As the weather warms up, many gardeners are starting to plant their vegetable gardens. There’s nothing worse than working hard to plant, water, and weed your garden–only to have the fruits of your labor enjoyed by mice. To keep mice away, avoid planting vegetables and herbs they enjoy. Do mice eat basil?
Mice do not eat basil. In fact, basil is a wonderful mice deterrent as they dislike its strong scent. Planted with other smelly herbs like sage, rosemary, and mint, basil can help keep mice out of your garden.
Keep reading to learn more about why mice don’t like basil and where you can plant them for the greatest benefit.
Do Mice Eat Basil?
Basil is a delicious flavoring spice. Since humans enjoy it, surely mice do as well, right? Actually, mice hate basil. That strong, aromatic scent that we humans enjoy instead sends mice packing.
Mice have incredibly sensitive noses. Some legends even claim they can smell the age and sex of another mouse from several miles away!
Their noses are especially sensitive to certain scented plants, like herbs. Even though humans enjoy the relaxing scent of lavender or the hint of spice from basil, mice can’t handle the strong scent. Because of this, they won’t hang out very long in any area where these strong smells are present.
How To Keep Mice Away By Planting Basil
How can you take advantage of the fact that mice dislike basil? Plant it everywhere you don’t want mice to visit! Here are some areas to plant basil to keep mice away:
- Around the perimeter of your house. If you don’t have room to plant basil in the ground around the perimeter of your home, you can plant it in pots or raised beds. Most herbs, including basil, thrive in pots.
- Around the perimeter of your garden. If you’re trying to keep mice out of your garden, basil is a great choice. Planting it around the outside of your garden can help deter mice from ever checking your veggies out.
- As companion plants in your garden. In addition to planting basil around the perimeter of your garden, you can also use it as a companion plant for certain vegetables. Companion plants help keep pests away from their companions and may even improve the taste of their fruit. Try planting basil with tomatoes, asparagus, oregano, marigolds, and peppers.
- In a pot on a windowsill in your kitchen. Yes, you can even plant basil indoors! It’ll help keep mice out of your cupboards and you’ll have easy access to it for flavoring your favorite dishes at the same time.
Final Thoughts
Basil is a great mice deterrent to use both inside and outside of your home. Because they dislike its strong scent, mice will turn around and head back the other direction. Try adding this tasty herb to your garden, in a pot on your front porch, or even on your kitchen windowsill.
