If there is one annoyance I have had since living in our current home, it’s the attraction of mice to our outdoor air conditioning unit.
We have a reverse cycle ducted air conditioning which gets used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during summer and then is sporadically used on cold mornings in winter.
We have had two incidences where rats have found a home in our air conditioning unit. One got knocked out by the fan and our neighbour advised us of the constant thud noise he heard whenever we put our system on. Our ac maintenance guy found the dead rat and disposed of it accordingly.
The second incident was a bit more expensive when the rat decided to fry itself on the motherboard. The repair job on that was in the thousands.
Last year we had to get our ducted air conditioning replaced and it was a fairly expensive exercise.
Due to the expense and my disdain at having to pay for the damage caused by these little critters, I have been researching for ways to prevent another fry up.
And the research came in handy because we recently discovered a mouse in our house.
After cleaning the mouse poo, we placed cotton balls soaked with doTerra Purify oil in every wardrobe, linen cupboard and space where a mouse would likely go to hide. We’ve not had any sightings of the mouse or poo in the house since the placement of the cotton balls.
The reason I came across this tip was because I was doing a bit of research on natural ways to prevent a mouse and rodent infestation. doTerra’s Peppermint and Purify oils came up in my search.
With this new found knowledge in mind, I decided to use the Purify oil to hopefully keep mice out of my air conditioning unit.
I got Jacob to use a rag to wipe all the outside grills of our air conditioning unit with Purify. I gave the grills another coating around a month later.
I wiped the sides of the unit where it’s an easy access point for mice or rats to enter into the unit.
I also added a cotton ball underneath the unit, in the hope it repels and keeps mice out.
We will have our regular service in September, so I will be able to tell you then if it’s worked or not. I’m hoping, if it works inside the house, it can work outside the house too. And our unit is still working so fingers crossed it does work. And if it does work, this could be something all electricians and air conditioning companies could be recommending. I will keep you posted.
If you ask most air conditioning maintenance companies, geckos and mice are a big problem making a home in ac units. They are attracted to the unit because of the warmth and the insulation inside which makes for a comfy nest. Unfortunately, they don’t get to live long in their home because they are notorious for chewing through wires and frying themselves on motherboards which incurs an unexpected bill for the owner.
So far the Purify cotton balls in the house have kept away the mice in our house. And there have been other success stories with this particular oil as well in preventing mice infestations.
My parents air conditioning maintenance company recommended placing these Hovex Camphor Moth and Silverfish repellants on the outside of the air conditioning unit to prevent the entry of geckos. (can be bought from Bunnings)
I’ve got these on my unit as well. One can never be too prepared.
Of course, if you have little kids that can access the outdoor unit, you might not want to use these as they do say keep out of reach of children.
My girls know not to touch them as they know it will make them sick if they do.
I’m hoping what I’ve done will keep mice out of my air conditioning unit.
I thought I’d share this information with you if it might help you. The south east of Australia is expected to have plummeting temperatures next week, so guess where mice will be looking to make a warm home?!
If you’d like to order some Purify Essential oil, feel free to contact me on the comments below or via my contacts page for more info.
How have you prevented mice in your house? Ever had a mouse or gecko in your air conditioning unit? Do you use doTerra essential oils?
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