Try this to keep out mice.

I Tried This After Finding Mice in My Kitchen — But the Trick That Actually Worked Wasn’t Peppermint, Dryer Sheets, or Mothballs

Few things are more unsettling than walking into your kitchen in the morning and discovering tiny droppings beside the cabinets.

Maybe you hear scratching after the lights go out. Perhaps a cereal bag suddenly has a hole in it. Then one evening, something small darts behind the refrigerator.

You have mice.

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Social media is filled with supposedly miraculous solutions: peppermint oil, vinegar, dryer sheets, cinnamon, ultrasonic devices and even mothballs.

Some strong odors may temporarily discourage a mouse from investigating a particular spot, but none is a reliable substitute for the method that matters most:

Find where the mice are getting inside and physically seal those openings.

Why Mice Keep Coming Back

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A house can offer almost everything a mouse needs: warmth, shelter, water and an enormous supply of food.

A few crumbs beneath the stove can become dinner. Pet food left overnight becomes a buffet. Cardboard boxes provide hiding places and nesting material.

And mice can squeeze through surprisingly small openings.

That’s why repeatedly removing one mouse without fixing the entry route often doesn’t solve the problem.

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Another one can simply come inside.

Start With the Outside of the House

This is the step people frequently skip.

Walk around the exterior and inspect areas where pipes, cables and utilities enter the building. Look around doors, windows, vents, the foundation, garage door edges and transitions between different building materials.

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Indoors, inspect underneath sinks and behind appliances where plumbing passes through walls.

You’re looking for gaps—not necessarily giant holes.

Small openings can be enough.

Appropriate materials depend on the location. Metal mesh or hardware cloth combined with a durable sealant is often more resistant to gnawing than soft materials alone.