Can't stand the smell

 
Published: Friday 31 December 1993

If there is one thing a mouse cannot stand, it is the smell of other mice. Male mice with high levels of testosterone -- a male sex hormone -- mark their territories by secreting an oil in their urine, which scares off other mice.

Scientists at Indiana University in the US have been able to synthetically produce the oil in a form that sends mice vamoosing, but without offending humans. Scientists claim canisters or pest strips containing the substance should be able to keep mice away.

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