Mice are a common house pest. Millions of people around the country deal with these little rodents, and most are looking for a way to get rid of them. But what’s the big deal? Well, mice aren’t just smart, curious, and can squeeze into your house through tiny spaces. They eat your food, chew your wiring, and carry harmful diseases. You definitely don’t want them having free reign in your home. So how do you get rid of them? Well, there’s the obvious like poison and traps, then there’s more unconventional methods, like essential oils and even ultrasonic devices. One of the DIY methods you might encounter is the use of dryer sheets to get rid of your mice.
What Do Mice Think of Dryer Sheets?
In short, Mice don’t particularly like dryer sheets. The reason is in the smell – the sheets, which are polyester sheets covered in positively charged ions, carry a strong fragrance to them. It doesn’t matter what the smell is, whether it’s fresh linen, tropical breeze, or citrus, the fact remains that a mouse doesn’t like how strong it is.
With pest control, a dryer sheet’s smell can carry through an entire room or area of a house and affect any curious little creature that might be bothering you.
But Will Dryer Sheets Really Keep Them Away?
Mice have poor vision, but an excellent sense of smell. In fact they can smell food from across the house, and use this keen sense to locate your kitchen and get into your pantry. But, they’re also sensitive to certain smells, which you can use to your advantage to repel them.
Peppermint is a scent that’s universally repulsive to rodents. It’s strong and spicy and when they smell it, they’ll head in the other direction. As for dryer sheets, the scent in them is so strong and unique that mice can’t miss it, and fortunately for humans, they don’t like the smell.
Dryer sheets won’t kill mice, unless they happen to eat an entire sheet of it, which they won’t because it doesn’t taste good. All you can use the sheets for is to repel them. Repelling is different from killing in that it’s used to keep mice away from places you want them to stay out of. It will also help drive mice out of your home that are already there.
How to use dryer sheets to repel mice
When you realize you have mice, try and find out where they are. You should be able to notice a trail or pathway that they’re traveling through, either by seeing droppings, a trail of destruction they make while chewing or scratching, or you might even be able to hear them scurry or scratch.
Once you have a good idea where they are, take the following steps:
- Rub a dryer sheet all along the mice’s trail, which will leave scent behind.
- Place unused sheets along their path. You might want to cut them into smaller strips if the space is more tight.
- Rub a dryer sheet around your kitchen cabinets, kitchen baseboards and corners, and in the crevices of your pantry.
- Leave a sheet in some of the cabinets and in the corners of your pantry. When a mouse comes into the area looking for food, they’ll smell the dryer sheet’s fragrance and should turn around for another location.
Bleach is also a household product that carries a strong smell. But does bleach get rid of mice? Find out here.
The Pros and Cons
Yes, dryer sheets can repel mice, but there may also be some cons to using them.
Let’s look at both sides:
- The smell will repel the mice.
- Dryer sheets are cheap.
- They’re easy to use.
- Humans enjoy the smell.
- Mice may get used to the smell and adapt, making the sheets less effective.
- You won’t be able to get them into tight spaces where mice can go, like inside your walls.
- They won’t be very effective against a larger infestation. Dryer sheets are better used when you have a mild mouse problem.
You don’t just want an adequate product for getting rid of mice, you want an excellent one. Learn more about the best mouse repellent by clicking here.
At the first sign of mice, try a dryer sheet. Although it won’t get rid of a serious infestation, it can control your problem at the beginning, getting the rodents to leave your house before they can multiply to horrible proportions. And the best part? Not only do dryer sheets smell good to us, they’re also cheap!
I have a mouse that at night gets in my bed. He even tried to bite me. The exterminator put out stuff. I have bought all kinds of stuff. I live in a apartment which makes it harder. I am grossed out. What can I do??
Well you see tammy these mice like to breed every summer.
We just started seeing mice in our apartment. We have bought several products , but the mist effective one was the tomcat glue traps. We caught 3 mice in about 2 hours lastnight. But we got up this morning and saw one run under our stove. I am freaking out! I am TERRIFIED of the little suckers. Does anyone know,,if we are infested,,,how do we actually get rid of all of them?
Dryer sheets or pepper mint
I had a bottle with bleach an water under my sink and a mouse fell in it ugh..and someone said to put water in a bottle with a ruler or away they can walk to the opening, put peanut butter low inside so they try to get it and fall in. They’ll drown
I tried the peanut butter sugar and it works thank you oh mashed potato flakes to thank you
I can’t stand the smell of Bounce dryer sheets, at least the ones from years ago. Do they all have that cloying sweet smell, or just the original ones?
I’m going to try the fabric sheets. We had a rat do $7000 worth of damage to the engine in my car. It’s been in the shop for a month now. We were just given a loaner vehicle from the dealership yesterday and 24 hours later we heard something moving around in the loaner vehicle’s engine and when we opened the hood, we were staring straight at a rat. It already started doing a very small amount of damage to the soundproofing material. I’m so frustrated. We have tried traps for a month now and no success in catching this rodent. It also attacked my other car (chewed through the washer fluid line but it’s still drivable) and it has gone after my neighbor’s two vehicles.
Mice ate my cars wires”twice!”, I put Vicks Salve all over the wires (rubber gloves rubbed gobs all over and around the wires) then I shook red pepper flakes all over the engine (under hood) and also onto to the salve, on the wires. No problems since!!
*Note: the red pepper flakes (when falls on ground) won’t harm the birds, they can’t “taste’ like mice can!
One reason that towel warmers should never be used is because of the chemicals in the chemicals that are used to make the towels. Some of the most common chemicals that are used for this purpose are: bleach, mineral spirits, and petroleum based products.
I’ve recently heard of dryer sheets being effective in getting rid of mice. Which seems untrue in my case, seeing they are getting in my house through a small crack in my basement window, & crawling down onto my dryer where I keep my dryer sheets. I’ve even found mouse droppings in the box of dryer sheets before! I’ve used a variety of scented dryer sheets, but it hasn’t mattered nor stopped these critters from walking right in. Help!!
I had an issue with mice too
Try using steel wool around areas where they could be entering
Yes dryer sheets DO NOT
Also found droppings on dryer sheet