do mice avoid garlic?

I think they do.

This was not a scientific experiment but a demonstration. Try it and let me know if this works for you.

I can't remember where the idea came from. I get hits when I Google "mice avoid garlic" and perhaps you will find better key words but there doesn't seem to be very much about it. I didn't invent this but I wanted to show you what happened here.

Two months ago, I had pulled the toaster and the microwave out of their cubby to clean behind and saw the usual mess left by mice as they feast on the crumbs and the other goodies we leave. That picture is at the end in case it turns you off.

I can't blame the mice but I'd like them to keep away from this kitchen area, messy as it normally gets, until I can get around to cleaning again. Two months ago I left a few of last years garlic along the back of the shelf. I hadn't done that before.

The picture above is how it looks today. I just pulled the microwave out. The toaster had been cleaned earlier in the day so the crumbs are gone but the microwave hasn't been moved until now. No signs of mice on this shelf yet they are elsewhere. I blame the garlic. We'll look again in two months.

In case this helps anyone.

If you have this problem, you don't need anything but some garlic bulbs to try it out. I am not sure if the type of garlic makes a difference and not even sure of what I used, I think Romanian Red? It was organic product for sure, I grew it myself.

You can click any pictures to enlarge it.

Thanks for your interest. Please let me know what you think. I moderate the comments to control the spam.

George Plhak

update Mar 27 - I looked behind the microwave and there is still no mouse dirt!