The Unexpected Banana Hack That May Keep Mice Out Of Your Home

Hearing the scratching sounds of mice in your walls or mice clattering around your kitchen in the middle of the night can lead to a lot of anxiety and frustration. While there are many methods for killing mice once they appear in your home, such as mouse traps and poisons, it's better to prevent them in the first place. Repelling mice is a better solution and a more humane way to keep them out of your home and garden.

Surprisingly, science suggests that bananas may actually repel some mice. A McGill University study discovered that their scent increases the stress levels of male mice. Bananas contain some of the same chemicals that are in the urine of pregnant and nursing female mice. These chemicals serve as a signal to male mice who could potentially harm the mother's children and works to keep them away. In particular, n-pentyl acetate serves this function.

Since the unique scent can increase stress in a male mouse and potentially deter them, it makes sense that some people would try to use the fruit to get them out of a home. However, the decision to do this isn't as straightforward as it may first appear. While the scent of bananas can repel some mice, it may not work on all of them, so you'll want to think carefully about whether to try this solution yourself.

Researchers from McGill University added banana oil to cotton balls and placed them in the cages of mice. When doing so, they found that the anxiety in the mice increased dramatically. If you want to try repelling mice with the help of bananas, you may want to do something similar. You could apply banana oil to cotton balls and then place them in areas where you see mice or want to keep them from. This is likely to repel male mice from your home and can be a potential solution.

On the other hand, it may not be worth the effort. For one thing, McGill University only specified that it works on male mice rather than on females. Despite males not liking the scent, bananas still serve as a food source and unaffected mice may eat them. Using them to repel mice may not be the best solution unless you happen to only have male mice in your home. Despite the smell, you could potentially use bananas to attract mice to traps and probably get some takers.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other scents that can help you get rid of mice humanely, so consider using some of these as well. Some of the possible ingredients you can use to repel mice include peppermint essential oil, cinnamon, vinegar, and cayenne pepper. You may want to use one or several of these if you want to have the best chance of keeping your home rodent-free.