Do Scented Candles Attract Mice? Find Out Here!

Updated on July 15, 2021

Enjoying a pleasant aroma around your home can be a great way to relieve stress and relax after a long day, but your average mouse might also be interested in joining you. 

Do scented candles attract mice? Absolutely yes! These omnivorous rodents enjoy the strong scent of popular candle brands, and can often confuse them for food sources. 

Do Scented Candles Attract Mice?

Encounters with mice are common in households which frequently burn scented candles. This is because the rodents use a powerful sense of smell to sniff out valuable food in the wild. 

Although not as terrifying to look at as their rat cousins, interactions with mice can scare some people. Not to mention that wild animals can be very dirty. 

Sneaky mice will invade your house for food, making food scented candles a real "no go" for many people. Pest control can be difficult when a mouse thinks it is smelling unsealed food. 

So why are even the tiniest mice attracted to candles that smell strong? Are all wax candles a lure for mice, or just specific aromas? How can I win a fight against mice in my home?

Luckily for you, we have answers to all these questions and any other ones you may have. So without further ado, let's find out together. 

Table of Contents

Other Animals Which are Attracted

Other than mice, other rodents may also take interest in your scented candles. Although different aromas of food can attract different animals, and some are very specific.

Cats, for example, only like certain scents when it comes to food and candles. They enjoy more floral aromas and natural smells found in a herb garden. 

On the complete opposite end of the scale, there are bears. Bears are attracted to almost any food based scent, including vanilla as well as other smellier foods. 

The scented candle market has also expanded into more crazy perfume aerosols now as well, making it easier than ever to attract wild animals to your home.

The smell of bacon, as one example, is bound to attract mice and more towards your house in search of necessary food. 

Why do Mice Enjoy Scented Candles?

Like most wild animals, mice spend most of their time looking for chunks of food, water, and breeding. Survival being their main priority. 

You may not know it, but there could be many spaces near doors or walls that are giving a mouse access to your house. 

Knowledge of rodent behaviour says that it is food scented candles that are the main culprit of candle related rodent invasions. 

Pumpkin scented candles are just one example of food scented candles which are infamously known for their ability to attract mice into the home. 

As such, it's more that the mice are confused in their hunt for food than an enjoyment of scented candles. Food which they'll find in your cupboards and pantry, most likely. 

Can Certain Aromas Repel Mice?

While some scents from food scented candles are certainly baits for mice, there are also certain aromas which will deter these furry creatures from your home. 

Most mice entering your home due to a candle are likely just looking for a reliable food source, rather than to cause you serious inconvenience. 

Artificial perfumes in candle wax are also harmful to humans at times, so naturally they can be problematic for much smaller rodents as well. 

We will discuss exactly what scents are important later for dealing with textile pests like rats and mice, without the need to call pest control services and spent a lot of money on traps. 

Can Certain Aromas Repel Mice?

However, most people prefer the more immediate results of mouse traps in the battle against mice in their homes. 

The smell of ammonia can also keep rodents away, although it isn't very pleasant for humans either, and we understand if you want to avoid this one. 

Ammonia smells are most commonly associated with bleach and hyper hygienic cleaning products, which can be dangerous when inhaled. 

How to Get Rid of Mice

To solve mouse problems at home or at work, it’s important to understand how to trap and remove mice from an environment naturally using alternative methods such as repellents and poisons.

Trapping is a safe way of dealing with mouse problems as long as you know how to properly set a trap for maximum effectiveness against the pests’ behavior patterns.

A mouse box must be set at the correct height so that it kills any mouse that falls inside it without causing any harm to the prey animal accidentally.

Setting a Coscov mouse trap off too early or too late respectively causes serious injury resulting in death and causing pain, injuring the animal and not handling it in a humane fashion.

When baiting a trap or box, use peanut butter. Peanut butter is the ideal bait for handling mice and rats, as the smell is almost irresistible.  

Scents to Keep Mice Away Naturally

While food scented candles are attractive for hungry mice, not all foods are rodent friendly. This is why it is important to know which fragrances are attractive candle scents for rodents. 

Scents for mice will cause a concentration of mouse activity, as their highly sensitive noses will have more than just one rodent sniffing out your home for food. 

One of the fragrances that can deter mice is citronella, with many types of citronella candles entering the market as the plant's oil becomes increasingly popular. 

The smell has been likened to lemongrass and citrus as well, so you don't need to worry about compromising a fresh smelling home in order to remove signs of mice. 

Spicy smells are also known to be unattractive to rats, mice, and other various rodents that are common in urban environments. 

Unfortunately, spicy scents are not for everyone, and you may not like the smell enough to have it filling up your home. 

Cayenne pepper is the most popular spiced scent when it comes to candles, as in terms of food rodents can't really handle spice. 

This means they will deem your home unworthy of their efforts, and will probably end up staying away as much as they can. Perfect for you.

Peppermint scented candles also work, although not all herbal scents are as effective as this candy shop classic. 

If you have a history with mice in your home, then peppermint candles and reed diffusers can really help alleviate the whole issue in decent time. 

Why Are Mice Bad for the Home?

Mice are known for making a mess and spreading disease. However, mice can be beneficial if handled appropriately. However, most people aren't interested in keeping mice at home, without a cage.

These rodents make a mess when they invade your home; they eat everything in sight and leave feces everywhere. Also, mice reproduce quickly, so there will always be more of them to take over your home if you don’t take proper steps to stop it.

Why Are Mice Bad for the Home?

Mice are annoying pests that multiply quickly without regard for cleanliness, so if you are planning on catering to them and their destructive nature then do so outside. 

Chewing through just about anything in search of food sources is natural for a mouse, and they don't care what your house looks like after they're done. 

This makes them unpleasant house guests, and preventing a mouse infestation is vital if you spot even just one or two mice around the house. 

After dealing with the primary infestation, you should regularly check traps and poison baits for fresh mouse kills to remove any new ones before they multiply further.

Alternatively, continue to restock the natural mice repellent fragrances we suggested earlier, if you want a more humane way to deal with the rodent issue. 

Smell is one of the human senses which can flow through the whole body. I am the Founder of NeoCandle.com where we talk all about scented candles. Known as Candace the Candle Girl, I know pretty much all there is to know about scented candles. I make and sell them on Etsy and Ebay - so be sure to ask if you have any burning questions :) (pun intended ;) )

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