Using Instant Potatoes to Get Rid of Mice – Does it Really Work?

As a homeowner nothing is more annoying than dealing with a mouse infestation. These tiny pests can squeeze into the smallest cracks and crevices contaminating food supplies and spreading diseases. While traditional baits and traps have been the go-to solutions, some people swear by an unusual remedy – using instant mashed potatoes to kill mice. But does this unorthodox technique actually work? Let’s examine the facts.

Why Are Mice Attracted to Potatoes?

The key to understanding how instant potatoes may kill mice lies in knowing what attracts them to starchy foods like potatoes in the first place Mice are drawn to starches and grains to fulfill their high energy needs High carb foods provide mice with a quick source of energy and calories to fuel their fast metabolisms,

Potatoes are an ideal attraction for mice because they offer:

• An abundant source of carbohydrates and starch
• A soft, easy to chew texture when cooked
• A pleasant potato scent mice can’t resist

Mice also need to constantly drink water to avoid dehydration. This need for fluids is the secret to how instant mashed potatoes may be lethal.

How Can Potato Flakes Kill Mice?

When dehydrated potato flakes come into contact with liquid, they absorb the moisture and expand in size. It’s this rapid swelling action that can be fatal to mice.

Here’s how the process allegedly works:

• Mice eat the dried potato flakes, which contain little moisture.
• The potato flakes make the mice extremely thirsty.
• They drink water, which rehydrates the potato flakes inside their stomachs.
• The potato flakes rapidly absorb the water and swell up.
• The expanded potato mass produces painful stomach cramps and bloating.
• Eventually, the potato lump blocks the digestive tract, leading to death.

Unlike rats, mice can’t vomit to expel the mass of swollen potato flakes. So if they consume enough, the potatoes end up killing them slowly and painfully.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of This Pest Control Method

While using instant mashed potatoes sounds like an ingenious way to kill mice, there are some issues with relying on this tactic:

• Slow acting – It can take hours or days for mice to die from potato flakes. They can still reproduce and spread disease in this time.

• Messy clean-up – Partially eaten potato flakes left around the home are unsanitary and difficult to clean thoroughly.

• Low toxicity – The potatoes may not contain enough starch to effectively dehydrate and kill mice.

• Bait avoidance – Mice may catch on and start avoiding piles of potato flakes after several deaths occur.

• Harm to pets – Cats or dogs who ingest potato flakes left out can also suffer intestinal blockages.

While instant mashed potatoes aren’t necessarily toxic, they aren’t potent enough to work as a standalone treatment for serious infestations. For severe mouse problems, it’s better to use proven extermination methods:

• Snap traps
• Glue boards
• Rodenticide baits
• Sealing entry points
• Catch and release traps

Using Potato Flakes Safely in Combination with Other Methods

Although potato flakes alone have questionable effectiveness, they could augment your mouse control plan when used carefully alongside other techniques:

• Place potato piles in areas with heavy signs of activity to draw mice out. Follow up quickly with lethal snap traps nearby.

• Use very small amounts of potato flakes in snap traps as bait instead of cheese or peanut butter.

• Mix a small amount of potato flakes into peanut butter bait for extra allure.

• Sprinkle flakes around the outside of homes to dehydrate mice before they can enter.

• Draw mice to feed on potato flakes using a trail of oil, flour or powder leading to them.

• Scatter flakes around mouse holes or nests before sealing them permanently with steel wool or caulk.

It’s best to place potato piles out of reach of kids and pets and promptly clean up any uneaten flakes. Avoid leaving potato flakes out indefinitely or relying solely on them to solve a mouse issue. View them as more of a supplemental tool when part of a comprehensive IPM plan.

Signs Your Potato Flakes May Be Working

You can gauge if using potato flakes is having any impact on the mouse problem in your home by observing:

• Increased mouse activity initially as they take the bait

• Discovery of potato flakes caches while cleaning but decreased sightings of live mice

• Evidence mice drank water near potato piles – tipped over bowls, wet areas

• Finding dead mice with swollen abdomens not far from piles

• Having to frequently replenish piles of flakes

• Noticing fewer signs of mouse activity over time

Seeing these signs means the potato flakes are attracting mice successfully whether leading to deaths or making them too full to enter your home. But potato flakes showing no signs of being disturbed could mean mice have wised up to the danger.

When to Call in a Professional Exterminator

DIY-ing a mouse problem with instant potatoes can be hit or miss. It’s smart to contact a licensed exterminator right away if:

• You discover a large infestation (10 or more mice)

• There are mice nesting and breeding within your home’s walls

• You or family members have health conditions that could be impacted by mice

• Droppings, urine and contaminated surfaces pose disease risks

• Potato flakes are not making any dent in the mouse population

• Multiple traps and natural solutions have failed to work

A pro can assess the extent of the infestation, pinpoint entry points, set out effective baits and seal up the home. They have the manpower, methods and experience to eliminate mice quickly and prevent re-entry.

Why spend weeks playing a losing game of cat and mouse when a pest control technician can solve the problem in days? Don’t let a mouse problem spiral out of control.

The Bottom Line on Killing Mice with Potatoes

At the end of the day, the viability of using instant mashed potatoes to kill mice is questionable. The technique is unproven and not potent enough to be reliable on its own against large infestations. However, potato flakes could serve as a helpful supplementary tool when used carefully and strategically as part of a multifaceted control plan.

While the idea of a pantry staple doubling as a mouse killer is genius in theory, nothing beats proven lethal methods administered properly by pest control experts. But for some additional amateur pest control fun without harming the environment, sprinkling a few piles of potato flakes probably can’t hurt! Just be sure to clean them up thoroughly and take more serious action if the mice don’t take the potato bait.