• Mouse eradication doesn't have to come in the form of expensive pest control services.mouse image by Goran Bogicevic from Fotolia.com
  
  When trying to rid your household of mice or prevent them from invading in the first place, the options range from pest control technicians, to poisons, to traps. Try some simple home remedies before paying for pest control or purchasing expensive poisons or traps.
  
  

Prevention

• The first key to avoiding mice is to eliminate their desire to come into your home in the first place. Keep the house clean and free of debris and foodstuff. Keep opened boxes of food and grains in glass or plastic containers to prevent the rodents from detecting the smell associated with these foods. Also, make sure to sweep or wipe up all crumbs and food particles; mice will follow even the tiniest remnants of food.
  
  

Peppermint Oil

• Many a tale has been told about the effectiveness of peppermint oil as a repellent for mice. The smell of the peppermint oil repels the vermin without harming them. Soak cotton balls with the oil and place them around trouble areas, or, if you enjoy the scent of peppermint, use a diffuser with the peppermint oil.
  
  

Mint Plants

• Mint plants make an excellent barrier to protect your house from mice. By planting mint as a sort of “moat” around your house, you create an "impenetrable wall" to the mice. They are repelled by the scent of the mint and avoid the house altogether.
  
  

Steel Wool

• Once you have identified where the mice are entering the house, try plugging up their entry holes. If you use steel wool to fill these holes, they will have a much harder time reentering than if you use materials such as wood or paper, which are much easier for mice to chew through.
  
  

Other Odor-Related Repellents

• Mice have a rather keen sense of smell, so they can be repelled with a number of strong-smelling agents. Onions can be an effective repellent when placed near the various entry points of the house. Alternatively, ammonia and mothballs can be used to try repelling the little rodents.