I think everyone can agree that peppermint smells wonderful, but it offers more benefits than just adding a nice fragrance to your house. This amazing plant can actually help to keep household pests such as spiders, mice, and mosquitoes away, and it doesn’t have any harsh chemicals to worry about!
You can either buy actual plants or use essential oils, but either way, you’ll get to reap the benefits. With the peppermint plant, you’ll have two different varieties to choose from – black or white. You can see a distinct difference between the two plants because the black plant will have darker leaves and a stronger scent, while the white peppermint will have a lighter color and fainter scent.
Peppermint plants need to grow in either a pot of soil or a bottle of water, but the container needs to have adequate drainage for plant growth. They need indirect sunlight and grow best in daytime temperatures of around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures of 55-60.
So, now that you know the basics of taking care of your peppermint plant, we’ll get into how this wonderful gift from nature can help you keep your home pest-free.
Put Peppermint In Your Home And Say Goodbye To Spiders, Mice, And Pests
You can use peppermint for a variety of things, including in natural bug sprays. In one study, M. piperita(peppermint) showed evidence of repelling mosquitoes and their larvae; the mosquitoes were completely killed 24 hours after exposure (in water) to 3 ml of M. piperita per square meter of water.
Another study done in Israel compared seven different commercial bug repellents. The results speak for themselves about the power of the peppermint plant: the All-Natural Essential Oil Mosquito Repellent (a mixture of cinnamon, eugenol, geranium, peppermint, and lemongrass oils) tied with OFF!, one of the biggest brands of mosquito repellents, as the most effective of the seven.
A further study found that peppermint oil offered complete protection from mosquitoes for 150 minutes, with just 0.1 mL of oil applied on the arms. However, after those 150 minutes, the researchers found that the effectiveness of the oil decreased, and needed to be reapplied.
Spiders also don’t like the smell of peppermint, and keeping a plant in the corner of your bedroom can work wonders in keeping them away while you sleep. Of course, taking preventive measures such as closing doors and windows tightly, keeping the house clean and free of crumbs, and turning off some of the outdoor lights that attract bugs can help also.
As far as rats and other rodents go, some studies have proven that peppermint can keep these types of pests away. In high concentrations, peppermint oil changes the white matter of the cerebellum and also creates cyst-like spaces within the white matter, according to one study. So, keeping peppermint plants around the house and even diffusing oils might help to deter household pests such as rodents.
Peppermint plants can even work to keep pests away from your pets. Keep a plant near their bed, or even sprinkle some essential oils where they sleep to discourage bugs and rodents from paying your furry friend a visit.
Of course, peppermint plants not only smell great and keep pests away, but they add a nice color to your home and allow you to bring a little piece of nature into your living environment. What’s not to love?
