Tips for cleaning up after mice invasion

[mathnerd]

This morning, I discovered that mice had gotten into the plastic bin where I store bird seed (they gnawed a hole to get into a plastic box). This is in my garage and the poop was everywhere on many surfaces and objects (like lawnmower, ladder, boxes of stuff etc). I swept out what was on the floor ] and also cleaned up the shelves. I was wearing gloves and mask and thought that it was enough protection. Now, I am checking the CDC website and it says that I should not sweep the mouse poop out because of risk of spreading germs. Well, I will be cautious about it from now on and watch for any illnesses in the next few days.

 

But, how should I go about disinfecting all the surfaces and things in the garage? I plan to make a bucket full of bleach solution and dunk anything that can be cleaned in it. I plan to wipe down surfaces with bleach water. There are a ton of cardboard boxes and there were droppings on them as well. I am wondering how to clean those? Any one here with suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

 

PS: I have thrown out all the bird seed. They had eaten some of my fertilizer and the kelp stored there and I got rid of that as well.

[MercyA]

For anything that can't be cleaned with bleach water, I'd use a solution of water and Lysol Multi-Surface Cleaner. You could spray the cardboard boxes with Lysol and just let them dry. If it were me, I'd make sure all the mice were gone before doing a deep cleaning.

 

At least everything in your garage will be really clean!  :grouphug:

[Laurie4b]

I posted a link a while back on disinfectants. A science mom did a whole lot of experiments with bacteria in petri dishes and various disinfectants. Hydrogen peroxide and bleach won. Lysol was pretty ineffective. Alcohol didn't do as well as I would have thought. 

 

 You can buy spray bottles of hydrogen peroxide at the store. (Our Walmart carries them) It's as effective as bleach but easier to manage. (It also bleaches.) Unless your cardboard boxes are decorative, I'd hit them with the hydrogen peroxide as well.  For things that can't be bleached or washed with soapy water, I would use alcohol. 

 

When we get mice in the kitchen, I put a blob of alcohol based sanitizer on a paper towel and blot it up. From now on, I'll also hit it with a spray of peroxide. 

[TammyS]

The big thing with mouse poo is that you don't want to send it into the air.  Next time, spritz it with water and then scrape it up.  A bleach solution is excellent for cleaning up.

[mathnerd]

Thank you very much for all the help. I have been cleaning the garage everyday now using either bleach or hydrogen peroxide. The tiny seeds that the mice had splattered all over the crevices of my unfinished garage and inside the stored things in the garage are mostly gone. On the bright side, my new year decluttering resolution has got off to a flying start as I am throwing many unnecessary things from the garage. 

 

Problem: they seem to like to live in my garage. There are fresh mouse droppings every day in the places that I cleaned. But, the amount is lesser and lesser. I used ammonia in a cup and moth balls to try to repel them with the smell (google told me that they hate those smells). They stayed away from them for 1 day and they are back today in the same place. I ordered Fresh Cab mouse repellent on amazon. Is there any other mouse repellent that I can try? I don't want to use traps because I hate to deal with either a live or dead mouse. Thanks in advance.

[ErinE]

Traps were the only way for us. I am the mouse trap manager and after cleaning up after multiple mouse invasions, I got over my sad feelings really quickly. Mice are nasty.

 

Is there a significant other that can take care of it for you?

[mathnerd]

Traps were the only way for us. I am the mouse trap manager and after cleaning up after multiple mouse invasions, I got over my sad feelings really quickly. Mice are nasty.

 

Is there a significant other that can take care of it for you?

The problem is that I might end up as the mouse trap manager here too as the significant other is really scared of mice :)

[Word Nerd]

nm

Edited January 7, 2016 by Word Nerd

[Guest]

Traps. If you're like level 10 squeamish you could always hire an exterminator. Or a less squeamish sibling or something.

 

And then yes bleach. I'd get rid of the cardboard. It would severely gross me out to have had droppings on something porous.

[Laurie4b]

Sorry, but you will need to trap or get an exterminator. You can also see if you can figure out how they enter the garage. They are good at getting through small openings. You can stuff any openings with steel wool pads. They can't chew through those. 

[GoodGrief]

My husband worked the hantavirus thing years ago in the Southwest. Avoiding inhalation was the advice then, so as someone else said spritzing any dust with water. A bleach solution is commonly recommended for disinfecting hard surfaces.

 

I stopped our mouse problem in the house years ago by blocking any openings they could use to get in (easier said than done!) That spray foam that comes in the pressurized can is awesome for filling in cracks and crevices. You may have a problem though if they are slipping under the garage door.

[kbutton]

I stopped our mouse problem in the house years ago by blocking any openings they could use to get in (easier said than done!) That spray foam that comes in the pressurized can is awesome for filling in cracks and crevices. You may have a problem though if they are slipping under the garage door.

 

That foam is fantastic! We had some little holes that we couldn't fill any other way, and it worked great.

 

You will have to trap if you want them to go away. It's important to find a trap that springs very easily when the mouse hits the bait, or you will have a lot of eaten bait and no mouse. Check the traps frequently--you can catch multiple mice in a day if you keep the traps cleaned out.

[MercyA]

 Is there any other mouse repellent that I can try? I don't want to use traps because I hate to deal with either a live or dead mouse. Thanks in advance.

 

You could try continually playing a radio in the garage and leaving the lights on at night. I know this helps with raccoons who like to come in the cat door. :) However, you will probably have to trap.

 

I love these live traps. I've successfully caught many mice with them indoors. If you are squeamish, drop a paper towel over the trap when it has a mouse in it. Pick it up and place it in a paper grocery bag. Drive the mouse at least a mile away, to a place with some shelter (grasses or bushes). Pick the trap up with the paper towel, place it on the ground, pull the door off, and stand back. It will probably take the mouse a few minutes to be brave enough to run out. However, if your garage is very cold at night, you won't want to use this method. They will get too cold in the trap and may die. 

 

The most humane kill trap, in my opinion, is a snap trap. Set them up perpendicular to the wall. I think you can buy covered ones. Please don't use glue traps--they are horribly inhumane, and you will have to deal with a stuck, suffering, living mouse.

 

Good luck. 

[Seasider]

Last year someone highly recommended the rat zapper:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rat-Zapper-RZC001-Classic/dp/B002665ZTC

 

I remember thinking I'd order one if I ever saw evidence of rodents.

[TammyS]

Use traps. Load them with peanuts (very attractive to mice, but hard to get out of the trap without springing it).  I've heard of some people leaving the dead mouse in the trap to rot so that the smell would repel other mice. Not sure if it works.

 

Also, if you have access to a cat, get some cat hair and sprinkle through the area.  Helps repel them (not foolproof,  but it helps).

[NotSoObvious]

It's still early so I haven't read all the responses, but we battled mice for two years in the country and they loved my kitchen. I was terrified about the poop until I learned that haunta (sp?) virus wasn't a huge concern in our area BUT that their urine apparently spreads more germs than the poop and you can't see it! They will pee as they run, so you can have urine all over things. I disinfected my entire kitchen more than once. 

 

I finally was told to use peppermint oil to ward them off and it was the only thing that ever worked!!! I soaked cotton balls in peppermint oil and placed them in every cupboard and drawer. Not only did my house smell great, but they stopped getting in those areas! 

 

 

[happypamama]

Peanut butter and traps.

 

Hanta is not an issue in my area (PA), last I checked, so that was reassuring.  My cats are useless with mice.  Traps with peanut butter work very well.  We see them in the fall more than anything.  I use bleach if they've been in anything, or hot soapy water if I don't want to bleach.

 

Fwiw, when I got a new stove, one of the burners wasn't working right, so I had to have a guy come and fix it (since it was warrantied).  He told me that no matter how clean people keep things, EVERYONE has some mice behind their stoves, even if they think they don't. ;)

[marbel]

Last year someone highly recommended the rat zapper:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rat-Zapper-RZC001-Classic/dp/B002665ZTC

 

I remember thinking I'd order one if I ever saw evidence of rodents.

 

I've recommended it here.  It is the only thing that worked for us.   You don't have to see the dead mouse.  I still have my husband or son deal with it.  (Sorry, feminism, but dealing with rodents is a man's job in my book.) 

[kbutton]

Fwiw, when I got a new stove, one of the burners wasn't working right, so I had to have a guy come and fix it (since it was warrantied).  He told me that no matter how clean people keep things, EVERYONE has some mice behind their stoves, even if they think they don't. ;)

 

If I had rodents behind my stove most of the time, I would be dead by now--I am highly allergic. If we have mice in the house, I can often smell them LONG before we see droppings, find stuff chewed, etc. I have found their nesting places by smell alone when we couldn't figure out where they were coming in from their droppings. I am sure a lot of people have mice at times and don't know it, but it's not an all the time thing.

 

We do proactively set traps in certain areas (crawlspace, shed, etc.), and we check vulnerable places frequently. 

[fdrinca]

Last year someone highly recommended the rat zapper:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rat-Zapper-RZC001-Classic/dp/B002665ZTC

 

I remember thinking I'd order one if I ever saw evidence of rodents.

 

We use this! It's amazing! We have rats (which are much worse than mice - I'd take a mouse any day over a rat) that come into our garage. We can't seal the door, and they have come inside our house through the garage, so we have to get them in the garage while we can. 

[Yvonne D]

We moved into our new home and, in our haste, put into the shed 3 suitcases and three coolers, along with items the previous owner left behind. They loved birds so they left birdseed which drew in the mice. After 2 months, I remembered about the suitcases and the coolers and went out to move them into the basement and discovered the mice issue. The suitcases were stacked flat upon each other on top of a garden wagon. Even though they are black, I checked them thoroughly for droppings and tipped each one over a white garbage bag to see if anything fell off. Fortunately not, so only the side of the suitcases would have been exposed to any mice. Because they are soft sided, would any of you be concerned about using them? The coolers next to them did not have droppings, though one may have a urine spot. The larger one on the bottom had the cap off of the drain and, of course, found a few droppings and a spot of urine in it. That one is being trashed.

[Tanaqui]

Weird first post, Yvonne, and on a thread 6 years old, too.

At any rate, if you are concerned about using those suitcases, which it sounds like you are, you should just ditch them and get new. Life is too short to worry about things like this.

[kbutton]

Zombie thread

As for being an odd first post, people find these boards searching for all kinds of things. It's because we talk about so many interesting things. 🙂 

[MercyA]

Hi, Yvonne. I would wipe off the outside of the suitcases with disinfecting wipes or spray them with Lysol and call it good.

I'm guessing the coolers are plastic? If so, a diluted bleach solution would work just fine to clean all of them, including the one that was soiled.

[Yvonne D]

Thx, MercyA. I am going in the direction you suggested for the suitcases and two of the coolers. We are still trapping and when it’s time we will disinfect the shed. My only other concern is that the walls and floor are presswood and so porous. Hoping the bleach does its job on that type of surface.

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, Yvonne D said:

Thx, MercyA. I am going in the direction you suggested for the suitcases and two of the coolers. We are still trapping and when it’s time we will disinfect the shed. My only other concern is that the walls and floor are presswood and so porous. Hoping the bleach does its job on that type of surface.

Good luck! Mice are awful.

When we built a new shed, we opted to put a floating sheet of vinyl flooring (inexpensive fiber floor) in there for spills and things like mouse droppings (we hope to avoid!). We can just haul it out and hose it off, if needed. We bought it at Menard's. If you need to cut it to fit, a utility knife works. It doesn't need to be tacked down at all. 

[MercyA]

6 hours ago, Yvonne D said:

Thx, MercyA. I am going in the direction you suggested for the suitcases and two of the coolers. We are still trapping and when it’s time we will disinfect the shed. My only other concern is that the walls and floor are presswood and so porous. Hoping the bleach does its job on that type of surface.

I would think that a light spraying of either Lysol or a diluted bleach solution on a day when the walls and floor would air dry quickly would be fine. I wouldn't soak them with liquid, IYKWIM. 

I know mice can climb walls but I doubt they urinate while climbing. I've lived in a country house with mice in the basement and I never noticed that, that I can recall. I personally would be fine with just doing the floor. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by MercyA