I recently read somewhere (can't remember where - memory is going as I get older), that mice can't bear the smell of mint /eucalyptus. The writer therefore recommended putting 3 drops of olbas oil in a watering can and using that to water round mice-prone crops like peas and beans once a week or so, as apparently this will put the furry little buggers right off.
As I lost most of my peas to mice last year, I thought I would give it a try.
Before I start gaily flinging scented oils round the lottie though, has anyone else attempted this, and did it work?
Thinking further.... slugs mainly find their food by smell too (I believe?), therefore would it also be a deterrent to them? As the slugs in my plot have now built to such numbers that they are probably developing a language and discovering fire, it may worth a go.
And what about carrot fly, which also rely on scent to find their nibbles? Olbas oil is pretty strong so I wonder if it would mask the tasty carrot smell?
Or would all my crops just end up tasting slightly of eucalyptus? Eugh... Maybe just pure peppermint oil would be better, so that way at least the peas would be kind of 'pre-minted'!
Sorry for the 'stream of consciousness' type post: was questioning and thinking at the same time.
Wish I could remember why now....
As I lost most of my peas to mice last year, I thought I would give it a try.
Before I start gaily flinging scented oils round the lottie though, has anyone else attempted this, and did it work?
Thinking further.... slugs mainly find their food by smell too (I believe?), therefore would it also be a deterrent to them? As the slugs in my plot have now built to such numbers that they are probably developing a language and discovering fire, it may worth a go.
And what about carrot fly, which also rely on scent to find their nibbles? Olbas oil is pretty strong so I wonder if it would mask the tasty carrot smell?
Or would all my crops just end up tasting slightly of eucalyptus? Eugh... Maybe just pure peppermint oil would be better, so that way at least the peas would be kind of 'pre-minted'!
Sorry for the 'stream of consciousness' type post: was questioning and thinking at the same time.
Wish I could remember why now....
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