought all cats like to hunt mice.
I use these in my basement and attic and they seem to help. The reviews are mixed.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BZNAOQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
None of these suggestions will work, unfortunately. If the mice have a way of getting into the apartment, they will come, and not much will deter them (and their friends) from looking for food and warmth. If she can block their entry, that is ideal, otherwise, she should set baited snap traps and sticky traps at the point of entry and main activity.
It really should be up to the landlord to deal with this as a building-wide problem and not up to individual tenants to deal with mice in upper floor apartments. If she’s seeing mice in her apartment on a regular basis, that means the building is really infested.