As the weather turns cooler, mice begin to seek cozier surroundings -- and the perfect place to settle is your home. Even seemingly well-sealed houses are susceptible, as mice are excellent swimmers and climbers, are able to jump over a foot off the floor and can squeeze through openings as small as 1/4 of an inch. That's about the diameter of a pencil!

Fortunately, natural peppermint essential oil (also called "oil of peppermint") offers a safe, effective and humane way to discourage these damaging and potentially disease-carrying rodents from entering your home.

It's important to first make your house as hard as possible for the mice to get into, of course. Don't leave doors ajar. Inspect the outside of your home and use steel wool and caulking to seal up gaps like those around outside faucets and basement windows, where television and phone lines enter the house, and small cracks in a brick or stone foundation. Other preventive measures include blocking exhaust vents with hardware cloth and eliminating breeding areas like piles of leaves or old newspapers and food sources like dirty pet food dishes.

Once you've fortified the house, discourage mice from entering with the scent of peppermint essential oil. Although the scent is pleasing to humans, it repels mice. Simply put a few drops of peppermint essential oil on cotton balls and place them around the house, sprinkle the oil directly on items, or make a scented spray with two teaspoons of peppermint essential oil per cup of water.

The peppermint will remain an effective repellent for as long as the scent lingers. This varies according to conditions, of course, but you should get good results in most cases if you replenish the oil every two or three weeks.

Try to strongly scent areas where you think the mice might enter or hide -- like in basements and under stairs -- and likely avenues of travel. Mice prefer to run along walls, so it's most effective to add scent along the outside of the room.

The peppermint oil helps keep mice away without the danger of poisoning pets and eliminates the need to handle repulsive traps or glue boards. As a bonus, the scent creates a very pleasant atmosphere for human inhabitants.

Half-ounce and two-ounce bottles of 100 percent pure peppermint essential oil are available from Aura Cacia in stores and at www.auracacia.com. Visit their website at www.auracacia.com for more information on peppermint and other essential oils.

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