The uneasy feeling of spotting mice or spiders exploring your living space is a universal discomfort that many seek to avoid. Especially for those with arachnophobia or musophobia, finding a solution to deter these unwelcome visitors is paramount. Here’s a natural, harm-free tip that ensures your home remains a critter-free sanctuary!
Despite various available traps and poisons designed to eliminate spiders and mice, many of these methods pose potential hazards for both humans and pets.
The Gentle Power of Peppermint
Here’s a gentle, yet effective way to naturally deter these small intruders without resorting to traps, toxic sprays, or poisons: utilizing peppermint tea or essential oil.
Peppermint Tea:
Simply brew peppermint tea and strategically place the used tea bags in areas frequented by spiders and mice, like corners of rooms, to keep them at bay.
Peppermint Essential Oil:
Alternatively, combine 10-15 drops of peppermint essential oil in a water-filled spray bottle and spritz around baseboards. Not only does this prevent the critters from invading, but it also leaves your home smelling fresh. (Note: If you have pets, opt for the tea method, as essential oils can be harmful to them.)
Additional Techniques to Maintain a Critter-Free Home
Discourage Spider Homesteading: Prevent spiders by ensuring your home surroundings do not harbor spider-friendly environments, like plants, woodpiles, or undisturbed dark areas.
Seal Entry Points:
Keep both spiders and mice out by identifying and sealing potential entryways, like small cracks or gaps around doors and windows.
Eliminate Food & Shelter Sources:
A clean home, with minimal hiding spots and available food, discourages persistence from mice and spiders alike.
Remove Webs:
Regularly clear any spider webs with a vacuum or an extendable broom to deter their return.
The Importance of a Critter-Free Home
While the presence of mice in a home carries potential health risks due to their capability to spread diseases like lymphocytic choriomeningitis via their urine and feces, spiders generally pose a smaller threat. Most spiders do not bite humans unless threatened, and most household spider bites are harmless. However, maintaining a critter-free home not only ensures peace of mind but also safeguards against possible health concerns.
Husband receives photo from his wife, he can’t believe it
My phone buzzed on a normal Tuesday afternoon, alerting me to a message from my wife Emma. After ten years of marriage, our bond was based on respect, trust, and love. However, this message would rock our marriage to its core.
“Hey, sweetheart! She wrote, “Check this out! I’ve attached a photo.” I was surprised to find Emma with noticeably larger breasts—something we had never talked about—instead of a happy selfie.
I gave her a call right away. “What is this, Emma?” How come you didn’t tell me about this?
She said, “Oh, I thought it would be a nice surprise,” in a casual way. Do you not find it appealing?
“A revelation? This is significant surgery, Emma! How were you unable to talk to me about this? Shaking my voice, I questioned.
“I didn’t believe it to be all that significant. She answered, “I wanted to feel better about myself.
Her remarks hurt. Our trust, which had grown over a decade ago, was broken.
Days later, I came to the conclusion that such a betrayal of trust could not last in a marriage. Emma became combative, adamant that it was her decision and her body.
Although our divorce was painful, it was a sign of a larger problem with misplaced trust.
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