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Does Lemon Deter Mice & Rats? (Answered)

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People most of the time get confused between mice and rats. They are both rodents and look similar. But they are different from each other from many perspectives. However, both mice and rats can make your life difficult by infesting your house. 

Today, we are going to discuss and find out whether lemon deter mice and rats.

Does lemon deter mice & rats?

Lemon has the ability to deter mice and rats. The lemon essential oil, the lemon juice, the lemon balm and the plant have proved themselves successful as a mice and rats repellent. Mice and rats do not deal well with the scent emitted by lemon. One can use lemon as a spray to deter mice and rats.

Let’s look at different states of lemon and find out whether they can deter mice and rats successfully. 

Lemon oil:

It is believed by experts that lemon oil can deter mice and rats away effectively. It has been a proven mice and rats repellent. The best way to apply lemon oil is by turning it into a mixture and spraying it on the most mice and rats affected areas. 

Mice and rats do not like the aroma of lemon oil. 

Lemon scent:

Lemon scent can be used as a measure to deter away mice and rats. But only the scent emitted by a lemon fruit might not be enough in terms of keeping mice and rats away for good. 

Mice and rats do have a strong sense of smell and will avoid the area which emits scent of lemon. 

Lemon juice:

You can use lemon juice to deter away mice and rats. Because mice and rats can not stand anything that emits the smell of lemon. Lemon juice can be used as a spray on the mice and rats affected area. 

The store bought lemon juice and manually squeezed lemon juice can be used as a mice and rats repellent. 

Lemon balm:

Lemon balm is famous for being a mice and rats repellent plant. You can place these plants at the most mice and rats affected areas of your home. The smell coming from the lemon balm plant will deter mice and rats away. 

Do mice and rats dislike the smell of lemon?

Mice and rats possess a strong sense of smell. Their strong sense of smell can detect the scent emitted by lemon from very far away. Experts suggest that mice and rats do not like the smell of lemon and usually they would do anything to keep away from areas where lemon is present. 

That is why you will notice mice and rats will avoid areas where you have sprayed lemon juice as an insect repellent. Along with insects, lemon can deter away troublesome rodents such as mice and rats. The smell of lemon plants is also not enjoyed by mice and rats. 

5 reasons why lemon will repel mice and rats

You might be confused about the functioning of lemon as a mice and rats repellent. But there are some reasons behind why lemon can repel mice and rats so effectively. Let’s discuss in detail about some of those reasons.

The scent of lemon:

Lemon emits a citrus like scent. This scent is not enjoyed by rodents such as mice and rats. You will notice mice and rats avoiding areas that emit citrus like scent. The smell of lemon makes it a potent mice and rats repellent. 

Powerful sense of smell of mice and rats:

Mice and rats are known for having a powerful sense of smell. They can smell things which are undetectable to a human’s sense of smell. This powerful sense of smell possessed by mice and rats can sometimes cause their downfall. 

This has happened in the case of lemon as mice and rats can sense the smell of lemon from pretty far away and their sense of smell makes it impossible to hang around lemon.

Versatility of lemon:

The versatility of lemon as a mice and rats repellent is commendable. You can use several forms of lemon to repel mice and rats. You can use lemon juice as an effective mice and rats repellent. 

You can also use lemon essential oil to keep mice and rats away from infesting your house. 

Moreover, you can place lemon balm trees at several entry points of your house to stop mice and rats from coming into your home. The multiple forms of lemon are good at keeping away mice and rats. This makes it a very good choice as a mice and rats repellent. 

Cost effective:

You would not want to go bankrupt just to keep away mice and rats. That is why lemon is a wise choice as a mice and rats repellent. Lemon is very cost effective and can be purchased from local stores at a moderate price. You can even grow yourself in the garden. 

Easy to use:

It is excessively easy to use lemon as a mice and rats repellent. You would want to go through too much trouble to get rid of mice and rats. The usability of lemon makes them a fine choice as a mice and rats repellent. 

How to use lemon to keep mice and rats away?

Using lemon to keep mice and rats away might seem like a daunting task if you do not have any prior experience. However, there are some steps and methods you can follow that will make the task easier. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them. 

Selection of product:

First of all, you will need to decide which lemon product you want to choose as a mice and rats repellent. You can choose either lemon essential oil or lemon juice as the core product of your repellent. 

The lemon balm tree works as a preventive measure rather than a repellent. So you will need to choose between lemon essential oil or juice. 

Make a mixture:

You will need to mix lemon essential oil or lemon juice with water to make a spray solution. If you are working with lemon juice, you will need to cut fresh lemon into half and squeeze out the juice into the water. 

If you are working with lemon essential oil, you can simply put drops of essential oil into the water. The mixture has to be stirred using a spoon for optimum result. 

Spray the mixture:

You will have to put the lemon mixture into a spray bottle for further use. You can target the most mice and rats affected areas of your house and spray the mixture on those areas. 

You can also spray the mixture on the entry points of your home to repel mice and rats. It will stop them from coming into your home unchallenged. 

Reapply the method:

The scent of lemon spray will wear off after a few days. That is why you will need to reapply this method of spraying the lemon mixture once a week to keep mice and rats away for good. 

How to make lemon oil spray?

Making lemon oil spray is not so difficult if you manage to follow the correct steps and methods. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.

Selection of liquid:

You will need to select between water and vinegar as the supporting material for the lemon oil spray. Water is a cost effective choice but vinegar will enhance the quality of lemon oil spray. So at the end of the day it depends on your personal preference.

Spray making process:

You will need to take a plastic bottle as your spray container and fill 75% of the bottle with vinegar or water. After that, you will need to carefully add fifteen to twenty drops of lemon essential oil from the oil container. 

You will have to add a nozzle at the opening of the bottle to turn into a spray bottle. You can store your lemon oil spray in the refrigerator for further use. 

Does lemongrass repel mice?

Lemongrass does have the ability to repel mice. The essential oil that is produced from lemongrass is known for being a successful mice repellent. You can spray lemongrass essential oil in the most mice affected areas of your home. 

You can also target the entry points or the living places of mice and spray lemongrass essential oil there. However, lemon essential oil keeps the mice away for a short period of time and you will need to reapply the method every few weeks. 

Final Thoughts

Lemon is capable of deterring away mice and rats. The lemon essential oil or lemon juice can be mixed with water or vinegar and can be used as a spray on the most mice and rats affected areas. One can even spray at the entry points of a house to keep mice and rats away.

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