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:
Daffodils
Snowdrops
Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow)
Fritillaria
Wood squill (Siberian)
Camassia
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.
Most herbs: Mints and lavender are especially good.
Garlic and onions: Garlic and onions both have strong scents that mice don’t care for.
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.
