Danielle McCarthy
Home & Garden

Surprising things you can do with peanut butter

It’s delicious on toast, in a banana smoothie, or baked into a choc chip biscuit, but did you know that peanut butter has many uses outside of the kitchen? You might be surprised to learn just how versatile this spread really is. 

1. Feed the birds

Grab a pinecone and rub spoonfuls of peanut butter all over it to make a simple bird feeder. Attach some string and hang it up in your garden where you want the birds to visit.

2. Remove gum from shoes

Apply peanut butter to the area and leave it for a minute or two, then wipe off with a clean cloth.

3. Catch a mouse

No, not all mice love cheese as much as you’ve been led to believe. In fact what they really love is peanut butter, and the good thing about it is that it makes them sit for a while to lick the trap. This gives your mousetrap plenty of time to catch the little critter, rather than grabbing the cheese and scooting off.

4. Fix scratched DVD’s

If you have old films or music lying around on CD or DVD, they can often become scratched and unusable. You can use peanut butter to ‘fill in’ the gaps caused by the scratches! Simply wet the silver side of the disk and then dry it with a lint-free cloth. Then use your finger to apply a small amount of peanut butter all over the silver side of the disk. Rinse off with warm water, dry again, and you should be able to watch your old films or listen to your favourite tunes again.

5. Swallow a pill

If the grandkids (or even some adults!) hate swallowing tablets, try this. Place the pill onto a tablespoon of peanut butter, and cover it completely so that it can’t be seen. Encourage the patient to swallow the peanut butter without chewing it, so that the pill goes down without being tasted.

6. Fix a squeaky door

If you haven’t got any WD40 you can use a smear of peanut butter on the hinges of a squeaky door instead. 

7. Remove a sticker

Don’t you hate when you buy something and can’t peel the price sticker off? Just rub a little peanut butter into the area and the oils will help remove it when you rub it with a cloth.

Have we missed anything? Do you use peanut butter anywhere else around the home? We would love to hear your tips in the comments.

Tags:
peanut, butter, things, surprising, do