6 Clever Ways to Get Rid of Mice That Actually Work

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In this post, I’m going to show you how to get rid of mice naturally. You’re not going to believe some of the clever ways I share with you, but they actually work!

Clever ways to get rid of mice!

How is it mice look so cute in cartoons and at Disneyland, but they are so gross and creepy when they are scurrying across your floor?

Not to mention the disgust at finding mouse droppings in your kitchen near your food! Oh my gosh. I cringe just thinking about it.

If you don’t want to use an old-school mousetrap or a glue trap, this post will help you solve your mouse problem. I do have to tell you though that most (not all) of these natural remedies will kill the mice.

Get Rid of Mice Naturally

If you have a soft heart for these tiny rodents, and I totally get it if you do, I’ll mention whether the mouse will die as a result.

Best ways to get rid of mice!

1. Steel wool.

It’s cheap and when you pull it apart and stuff it into any of the tiny places mice are getting in, that will be that.

Mice can’t chew through it, try though they might. It also doesn’t feel good on those little teeth, although a mouse has never actually told me that himself.

Best ways to get rid of mice!

2. Powdered chocolate milk mix.

You’re shaking your head and laughing right now, aren’t you? Hear me out!

Add the powder to dry Plaster of Paris, mix it up well, and leave it out someplace you’ve noticed mice or their droppings.

They will eat it up quick because CHOCOLATE, and then the Plaster of Paris will make them thirsty.

As long as you don’t leave water out for them beside their chocolate treat, they’ll head out to look for water elsewhere. The mice will die.

Clever ways to get rid of mice!

3. Mashed potatoes.

Before you head to the kitchen to whip up some Yukon Golds with a little butter and milk, I’m talking about instant potato flakes!

Sprinkle them wherever you’ve seen a mouse. They’ll eat them, their stomachs will expand and it will kill them. (Please don’t use this method if you have fur babies in the house.)

Clever ways to get rid of mice!

4. No cat? No problem.

Do you have a friend who has a cat? Ask for some of their used cat litter. I know! What a weird conversation to have!

Think about it. If we’ve learned anything from cartoons, we know mice are afraid of cats. Spread the used litter anywhere outside where you think mice are entering. They’ll stay away.

Clever ways to get rid of mice!

5. Onions will repel mice.

Put an onion out wherever a mouse has left droppings. According to experts, mice hate the smell.

Remember to change the onion for another one as they decompose. Also, make sure your fur babies can’t get to them.

6. Baking Soda

Cut a hole in a box of baking soda that is large enough for a mouse and place it in suspected areas. This will produce gas inside their stomachs when they eat it and cause them to die.

Those are clever ways to get rid of mice!

Hey, if it works and it doesn’t involve having traps everywhere, I’m all in to try it. What about you?

How do you get rid of mice?

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126 comments on “6 Clever Ways to Get Rid of Mice That Actually Work”

  1. Annie Bartlett

    This is the most gruesome, disgusting thing Ive seen in months, only made worse by your amused cavalier tone. I can NOT believe you would slowly blow up a living creature, letting them bleed out as their…no. I dont even believe you. I think you just looked up how to torture tiny animals for fun and profit. Clever? Its unconscionable. You are twisted. You might as well get hooker to go stomp them, you sadistic freak. You evil, soulless ogre.

    1. Thank you for having compassion. It’s a rarity to find someone who actually has empathy now at days. 

    2. Guess youve never had these little bastards invade your home to the point of insanity! Daily cleaning trying to get rid of mouse poo while listening to mine and my daughter cough steadily worsen because of their filth! I love animals I really do but when it comes my or my child’s health the animal will always take a back seat! Priorities!

      1. It’s downright creepy how many of you are okay with torturing animals to death. Imagine if someone decided to treat stray/feral cats this way. Most of y’all would throw a fit. Rodents are just animals being animals – like literally any other animals. Just buy some snap traps if you’re too lazy to deal with the problem without killing someone in the process. You’re a psychopath if you consider “death by exploding stomach” to be an acceptable way to deal with someone you don’t like.

      2. Theresa Shay

        You should make it your personal endeavor to start a business and go to everyone’s home and do your humanitarian thing a catch your precious nice and rats, then take them all to your house, feed them and let them multiple in your house, and when you have no more food left to feed them,, your precious will start to feed on you… please tell us all, how your precious and you will continue to live then!!!!!!

      3. It’s hilarious how angry and out of control people get when someone mentions having compassion on a small animal who’s just trying to survive as best it can, like them. So predictable and typically American.

        Judge people’s goodness by how they treat the little things, and you’ll never go wrong.

      4. kristy Sluder

        Downrgt creepy that you would say that if you read my other comment about them actually feasting on flesh of helpless babies.. but it’s all the spoiled ppl who always had mommy daddy money..then marry for money and never lived in less than perfect places that never saw a newborn w sores from nice bites..or a sm puppy literally eaten alive.. but perhaps karma..will someday show you by way of someone you love( someone..who isn’t wealthy enough to live in perfection.)

      5. I’m sure if you dealt with a rat and mice infeststion, with children and pets in the house and the tiny cute little creatures ate bait of the traps to only leave the still set trap but no food or rats decided to make their home inside your mattress and you get poked by their claws every time you roll over one at night, all the ways you try to get them out fail over and over again, you would change your mind. A friend of mine had 6 pet mice and 3 pet rats when we were in jr high, they were the cutest and smartest little cute things to ever live but the wild rats and mice have a completly different way of living. They not only eliminate waste as they walk or run, they will attack u or your kids, pets if they feel threatened or scared. Grow up do some research, invite about 50 of each kind into your home… They breed and give birth very frequently so it will triple in less than a month, by that time you will feel differnt about all the ways to kill them, u can’t do live traps to only release them outside, duh they are going to laugh and go back in your house. You can’t live trap them then release them far from your house, thats not their environment and they aren’t with the rest of the crew and something wild will eat them or injure them to suffer a painful death. Cats wont work, mine will catch the mice but they havent messed with the rats, which btw some are roof rats (black) and some are sewer rats or norway rats (Brown or grey) dont forget the roof rats can climb and live in trees, sewer rats will come up your pipes into your toliet. Smh!!

      6. It’s a rodent that invades homes… these people are talking about rodents, not actual people. Mice have the ability to carry many health risks. Gaslighting people under this comment section is quite sad. They have their reasons. And please use terms correctly, they are not being psychopaths for wanting to keep their child safe. These are wild rodents, not pets.

  2. Olbas oil (the strong smelling stuff people use for clearing blocked noses), Peppermint essential oil and fresh mint plants has always worked for me, The smell is too strong for them and it doesn’t harm them.

  3. Thanks for your help I actually hate them I have a heater in my room now I don’t know if that is good or bad and it’s close to my bed it’s on the bottom shelf of my drawer my drawer is close to my bed I’m scared

    1. Annie Bartlett

      Dasia, please be careful putting a heater by your bed, dear. Blankets are combustible. And dont be afraid of the mice. You have to run them out. That is your space! Dont give the little buggers an inch! Just dont take it personally. Theyre cold, theyre hungry, theyre mice doing mouse stuff. Dont fear, youre the boss of things!♡

  4. Will any of these have a secondary impact? Like if a cat or bird ate the mouse? If I used the instant potatoes where only a mouse could eat them but then they go outside. Thank you

    1. Annie Bartlett

      Leann, please, please dont do that. Its immoral to torture helpless animals. Can you imagine a worse death than slowly ripping open? Oh my lord, what has become of humanity. You must get them out, no doubt. But there are live traps that can catch a dozen at a time, or you can give ’em hell for two or three hours with all the peppermint you can find, and chili powder, and get some horrible heavy metal and blast it for a couple hours and they will beat feet. Then seal their accesses with steel wool!

      1. Anything upon entering uninvited (be it ants mice possums or people) lost their “poor thing” privelige.

      2. Seriously?.. apparently you haven’t had every part of your life effected by these little assholes… they are germy RODANTS so if killing them to save a human is what needs done then so be it! What trap them and take them outside?? Your a few French fries short of a happy meal aren’t you? They will only come back! They have gotten into the bottom of my oven and guess what I turn the oven on and cook the little jerks and enjoy every second of it knowing that one won’t be damaging the wires in my home causing a fire for my small children to possibly be harmed .. get out of here you weirdo must not have kids to act so stupid

      3. Peyton Matthers

        It’s bizarre how personally you’re taking the natural behaviors of animals, as if they had enough emotional intelligence to even be aware of your feelings regarding them. And how rabidly you’re attacking someone you don’t even know. It seems like you may want to invest in a professional exterminator and some therapy if you’re life is so inconvenienced by the issue and your truly so outraged over a stranger’s comment on the internet. That’s just not how normal, well adjusted adults express themselves. I don’t know why you would bring up someone’s child-having status as if it’s some sort of insult and call them a weirdo and stupid over something so benign other than not having adequate control of your emotions, but as you have made it clear that you do in fact have children (congrats, I guess, I mean quite a few of us do…), it’s concerning what sort of example you set for them in how to treat people, and how you react when they do something to trigger you the way this apparently has. 

      4. I get it. They are in my walls chewing on my wiring! I am terrified my house will catch fire… and in the walls and attic first! that’s a death sentence to whomever is in the house. Kill the little bastards any way possible. Not to mention all the disease they spread!

      5. You are sick in the head, little psycho who speaks like a 12-year-old. Go take a xanax.

      6. Who has time for all that?! Dying clearly had to be in its calling if its in my place!

      7. I feel sorry for anyone who has to interact with you irl. You clearly have some unresolved issues that must make your existence (and the existence of those around you) miserable. Couldn’t imagine getting this angry about animals trying to survive and some stranger’s comment on the internet. Seek help, buddy.

      8. kristy Sluder

        Wow, seriously? Guess you’ve never been poor and had newborn or small children.Nor fur babies… In fact, my ex husbands dog had pups…ALOT of pups. So many that she just couldn’t keep up with nursing them all. So when his father took sick suddenly( God rest) he couldn’t find anyone to look after the momma n pups. He made puppy formula and put a few saucers down. Upon coming back the next day…you…person who so loves animals…would change your mind about poor little rodents. 2 pups were eatin, 1 half of it was gone.. obviously it was dead…the 2nd was barely still alive, can u imagine? Both rear legs and tail had been eatin by a rodent…and a 3rd had lost half of it’s left rear leg. Imagine those poor babies. Being eaten alive by your buddies.. now if you ever have a baby..picture waking up to find her/ him having both back legs chewed off. Don’t talk to me with your poor little rodent B.S. I bet you’ve never had to live in a dilapidated mobile home w holes in the floors just to keep a roof over your kids head..u probably either hv a well off mommy daddy or hubby…or would rather take government money. 

      9. Yes. Here is a person who has humanity and a brain that knows how to solve problems in ways other than throwing a grenade on the situation. You can protect your space without being a soulless, heartless jerkoff. It just takes a little more thought, research and effort.

    2. To actually answer your question about the instant potatoes, instead of arguing over things that GROWN ADULTS should easily be willing to “agree to disagree” about, yes the instant potato flakes may harm other animals like cats or birds depending on how much the mouse ate. It’s better than the poison that also makes them thirsty I suppose. & FYI dryer sheets, moth balls, peppermint spray and loud noises will never ever get rid of mice for good. Ever. Sorry but when you have small children then you have to pretty much kill the mice. But I would do it in a way where they don’t suffer. Old school snap traps & the electric shock ones that kill them instantly. Not those evil glue traps trust me. Steel wool does keep them out! It’s the best thing to use to make sure they don’t return. 

    1. Good luck, terminx set wooden rat snap traps with peanut butter. Rats ate it off and the trap never went off.

  5. moth balls works for mice in our storage sheds and outside buildings and i dont know what it does ,the smell i supose.but it has been working for a good many years now

  6. I’m going to try these. I’ve just started getting little visitors. Poison is not working!! I think they are getting wise to it.
    Many thanks for the info.
    Pamela

    1. I have many mice in the basement and that is where the litter boxes for my 3 cats are. Cat smell will not deter mice at all!!! The mice even took some wall insulation and made a nest in a clay pot sitting on the floor!

    1. Who would want to kill squirrels? If they’re in your attic, just put something up there that makes a lot of loud noise, like a stereo, and the noise will scare them out, then you just close up the holes. Mice infest your entire home and loud noises don’t bother them, but squirrels, you can effectively chase them out by disturbing them. It’s exactly how they humanely remove them from homes in the UK.

      1. spray peppermint oil around where the squirrels are they don’t like the smell  I did this around the outside of my house to keep spiders out and the squirrels would not go near it

    2. Peanuts….lol Just kidding. Trying to lighten the mood in here. But I do know for mice (and I think squirrels too) go and get Peppermint Oil and just a couple drops is the corners of each room or where you can hear them chewing. Just repeat if or when they come back. If it’s in the walls soak a Qu-tip and either find or make a screw hole through the drywall and push the Qu-tip through it. Either patch the hole or fill it or just hide it with a picture in case you need it again. BUT don’t use to much because it will be very over powering and you will have just kicked yourself out of that room until you air it out. I was fed up and just spashed it in all 4 corners and the baseboard where they chew and it got so strong I couldn’t go back in there for like 2 days, so just a couple drops here and there is good and the smell is very pleasant. Hope this was helpful. Oh for attics or garage or shed/storage puts some on cotton balls and toss them in. To detour them from coming in just plant(or buy) peppermint plants near doors and windows they can reach or get in to. Remember to wash your baseboards and where they walk as often as you can because they rub their scent on all of it and use it like a road map and use that same route all the time cause it shows them the fastest way back to safety. I also just love the smell of the oil and it’s harmless for everyone and thing it makes them change their own minds on being your roommate… And it hasn’t ever hurt my feelings once…lol