Power of Peppermint For Pest Control

No one likes being cold, and that includes unwelcome guests entering our homes such as spiders and rodents. With the arrival of cold weather, keep this in mind as you prepare your home for the chill of winter.

Take action at the first sign of mouse droppings because if there is one there are more. Mice breed at an incredible rate and with each litter consisting of six to twelve young it only takes a few weeks of ignoring the signs to find yourself with a real problem. The spots we have had the most trouble are under the kitchen sink, the cabinets nearest the vent for the stove and in our unfinished basement. All areas where there are most likely gaps in construction and should be remedied. 

Killing with mouse traps, glue traps or poison works in the short run but in the long run they only open up space for another mouse to move in.
Should you want to avoid dealing with the smell of death but unable to find the source, or disposing of the dead or dying caught in traps, a humane method of pest control is best. 


Peppermint essential oil is the essence of peppermint leaves. These oils are obtained by steam distillation and contain the volatile oils within the plant itself.  It is strong and offensive to the sensitive noses of our little rodent pests and being they find it repulsive they avoid it and the hope is that they move out or don't enter our homes in the first place. Don't buy the type of peppermint oil used for flavoring in the cooking section of your store. Purchase at a reputable health food store where you'll find 100% pure, therapeutic essential oils. Synthetics may smell the same but it is more than the smell that does the trick. You want the real thing. 

Add a few drops to cotton balls and leave them at the points of suspected entry or activity. Add fresh oil to the cotton balls on a weekly basis as a preventative measure. Or use the spray bottle method of 10 - 15 drops peppermint essential oil to 8 - 12 oz. of water. Spray around doorways, counter tops, baseboards, garage doors, basements, etc. 

Spiders are more common in our homes than we think. If we leave them alone, usually they try in earnest to leave us alone. According to David Bodanis in his book, "Secret House", the typical clean and tidy home still houses many, many spiders. These beneficials prefer to stay hidden in dark corners and quietly give us a hand in keeping those insects at bay who can do us harm. While we don't want visible spider webs we also don't want to contribute toxins to our home by spraying with pesticides.

As with rodents, spiders and ants also hate peppermint. Ants can be a problem in any home but those with mortar and brick seem to be more susceptible for entry points. Be sure to keep your kitchen counters and cabinets free from open food and crumbs. Ants follow a trail so take notice of where they are coming in and block the trail with undiluted peppermint oil or spray the peppermint oil/water mixture.
Use the spray bottle method of adding 10 to 15 drops of peppermint essential oil to 8 to 12 ounces of water. Spray wherever you suspect ants and spiders are entering your home.
Planting peppermint outside near your doorways can help deter pests. Just be sure to plant in tubs or pots since mints spread rapidly and can easily take over a flowerbed or garden area.

Aside from spiders and mice, peppermint oil also is a natural insect repellent for fleas and mosquitoes. To use as a bug repellent spray for yourselves or your dogs (not to be used on cats) add a bit of vodka to distilled water at the ratio of 10 - 15 drops peppermint essential oil to 8 - 12 oz of the distilled water/vodka mixture. Rubbing alcohol can be used in place of the distilled water/vodka mixture. Peppermint is strong and though known to be safe test first on a small area of skin to check for any skin sensitivity.


Check out the many uses for using peppermint oil as a body spray. 

Herbal Alternative to Moth Balls

Spring is upon us and it will soon be time to pack away our warm fuzzies and bring out the shorts and t-shirts.

Rotating our clothing to coincide with seasonal weather has long been done in homes with either limited closet space or as an attempt to repel or kill wool moths in the off season. Many of us can recall the gagging response after opening the tubs in the autumn months to pull out our sweaters and such.

The use of moth balls was rarely questioned. It was the way it was done and we got used to the smell till the clothes aired out. Now that I understand what is in those little balls or flakes, it makes me cringe to think we inhaled that stuff year after year. Moth balls are a registered pesticide containing naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene. How they work is that these chemicals go through a transition from a solid state to a gas. That gas is toxic to moths. In a sealed container the build up of the fumes is what kills the moths and moth larvae. That is fine. The problem lies in conditions where there is extended exposure, especially in children, the elderly and pets. If your family uses this method for storage, just be sure to open the containers outside or in plenty of ventilation and let the clothes hang and air out for a day before wearing. Do not wear the clothes immediately after retrieving from storage.

Inhalation of vapors causes headaches, respiratory distress, eye irritation and many other symptoms. Ingestion causes toxic poisoning leading to liver damage,respiratory failure, seizures, heart arrhythmia, and the possibility of death.

Moth balls have also been used in the garden or around flower beds to ward off cats and other garden pests. Being a registered pesticide, the label on the box is specific for how it is to be used. No where on the box does it say to use outdoors as a repellant. In doing so, it puts children and pets at risk for ingesting them which could result in poisoning. It can't be assumed the strange smell and taste would deter children from thinking these balls are candy. And when it comes to dogs, some will eat the strangest things.

A more expensive, but much safer alternative for storing clothing would be to invest in a cedar chest or add cedar blocks or cedar shavings (like that for critter bedding) to tubs before sealing with the lid. In past generations, most young girls entered marriage with her own cedar chest filled with linens and quilts she would need to start housekeeping. That chest would become a treasured place to store items that would become heirlooms. The cedarwood was very effective in protecting these items and even books from damage by moths and silverfish.

 Below are directions to make your own herbal sachets to repel clothes moths. You can just toss them in your drawers, storage tubs or hang them with ribbons onto clothes hangers for your closet. Thrift shops are a great place to find fabric scraps for which to cut the fabric squares.

1/4 cup lavender flowers, dried
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops cedarwood essential oil
8 fabric squares, cut with pinking shears into 6 inches square
8 pieces of string or ribbon about 6 inches long

1. Add the essential oils to the lavender flowers using a glass jar. Don't use bowls you eat out of because the essential oil scent will cling.
2. Cap the jar and let it set for a few days to give the scents time to permeate the lavender flowers.
3. Lay out the fabric squares with the design facing down.
4. Place a heaping teaspoon of the scented lavender on each piece.
5. Bring the edges up and tie together with the string or ribbon.
6. Place your sachets in with your woolens.


Another option:

2 ounces rosemary, dried
2 ounces mint dried
2 ounces thyme, dried
1 ounce ginseng root, dried and ground into a powder
8 ounces of whole cloves 

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and blend.
Follow above directions for making fabric square sachets