A growing trend among homeowners has some covering their grass and plants with soap.

And no, they’re not trying to give their yard a much needed bath.

Why People Put Soap In Their Yard

Maybe you spotted a bar nestled between plants in someone’s garden or caught a whiff of a fresh-smelling sent wafting from a neighbor’s lawn.

Either way, you should know the person who lives in that home has a good reason for loading their yard up with soap. To be more specific, Irish Spring soap.

House Digest dug into the topic and revealed Irish Spring is particularly good for keeping various critters out of your yard.

The website recommends turning a bar of Irish Spring soap into shavings that can be placed in the mesh bag. You can also chop it into chunks. Just any method of releasing the Irish Spring scent should work.

Place the bag near whatever plants you’d like to keep clear of small animals. You should start seeing less unwelcome guests in your yard or garden.

Which Animals Does Irish Spring Deter?

While Home Digest focused on keeping skunks away from your home, there are several different animals that will likely be deterred by the scent of Irish Spring.

A post recently shared in the Illinois-based Morgan County Animal Control Facebook group noted Irish Spring can be an effective solution for keeping deer and rabbits from nibbling on your plants.

Certain insects, slugs and even snails will turn the other way if they pickup the scent of Irish Spring in your yard.

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Unfortunately, Irish Spring seems to have the opposite effect on one commonly annoying creature that invades people’s homes and yards.

Several online forums on pest control contain posts trumpeting Irish Spring as a cheap mouse deterrent that will also keep your home smelling shower-fresh.

Several TikTok videos have popped up in recent months debunking the myth while showing that mice often choose to chew up the soap rather than run away.

While it may not be the solution to get rid of mice, at least your plants can still look (and smell) nice if you load up your yard with bars of soap.