Mice and rats are one of the most annoying in our households. Humans have been dealing with them for hundreds of thousands of years. But still, they are one of the toughest to deal with.
There are hundreds of ways to repel mice from your house, is neem oil one of them? How effective is neem oil against mice and rats? This article has all the answers.
Neem oil to repel mice & rats
Neem oil repels mice and rats effectively but does not finish off the rats. Neem oils have a strong smell that rats find very annoying. They leave a place that has a neem oil smell. You can spray neem oil directly or dilute it with water and apply all the places where rats can hide or enter.
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Mice and rats have always been a major threat to humanity. They eat our crops, spread disease, and cut down everything they find in front of them. In the last two centuries, about 750000000 people passed away from the disease caused by rats. (plague pandemic)
Medical science is now more advanced than ever, and technology has taken us so far. Still, rats cause many problems in our households and gardens. However, because of medical science, we have overcome the fatality caused by rats-diseases. But still, the war is not over yet.
We invented countless ways to deal with rats. There are pesticides, traps, and other advanced technologies. But when rats are infesting your house, safe and effective household items are the best ways to repel the rats.
So, does neem oil repel mice and rats? The answer is yes; neem oil is an effective way to repel them. The rats don’t like the smell of neem oil. So, when they find the smell from a place, they often avoid it.
Neem oil is an essential oil that is produced from neem seed. Neem fruits look like grapes, but the seeds are about ¾ of the whole fruit. The seeds are collected and smashed to make oil with them.
Neem essential oil not only repels rats but is also effective against most of the pests in our households.
But how does it work to repel rats? And why should you choose neem oil instead of pesticides? First, let’s talk about the problems of pesticides.
When you use pesticides in the house to repel rats from your home, there is a chance that you can have health problems. Pesticides for rats are very toxic and can also affect your health.
Moreover, if you have children and pets in your house, that is even more dangerous.
There is another big issue with pesticides. The rats will eat the bait and pass away within a few hours. And when they pass away, you may not find all the bodies of rats: the rat can decompose and create a very nasty situation for you.
Now let’s come back to neem oil. Neem oils are natural and entirely safe for humans, so you do not need to worry about the toxicity. Neem oil just repels the rats but does not perish them. So, you also will not have any issues with decomposing rats.
So, how does neem oil work? Naturally, rats have many times stronger smelling power than humans. They use their smelling ability to find food and be safe from predators. As they have many times more smelling power than us, an irritating smell is also more annoying.
So they can not stay in a place with an irritating odor.
Neem oil naturally has a strong smell and is even stronger for rats. So, when you apply neem oil in different parts of your house, such as doors, windows, corners, and under the furniture and attic, rats will leave your home as they have nowhere to hide from the irritating smell.
Does neem oil hurt rats?
Neem oil does not hurt rats but repels them. Neem oil is non-toxic, and they do not cause any harm to rats, humans, pets, and the environment. Those make it a good choice for using inside the home.
But from rats’ perspective, neem essential oil hurts them. They can not steal food from your kitchen and sleep peacefully in your attic with their family. Joking apart, you may need to reapply the neem essential oil spray every two weeks for the best result.
However, sometimes rats become so furious that they start to ignore the smell of neem oil and invade your kitchen. When that happens, you can add another stronger essential oil with neem oil or simply call a pest control company.
A pest control company will effectively repel all the rats and also ensure rat repellent does not affect your family’s health. Their advanced techniques of repelling rats will keep your house free from rats for a long time.
Once you make your house free from rats, there are some steps you can take to ensure no rats can enter your home again.
How long does it take for neem oil to repel mice?
To repel all the mice from your house neem oil usually takes a day. But the neem oil starts working almost immediately. When you spray neem oil, they come out from hiding places and try to find another safe place.
But when they find out your house is inhabitable, they leave your home and find another place to live.
However, you will have to continue spraying the neem oil as the rats and mice can return after some day. That’s why it’s essential to spray on the windows, doors, and walls so that even if they come back, they do not enter your house because of, for instance, the smell of neem oil.
Neem oil has many more uses in pest control. They are effective against cockroaches, bedbugs, bees, mosquitoes, and other harmful house pests.
How to use neem oil to repel mice & rats?
Using neem oil to repel mice and rats is very easy. First, make sure to buy raw neem oil. Refined neem oil is diluted and less effective in repelling rats and mice. There are two ways to apply neem oil in your house.
The first is spraying diluted neem oil, and the other is spraying neem oil directly. If you have a small place and a lot of rats and mice in your house, you can spray without mixing it with water as it will be more effective. Follow the steps below to repel rats with neem oil.
Take water in the spray bottle:
First, take a spray bottle and fill ¾ of the bottle with water.
Add neem oil:
Add 20 drops of neem oil with the water.
Add ingredients:
You can add lemon oil or eucalyptus oil with the neem oil to make it more powerful.
Shake the bottle:
Now shake the bottle well. Your neem oil rat repellent is produced.
Apply the spray:
Apply the spray on a different part of your house, especially where mice and rats like to hide and make nests. The spray should keep your house safe from rats and mice for two weeks, and you should reapply the spray every 14 days.
You can also soak cotton balls with neem oil and keep them in different places in your house.
What naturally keeps mice and rats away?
Neem oil rat repellent is one of the effective ways to repel rats. But sometimes, you may not find neem oil. In that case, you can use other items to naturally keep the rats and mice away. Here is a list of things you can use as a rat repellent.
Mothballs:
Mothballs are another effective rat repellent that you may find in your house. Just leave some moth balls where rats and mice can live. Do more research about mothballs as they have some toxic effects.
Peppermint oil (and other essential oil):
Peppermint oil is another excellent oil you can use similarly to neem oil. It also works similarly to neem oil.
Dryer sheets:
Dryer sheets also emit smells that are very irritating to the rats. So you can keep dryer sheets in different places of your house. Dryer sheets also work great to keep other bugs and pests away from your home.
Traps:
Trapping is another widespread way to keep the mouse away from your house. However, it is a time-consuming solution to keeping the rats away and does not work if mice and rats can enter your home from other places.
A cat:
A cat can be a fun way to keep the rats away from your house. However, a lazy cat may not help!
Final Thoughts
You can use neem oil to eliminate the rats and mice in your house. If you spray all the areas of your home, it will work effectively enough to repel all the rats for 14 days. The irritating smell of neem oil repels the rats, mice, cockroaches, flies, lice, bedbugs, and other household pests.