Use This Simple Tea Bag Method To Keep Pests Out Of Your Home

Uninvited guests of the creepy-crawly variety can quickly make your cozy home feel uncomfortable. For most of us, it’s an immediate cause for concern when we stumble upon a spider weaving an intricate web in the bathroom or find mouse droppings in the kitchen.

However, pricy exterminators, harsh chemicals, and gruesome critter traps can be too much to handle. So how do you get rid of them in a humane (and cheap) way?

The best way is to prevent them from coming inside in the first place. And you can do that by using peppermint tea bags!

This method seriously works. Killing spiders and other many-legged bugs can be messy and difficult. And trying to trap them humanely to set them free outside comes with the risk of them getting back in.

As for mice, there are plenty of methods out there that can either trap or kill them — but no one wants to touch a small rodent’s body, dead or alive.

Don’t put your family’s health or your pets’ health at risk by spraying dangerous chemicals or leaving poison out.

Here’s how this simple teabag method works.

First, figure out how many areas of your house seem to be targets of pests like spiders and mice. Then, heat up a large teakettle and steep several peppermint tea bags.

Once the bags are good and soaked, place one in each corner of the affected rooms. (You might want to put it on a paper plate or something else washable or disposable so your floors won’t get stained.)

Let the bags remain there for a few days, and voila! A pest-free home!

So how do peppermint tea bags keep unwelcome critters and crawlers away? Pests can’t bear the scent of peppermint. Flies, mosquitos, spiders, ants, and other insects and rodents will steer clear of the stuff at all costs.

If you don’t want to brew a bunch of tea (though peppermint tea is excellent for stomach aches), you could also mix peppermint essential oil with water and spritz it into the corners.

It’s also a good idea to caulk up or block any holes you see along the baseboards where mice and rats can get in. Even if a hole looks small, mice are experts at squeezing through tiny openings! If you can’t block it, just put a tea bag there as well.