Mice in the garden, or home, can be a major pest problem. Having plants mice won’t eat can be one solution. If there is no food source, there is no need for a mouse to hang out or make a home in your garden. Use these suggestions for plants that will be safe from nibbling mice and some that may actually help repel the critters.
What Plants Do Mice Dislike?
Most gardeners are concerned with bigger pests, like deer
and raccoons,
eating their plants or vegetable harvests. Mice can be a big issue as well.
They may be small, but mice can make quick work of the plants you have worked
hard to grow and nurture.
Mice particularly like to nibble on bulbs
you’re hoping will bloom in the spring. You may think it’s a mole or a
squirrel, but oftentimes the bulb culprit ruining your spring garden is a
mouse. Bulb plants that are safe from mice include:
- Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow)
- Wood squill (Siberian)
- Muscari (Grape hyacinth)
There is mixed evidence that mice will eat allium bulbs, but they definitely enjoy munching on all tulip, crocus, and iris varieties and most types of hyacinth.
Plants That Repel Mice
If you have an issue with mice in your home or garden, you
may want to consider growing some plants that will keep them away. This can be
a cruelty free way to control a mouse population and a way to avoid traps. Here
are some ideas of plants that repel mice for indoor and outdoor containers or
beds:
- Catnip: Catnip may also bring mouse-hunting cats to your garden.
There are also some natural ways to protect plants in your
garden that mice insist on feasting upon. Blood
meal in the soil, for instance, will add nutrients and also keep rodents
away from buried bulbs.
Cayenne pepper sprinkled on bulbs or plants will deter mice
after one taste or even sniff. Your local garden store may also sell specific
mouse deterrent products.
Mice in the garden, or home, can be a major pest problem. Having plants mice won’t eat can be one solution. If there is no food source, there is no need for a mouse to hang out or make a home in your garden. Use these suggestions for plants that will be safe from nibbling mice and some that may actually help repel the critters.
What Plants Do Mice Dislike?
Most gardeners are concerned with bigger pests, like deer
and raccoons,
eating their plants or vegetable harvests. Mice can be a big issue as well.
They may be small, but mice can make quick work of the plants you have worked
hard to grow and nurture.
Mice particularly like to nibble on bulbs
you’re hoping will bloom in the spring. You may think it’s a mole or a
squirrel, but oftentimes the bulb culprit ruining your spring garden is a
mouse. Bulb plants that are safe from mice include:
- Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow)
- Wood squill (Siberian)
- Muscari (Grape hyacinth)
There is mixed evidence that mice will eat allium bulbs, but they definitely enjoy munching on all tulip, crocus, and iris varieties and most types of hyacinth.
Plants That Repel Mice
If you have an issue with mice in your home or garden, you
may want to consider growing some plants that will keep them away. This can be
a cruelty free way to control a mouse population and a way to avoid traps. Here
are some ideas of plants that repel mice for indoor and outdoor containers or
beds:
- Catnip: Catnip may also bring mouse-hunting cats to your garden.
There are also some natural ways to protect plants in your
garden that mice insist on feasting upon. Blood
meal in the soil, for instance, will add nutrients and also keep rodents
away from buried bulbs.
Cayenne pepper sprinkled on bulbs or plants will deter mice
after one taste or even sniff. Your local garden store may also sell specific
mouse deterrent products.