If you own a home and notice mouse droppings in your kitchen or pantry, then this is a sure indication that mice are present in your house. If one or two mice are in your home, then you may not think that this is a huge issue. You are most likely wrong about this though, since a single female mouse can produce about 48 mice each and every year. Mice are only pregnant for 21 days, and the babies become fully mature after about 35 days. This means that two or three mice can turn into a dozen or more within a few months. To keep this from happening, you should hide food source so the mice do not make their way into your home. 

Reduce Food Odors

Mice use their strong sense of smell to locate food, and they will travel some distance to find it. Mice live in specific territories, and they will travel across these spaces to find food, water, and shelter. Females have territories that are about one-quarter of an acre, while a male's living area is closer to three-quarters of an acre to a full acre. Mice use their nose to find food. If food odors come from your home, then your house will become the perfect space for the mice within the territory to locate food, water, and shelter. 

Food odors from cooking will dissipate quickly, so you should not specifically worry about these smells. After all, mice are nocturnal and forage for food at night. Most people do not cook extensively when mice are foraging, so cooking smells will not attract mice. However, if you leave dishes in your sink or cooking pans on the stove, then this will attract mice in the evening. Make sure to wash dishes thoroughly and run your dishwasher before going to bed at night.

You also should reduce the smells of any food that you have in your pantry. This means keeping items like rice, cereal, or pasta in airtight containers. Not only will this seal off odors, but it will also keep mice from getting to them if they do get into your house. Airtight containers must be made of glass or metal because mice can easily chew through plastic. If you have a lot of food in your pantry, then you may need to be a bit more creative about food storage. Mason jars, metal garbage cans, and even heavy-duty toolboxes can be used to help you store your food.

Make Food Unappealing

Once you have your food stored properly, you want to make sure that mice will not go near it by making it unappealing. While essential oils are often not very useful when it comes to driving mice out of your house, they can help to keep the rodents away from your food. Essential oils are annoying to mice due to their strong odor, so rodents may not travel close to food containers to investigate them if strong smells are nearby. Place two to three drops of mint, peppermint, tea tree, or eucalyptus oil on several different cotton balls and spread them around your pantry. 

Not only do strong smells annoy mice, but mice have a difficult time separating distinctive odors when they are mixed together. If one odor is strong and overpowers a food smell, then the rodents may not be able to determine that a food odor is present. This means that a strong spray of air freshener or even perfume in your pantry can keep mice from detecting food or even understanding that there is a food source in the area. According to research, food becomes more and more undetectable the stronger the background or masking smell is. Pick an air freshener you love and make sure to spray it around your pantry daily and often. 

For help with getting rid of a mouse infestation in your home, contact a company like Garrie Pest Control.