Mice

When I was younger my parents moved us to Georgia. We lived on a dirt road across from a large field. Coming from California, this was a quite the culture shock. Suddenly there was a whole new world opened up to us. The thunder storms and different atmosphere was enough to keep us entertained for a short while…and then it started.



I heard my mother scream; LOUD. This wasn’t her usual “oh, a bug scared me” scream, (My mother by the way is afraid of everything). This was a genuine, blood curdling, “the world as we know it is ending” kind of scream. Most children would jump if they heard their mother scream in such a way. Not us. My two sisters and I were so used to this that we exchanged looks of “it YOUR turn to check on Mom. Not mine!” In a matter of seconds, I lost the furrowed brow, unspoken argument and before I could get up to go “check” on Mom I was knocked back down to the couch by a stampede of very scared cats.

My mother always had at least 7 or 8 cats at any given time during my childhood. At that moment they were all burred up, stiff bottle brush tailed, crazy eyed and meowing as they ran from the kitchen with Mom screaming “GET BACK HERE!” It took less than seconds and the furry blur was gone. But that wasn’t the best part. Behind the pack of frenzied cats came one small mouse chasing them; All of them.

I found my mother on a chair in the kitchen. I thought this type of thing only happened in cartoons. Sigh. It took me a good 10 minutes to get Mom off the chair. It took another 10 to keep my younger sisters from hyperventilating from laughter.

My Dad went and purchased mouse traps when he got home and I remember lying in bed at night and hearing the snapping of mouse traps. I hated that.

As an adult I have learned that there is a much easier way than mouse traps, which I know work, but I still hate them. So here’s what I suggest to prevent mice from getting in places you don’t want them: Bounce Dryer Sheets!

Weird, huh? A good friend of mine used to use them in her RV to keep mice out. Apparently stuffing Bounce Dryer Sheets into cracks and crevices will keep mice away. And while I do think mice are cute, I certainly don’t want them in the house so it looks like I will be investing in a few more dryer sheets this year.

Ha! I should tell my mom. She’ll probably wallpaper her house with them.

Other Options:

Peppermint or peppermint oil: mice don’t care for the smell. Plant some near your doors or along the side of the house. Wipe doors and areas where mice could come in with peppermint oil.

Used kitty litter:…um, I don’t want to set this around my house, but it scares mice away too.

Steel wool in places that mice can enter through: mice have a tough time chewing through it.

I have completely given up on the “just get a cat” theory. My cat is terrified of mice. Go figure.