Now that autumn is on its way, mice have plans to colonize your house for the cold months ahead! Mice carry diseases, their droppings are unsanitary, and their chewing habits can be dangerous to electrical insulation, bringing an increased risk of fires.

If you would rather not share your home with the pesky little rodents, here are some proven ways to send mice packing:

The night I put “Fresh Cab” herbal mouse repellent in our house, mice chewed holes in both screen doors, desperate to escape outdoors, away from the smell. They left a pile of mouse droppings inside the house by the screens, showing us it was mice who did the chewing, and that it took them some time to complete the job.

Country mice never bothered me much until I read about the first cases of Hanta virus (caused by rodents), or about mice eating electrical wires and causing a fire hazard. We’ve worked hard to rid our house of mice ever since. They always seem to come in the fall, as the weather gets cool, and they look for someplace warm.

Getting rid of mice without poisoning or killing them is very hard. We’ve used every trick in the book, including two Havahart Traps . From these we collect and drop live mice off miles from our house every morning. Another trick is mint (mice hate mint), and turning off the lights in the basement and then plugging up every place where we see light shining through from outside, knowing a mouse could come in there. Plugging up the holes has helped the most until we discovered Fresh Cab.

Fresh Cab is made of essential oils and spices mixed into corn cob chips. The final blend of scents has been proven effective in chasing away mice, flies, moths and mosquitoes. The blend is put in 2 1/2 oz. pouches, and they are sold four to a box. These pouches are designed to put in camper “cabs,” cabins, under hoods, and in trunks.

If you can tolerate the strong smell in the main part of your house, you are lucky, and you will not have mice! You might be able to tolerate a pouch under your kitchen sink, or in a closet. I found I couldn’t have the pouches in our living area, the smell is too strong for me, but I have eight pouches in the basement, and eight in the attic! I am hopeful that the squirrels will stay out of the attic, and the mice out of the basement. What a peaceful winter I will have, if this turns out to be true!

One box of four pouches costs $10 plus shipping and handling. To order Fresh Cab, contact Crane Creek Gardens, or call (800) 583-2921.