Even though pesticides are effective, they can also be very harmful to our health - and to your pet’s health as well. Nobody wants to find themselves sick just because you were trying to get rid of mice and spiders, right? The solution to get rid of these pests without damaging your health and the environment is actually quite simple (and a bit of a surprise, I must say): essential oils!
We’ve already talked about how to keep ticks away with essential oils a while back as well, so it shouldn’t be much of a suprise that they can help with other pests too. Let’s move on to which essential oils will help you prevent spiders and mice from inhabiting your home!
Peppermint Oil
For Spiders
Spider are very sensitive to oil on surfaces since they smell through their legs, and peppermint oil is the most effective option to get rid of them. The basic recipe to use is:
- 15 drops of peppermint oil
- Water
Attention: You’ll need to adjust the amount of drops according to the amount of water you’re using. 15 to 20 drops is usually the way to go, but you can add drops until the water starts to smell minty.
After that, simply spray the possible areas spiders can enter your home, such as doors and windows.
For Mice
Mice follow pheromone trails from other mice, which is easily confused by the essential oil odor. To keep mice away, you’ll want to soak some cotton balls with peppermint oil and place them near entrances. You’ll need to remember, though, that the oil effect isn’t long-lasting and you’ll need to replace the cotton balls frequently - because if the odor fades and you don’t replace them, they’ll become a comfy nesting place for the mice!
Eucalyptus Oil
Eucalyptus has a strong scent that both spiders and mice hate to smell, along with antibacterial and bactericidal properties. This essence blends in well with tea tree and cinnamon (which are two efficient spider repellents as well).
Lavender Oil
Lavender is a curious case where humans simply love the smell of this plant, while rodents and spiders find it extremely repulsive. This one has the advantage of blending well with peppermint essential oil too - which, as we mentioned before, is the most effective oil to keep these pests away.
Mainly for Mice
Camphor
Even though mice hate the smell of camphor, this essential oil has the disadvantage of having humans not liking it either. That makes it a bit harder to use it around your home, but it’s still very effective, so you can use it in areas people don’t usually spend much time - such as the attic or the garage.
Mainly for Spiders
Lemon
Citrus fruits in general are great to avoid crawlers, but lemon has been one of the most effective and popular choices. Aside from being a natural antibiotic (hello, advantage), lemon causes no harm to anyone in the house - not even to pets or plants. It’s also a very pleasant smell.
Cinnamon
The warm, kind of sweet scent of cinnamon is terrible for spiders - makes sense that they don’t show themselves as much during fall, doesn’t it? Using it two times a week will easily keep the spiders away.
Tea Tree
Tea tree is wonderful! Hear this out:
- It can be used to clean
- It can be used to disinfect
- It’s naturally an antibacterial + antifungal
If that wasn’t enough, it has a powerful smell that spiders can’t stand and will run away from!
Garlic
We’ve mentioned garlic before as a natural way of keeping mosquitoes away, now here it goes again as a way to keep spiders out of your house! Along with spraying the essential oil around, or using cotton balls, you could even plant your own garlic seeds at home!
Hope this helped you learn a bit more about how to control mice and spiders at home! If you suspect an infestation, request a quote from a pro to get rid of them!
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