How to Get Rid of Backyard Mice

Backyard mice can be a nuisance that no homeowner wants to deal with. The mice can carry disease, destroy garden crops, and even cause damage to the home. Getting rid of backyard mice should be a homeowner's number one priority, but if pets or kids live in the house, their safety should come first. There are a number of natural and relatively harmless options for getting rid of backyard mice.

Peppermint

Old rags

Steel wool

Snake scat

Mousetraps

Peanut butter

Cheese

Begin the eradication by inspecting your yard and determining where the mice congregate. Junk piles, compost pits, and garbage dumps are all good places to look. Once you have isolated their spots of habit, soak the old rags in peppermint oil and spread them around the perimeter of your backyard and in the areas where they come together. The aromatic fumes of the peppermint can drive them off.

Find any holes that they have dug or chewed in the side of your buildings or house, and plug them with steel wool. This effectively keeps them from traveling, as the steel wool is too tough for them to chew through.

Spread snake scat (available from the local zoo or reptile store) around the perimeter of your backyard. This will ward off any mice headed your way.

Bait mouse traps with peanut butter or cheese, and set them in the areas where the mice frequent and around the perimeter of the property. Once you have not caught a mouse for a week or more in a particular trap location, switch positions.

Be careful handling live or dead mice, as they can be carriers of a variety of diseases.