# Of mice and mint **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943 "2002-06-08T04:52:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/1 "2002-06-08T04:52:34Z")
Is it true that mice hate the smell of mint? I’ve got a mouse living behind my fridge and he’s far to smart to fall for a spring trap. Several years back we had a mouse who moved in behind the fridge and he wasn’t so smart. He was easy to get rid of. But this little bastard just will not be caught. The cat is bringing them in and playing with them (I’ve watched him come in the cat door with the furry critter in his mouth), but he’s not killing them. He gets bored easy and the mouse runs off and hides. Then me, my wife, the dogs and several other cats run about the house trying to get the bugger. Every now and then we can’t catch him,… they then take up residence here. So I’ve read mint oil is a good anti-mouse fluid. Can anyone back this claim up? I really don’t want to kill them, but I don’t want them around either. As we have many pets, poisen is not an option. ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/2 "2002-06-08T20:31:00Z")
Well I suppose I’ll have to take this question on myself. I bought some peppermint oil, put it in a spray bottle, diluted it in a bit of water, hosed down under the fridge, stove and dishwasher. My kitchen smells minty fresh now. Let’s see if the Mensa Mouse moves on. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/3 "2002-06-08T21:01:06Z")
Looks like this might support your theory: [http://www.stretcher.com/stories/981022c.cfm](http://www.stretcher.com/stories/981022c.cfm) See last paragraph: > [@](#): > > Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle _pure_ peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don’t want the mice in or on. A friend of mine has used this in the interior of his antique car as well as on it’s upholstery and never had a problem. It needs to be repeated monthly. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/4 "2002-06-09T03:53:32Z")
What are you baiting the mousetrap with? Try peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/5 "2002-06-10T07:38:39Z")
DDG: I’m using peanut butter. I guess the little brat doesn’t like it. That said, I’ve sprayed peppermint oil all around and I haven’t heard the bugger in the last few days. Something tells me it works. ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2002, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/6 "2002-06-10T08:14:39Z")
I think it’s not so much that mice don’t like the smell of mint, I suspect it’s that they don’t like strong smells that mask the odor of predators and food. I used to have a miserable mouse problem in my garage every fall, and somebody on the board (don’t know who, tried ‘search’ to no avail) suggested spraying eucalyptus oil in the crevaces and under shelves. It sure seems to have worked. ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/7 "2002-06-13T04:53:56Z")
Ok. I’m happy to report that mint oil in fact works. We put a bunch of it behind the fridge and he moved from behind the fridge to the dishwasher. So we sprayed some behind the dishwasher and he moved in under the stove. So we put some under the stove and he moved in on top of the amp next to my computer (just off from the kitchen). It was there we caught the little bugger. Well,. not me, but my dog. I would suspect, like what Inky says, it’s the strong smell that does it. I would happen to guess several things like this would work. Menthol, eucalyptus, mint, etc. I also read real strong ground pepper works as well. I HAD dumped out all of our cayanne (spelling?) pepper under the stove just to see and it didn’t seem to bother him. I say go with the mints. It smells good too. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/8 "2002-06-13T05:30:46Z")
So I wonder if mint wards off rats, too. I know someone in the deep south who occasionally gets a rat in their home…☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-mice-and-mint/112943/9 "2002-06-13T05:51:33Z")
I would suspect it would. The two animals are pretty much built in the same factory. I **won’t** be turning a rat loose in my kitchen to test this out though. Someone else has to do that one. 😃 😃