Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/19/do-moth-balls-repel-mice.html
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I think with all of these it’s a question of what you are trying to keep the mice away from. I have used mothballs when closing down a house for an extended period to keep them from nesting in cars or on the beds (which are stripped and covered in newspaper). It seems to work- I haven’t found any mouse damage or droppings in those places.
But there, all you are keeping the mice away from is a potential nesting location. If there’s food there, as there is in Shawn’s experiment, the attraction of the food might well overcome any repellent effect of the mothballs.
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I’ve been having a problem with mice and rats in our motor home. It’s in a storage lot. No food is stored in it. So far, I’ve tried moth balls, peppermint oil, poison bait and traps. Nothing has worked other than traps and even then the rodents can clean off the traps (I use peanut butter) without getting caught so it takes several days to eventually trap the vermin, AAAAGGGHHHH. It drives me crazy every time I have to clean up their messes.
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Try adding something solid, like chocolate or oats, to your peanut butter & tying it onto the platform with dental floss.
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These have not repelled rodents in my experience.
They just hurl them out of the way and get in with what they were doing.
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Biological warfare is the only effective option.
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I was also about to suggest making all the rodents super intelligent so they develop warring factions with Mice vs. Rats.
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Whether or not it does, is it worth attracting the little old ladies and doilies they attract?
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I hear cats do a pretty good job and are easier to keep and barn owls
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I seriously doubt there is anything that will “repel” mice, like DEET does with insects. You either have to kill them or catch and release. Personally I am in favor of a house cat as the ideal solution to mice.
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bucket traps, either a rod across the top with a pvc pipe over it and free to spin, put peanut butter in the middle and fill the bucket half full, or fill the bucket half full and put a ring of peanut butter about 3 inches down from the top
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Shawn’s mice are starting to sound like Janice in Accounting.
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I’d be more upset at cleaning up the bodies in a trap. How do you get rid of them? Geez, now I’m wondering if a row of dead bodies repels mice.
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Yeah, I’ve started doing something like that after I found one drowned in the toilet bowl. So now I’m baiting the bowl with peanut butter. The mice seem to be able to get in even with the lid closed and evidently can’t get enough purchase on the inside of the bowl to get out.
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I’m actually happy to see the dead little buggers any more. At first, it was repulsive; now it’s a reason to rejoice. They do too much damage. A rat chewed through the water line to the ice maker and now I’ll have to take the fridge out of the enclosure to get to it to replace the line. Much work, expense. Luckily, the RV is older and does not have soy based insulation on the electrical wiring and have left that alone (knock wood).
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Snakes also work but you need a suitable climate. And some nerves 
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I was just getting ready to post this as well.
Behold the fabulous rat snake:
Here’s the local talent where I am:
I guarantee if you have rat snakes around, your rodent overpopulation problem is going to be short-term. Very, very short-term.
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But, then how do I get rid of the snakes afterwards?
Why would you want to? I’d rather have snakes than rats.
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If you simply let the snake(s) do its/their thing, once the food supply tapers off, then the snakes leave. They will follow the food.
Unless you are keeping poultry. Eggs, ducklings and chicks make tasty tasty snacks.
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