Mice are not only cute pets in a cage with sawdust that are so fun to watch. These are also parasitic rodents, carriers of infections dangerous to humans, which can cause considerable damage to your property. Our article will be dedicated to them. Among other things, we will examine a very pressing issue: how to eliminate the smell of mice in a room.
What is the nature of the smell?
What comes from that unpleasant “orange”, by which we regretfully determine that mice have settled in the house? This is the smell of secretions with which the male marks his (or rather, your) territory in order to attract a female. Similar “scents” will come from a cage with decorative mice, rats and other rodents. Only in the latter case do you just need to change the sawdust and filler to neutralize this unpleasant odor.
The smell of mice is very unpleasant for humans
Animal excrement also has a no less specific “aroma”. This is a fierce mixture of methane, hydrocarbons and sulfur dioxide for our sense of smell, which is why we are looking for how to get rid of the smell of mice. By the way, it is this “bouquet” that helps the predator find the mouse hidden in the hole. Another feature of such waste products is that their “aroma” is literally absorbed into the soiled surface. The matter is aggravated if the latter is wooden.
One of the sources of stench
But we will eliminate the odorous marks of parasitic rodents in a qualitatively different way - it is necessary to treat the entire room where the resourceful mouse could have been.
Why is he dangerous?
It is especially dangerous for allergy sufferers and people with bronchial asthma. Mice are carriers of various diseases (for example, typhoid fever). Pathogenic microorganisms are present in their excrement. This smell attracts flies, which contribute to the spread of pathogenic microbes. If you do not begin to solve the problem, the situation may worsen.
Important! Mouse odor is easily absorbed into wooden surfaces.
What diseases do mice carry and how can you get infected from them? Read more in the article here.
How to find a mouse corpse?
Another source of unpleasant odor is decaying mouse corpses. The death of the animal could have occurred due to reasons beyond your control, or because you spread poison around the house. Here, of course, first of all you need to find the bodies, pack them in dense material, and then throw them in the garbage chute or burn them.
If something like this happened...
Here's where you're most likely to find a dead rodent:
- Places to which insects tend - flies, ants.
- In old cabinets.
- Behind the baseboard.
- In the ventilation duct.
- In a bag of flour.
- Sometimes putrefactive fluids leak from hidden places - the corpse can be detected by their stains.
Another question is how to remove a decomposing body from a hard-to-reach place. In difficult cases, you have to remove the floor, unfasten the baseboards, and disassemble the cabinets. And after that, decide how to get rid of the mouse smell in the house.
Advice! A cat or dog will help you find a dead mouse. The pet will circle around this place, return there, sniff, and show concern.
Vinegar
The main impact of the rat invasion falls on summer residents and owners of large country houses. In winter, in search of warmth and food, rats run into houses where not all survive until spring. And a fairly common way to combat the smell of dead rodents is vinegar.
In order to remove the smell, it is enough to simply treat all horizontal surfaces of the house with vinegar: countertops, window sills, floors next to baseboards, furniture, in general, all the places where rats could run. Acetic acid quickly neutralizes cadaveric poison and odor, after which it evaporates after a while.
Treating furniture in your apartment with a vinegar solution will help get rid of the cadaverous smell of dead rats
What will you need?
We will use handy, but no less effective means to combat mouse odor. We also use auxiliary tools. We have placed everything you need in the table and in the photo.
| Active remedies: | Auxiliary tools: |
| Vinegar | Water |
| Manganese solution | Spray |
| Hydrogen peroxide | Container for preparing solutions |
| Chlorine | Latex gloves |
| Essential oils | Sponges, napkins, rags |
| Absorbents (soda, salt, lime) | — |
| Ionizers | — |
| Chemicals | — |
"Chlorine"
Lime is an absorbent
Products containing formaldehyde
Hydrogen peroxide
Potassium permanganate
Vinegar
Reviews-stories
Hello everyone! We had this problem. We fought it with the help of Bianol. The drug is sold in a 1 liter bottle. You can buy it anywhere in hardware stores. After a one-time use, all the nasty smell left by the mice was gone.
Good afternoon. My name is Petr. Wrongly fought against mice. I poisoned them with a special poison before the business trip. The entrance to the basement of the house was closed, they died in the basement, which caused a terrible stench in the house. I arrived and almost suffocated. Then I only read on the poison packaging that mice that have eaten poison come out into the air and seem to be short of breath. In general, I removed the corpses and used Glykodez as a disinfectant. One liter bottle was enough for everything, I also left it for the house to wash everything there. The tool is awesome. The smell went away after about a few days, with constant ventilation.
Ventilation
How to get rid of mouse smell easily? The easiest way to combat unpleasant “odors” is to completely ventilate the room! Open the windows, doors - create a major draft for an hour or two. Don't forget to ventilate your closets and pantries as well.
If the room is dark, make sure that as much sunlight as possible enters it - they can disinfect surfaces to some extent.
How to get rid of the smell of mice - ventilate the room
Fans – ceiling or portable – will also help to achieve more active air movement. As for the air conditioner, it’s a “double-edged sword.” An unpleasant smell, especially if a dead animal was found in the room, can “catch” on its air filters. Therefore, it would be a good idea to replace the latter.
Wash
If a mouse has pooped on carpets, blankets or your clothes, the smell can be easily eliminated by simply washing these items or cleaning them with any detergents suitable for them. For the best effect and greater disinfection, you need to set the longest and most effective program in the washing machine.
It’s easy enough to wash things
It is more effective to clean carpets with a washing vacuum cleaner. The easiest way to dry clean pillows, blankets, and winter clothes is to dry clean them.
Advice! In some cases, buying an air freshener with a deodorizing effect helps. It not only spreads a temporary pleasant smell, but also disinfects the air after uninvited guests.
Clean the carpet with a washing vacuum cleaner
Chlorine
You can also use a popular chlorine-containing product called “Whiteness”. Its price is quite reasonable, which does not at all affect the effectiveness of the solution.
How to get rid of the smell of mice in the house using chlorine? We act simply:
- Pour the chlorine solution or “Whiteness” into a suitable container.
- Wear protective gloves.
- Take a sponge and rags. Wetting this tool generously in the solution, wet all surfaces in the room where mice can get into.
- Pay special attention to corners and “secret” places.
Effective in combating persistent odors.
We do not advise you to use such a toxic substance as chlorine in an apartment where there are small children and pets. The method is good for a garden house, cottage, garage, warehouse - a room where there will be no people during processing. When the substance evaporates, the space will again become safe for everyone.
Hydrogen peroxide
It is recommended to use this product not on its own, but after treating the room with a chlorine-containing substance.
You need to pour the peroxide solution into a spray bottle and thoroughly spray all possible mouse routes with this liquid. What's good about this product? It will destroy all pathogenic harmful bacteria and microorganisms that chlorine could not destroy.
If mice have soiled your clothes, you will get rid of the unpleasant odor if you soak the items in a solution of peroxide and water (1:6 ratio) before washing. But be careful - it is better not to use this method for thin fabrics.
How to get rid of the smell of mice in an apartment or other living space? You can also carry out wet cleaning with the following solution to neutralize the “amber”:
- 800 g 3% hydrogen peroxide.
- 100 ml dishwashing gel.
- 120 g soda.
The solution is prepared in a glass container immediately before use. You need to work with it wearing rubber gloves!
You can also purchase special products
Manganese solution
“Potassium permanganate” will not only remove the unpleasant odor of mouse activity, but will also thoroughly disinfect the room from those infections that could be introduced by these far from sterile rodents.
The instructions for your actions here are also simple:
- Prepare a solution of manganese in the volume and concentration that corresponds to the area of the room being treated.
- Wait until the product is completely dissolved in water.
- Wear rubber protective gloves.
- How to get rid of the smell of mice in the house in this case? Wet a rag or sponge in the prepared solution and treat the floor, cabinets, corners and other places where mice are likely to be.
What is very important is that our sense of smell, unlike, for example, bleach, is practically indistinguishable. But for mice this smell is simply unbearable! Therefore, by treating your home with potassium permanganate, you will not only destroy amber, pathogenic bacteria, but will also scare away uninvited guests for a long time.
Vinegar
Acetic acid by its nature is considered a natural disinfectant. It not only neutralizes the “odors” of the vital activity of mice, but also helps to cope with infections brought by rodents.
The means at hand are effective
And we will act according to the following plan:
- Prepare a solution of the required concentration, based on the fact that 1 liter of water requires 5 tbsp. spoons of vinegar.
- Mix well and pour into a spray bottle.
- Now all that remains is to treat both surfaces that emit an unpleasant odor and possible places where mice may visit.
You can use a vinegar solution when treating, for example, a specific cabinet or the entire room.
Advice! Don't worry about the strong vinegar smell. Soon it will disappear along with the “amber” of mouse feces.
Absorbents
This primarily includes salt, soda, and lime. There are more effective products of this type available in specialized stores. Most often, they contain special flavoring additives that mask the odor while the substance has not completely dealt with its source. What is the best way to get rid of dead mouse smell? This particular remedy is very effective if you are unlucky enough to find a dead rodent in the room.
Regular salt will also help.
You only need to sprinkle an even, dense layer on the area where the mouse died. The absorbent will not only absorb the unpleasant odor, but will also destroy bacteria, smelly organic microparticles from the corpse, so it acts as both a filter and a disinfecting component.
Salt and soda are best used in residential areas, and lime - in all others.
Advice! Among other things, mice are repelled from your shoes by placing bags of soda or salt in them.
Ionizers
Usually used in conjunction with chemicals and absorbents. Their goal is ultraviolet disinfection of the room both from microorganisms and bacteria brought in by mice, and from decomposition products if you find dead rodents in the house.
Additionally – ionizer
Chemicals
How to get rid of the smell of a dead mouse quickly and effectively? This is the most unsafe, but necessary measure, if a mouse corpse is found in the house. Which remedy is right for us? Anything containing formaldehyde. This can be either an aerosol or a concentrate, which needs to be diluted in water, and then treated with this solution.
Special neutralizing substances contained in such preparations destroy unpleasant odors at the molecular level. Formaldehyde stops oxidation.
Essential oil
Despite the fact that some of the essential oils have an antibacterial effect, we still do not recommend using this remedy alone. It is much better, after treating the room with manganese, chlorine, or vinegar, to spread the aroma of a pleasantly smelling essential oil - mint, pine, lavender - into the house. It will eliminate both the mouse “amber” and the smell of the product you used.
Finally, essential oil
Look for a clear application of the tips in the video in this article.
Essential oils
Aromatic herbs are a good help in the fight against both the mice themselves and the smell of dead animals, but the smell of dried plants is subtle and quickly disappears, so it is better to use essential oils. The most commonly used oils are peppermint, lavender, and coniferous trees. The product is applied to a cotton ball and left in the problem area.
Coffee beans
Coffee beans are an excellent absorbent. To neutralize the smell of a dead mouse, coffee beans are laid out near the source in bulk or placed in a cotton bag. Dry coffee grounds have the same effect.
Formalin
Formalin, or formaldehyde, is used by pathologists to neutralize cadaveric odor. The substance will also help to cope with the stench of a dead mouse. It should be remembered that the compound is quite toxic, and use it at home with great caution.
Features of using products on various surfaces
We will not treat all materials that exude a mouse-like “amber” in the same way. Some require a special approach.
Chipboard
For this material we will follow the algorithm:
- Stain analysis. Rodent urine, due to its ammonia content, can stain the surface of the chipboard. The latter may become discolored or even change its density. It follows from this that it has become thinner, which is why it needs to be diluted with a solution of a weaker consistency. It is also necessary to reduce the exposure time to the chemical.
- The surface for treatment must be prepared: remove all dust and dirt with your own hands or with a special device, and finally degrease.
- The next step is to process the chipboard. It is better to do this from both sides - excrement could be absorbed into the body of the material. If you use a chemical aerosol, then after treatment you need to wait until it is completely absorbed, and then remove the sediment with a rag.
- Once the chipboard is completely dry, it is recommended to treat it with sealants or polish.
Drywall
Unfortunately, if excrement or putrefactive liquid has seeped through the drywall, then this part will be the easiest to remove. By no means can you completely remove the smell from it.
To investigate this fact, you need to remove the drywall and check for stains on the back side. If they are not there, you can treat the surface using one of the methods we propose.
Will ultrasound help?
Natural wood
In the case of wood, you need to remember one thing - in no case overdo it with the amount of solution. If there is too much of it, then the material will swell from excess moisture and particles emitting an unpleasant odor will sink even deeper into its pores, from where it will be even more problematic to remove them.
The best option for wood is to first treat the surface with an absorbent, and then with vinegar, peroxide, etc. or a chemical aerosol. Finally, restore the surface using polish or sealant.
Use of chemicals
To eliminate unpleasant odors in residential premises, there are a number of professional products developed by the chemical industry:
- "Lizafin." Domestic product. Available in concentrated liquid form in volumes of 1 and 5 liters. It contains active substances: 30% benzalkonium chloride, 0.5% glutaraldehyde, 0.5% glyoxal. Disinfects any surfaces, incl. furniture, plumbing fixtures, tools, textiles. Belongs to toxicity class 3;
- Medifox . Domestic disinfectant. Available in concentrated liquid form with a volume of 1 liter. It contains active ingredients: 5% non-alkonium chloride, 7% dodecyldipropylene triamine, 5% PHMG hydrochloride. Destroys most pathogenic bacteria and effectively removes sources of odors. Belongs to toxicity class 4;
- "Chlorapin" . Domestic remedy. Available in tablet or granular form. Its main active ingredient is 87% sodium DHCC. Suitable for processing any surfaces, incl. dishes, tools, furniture, and for washing clothes. Belongs to toxicity class 4.
Prevention of the problem
To prevent the unpleasant smell of mouse waste from appearing in the room, first of all, you need to try to prevent uninvited rodents from returning to your home. Here's the best way to do it, so you don't have to look for how to get rid of the smell of mice in your apartment:
It's better to prevent them than to fight them
- Don’t forget about thorough general cleaning “from start to finish” 1-2 times a year.
- If mice have already lived in your house, for preventive purposes, regularly treat your home with solutions, the “recipes” of which we have already given you.
- Do not forget about systematic ventilation of the premises - it has been found that these animals cannot tolerate drafts.
- Make it a rule in the warm season to dry mattresses, blankets, pillows, soft toys, etc. in the fresh air.
- Do not use advertised chemical aerosols to repel mice - mice very soon develop immunity to them.
- These rodents really, really don’t like the smell of tar. The smell of this substance is practically not felt by humans and is not felt as unpleasant. Therefore, a solution can be found in placing such “flavors” for mice throughout the house. And don’t forget to update them from time to time. You can also use products containing tar, for example, Vishnevsky ointment: saturate pieces of cloth with it and spread it around the house.
- The ash, which is completely harmless to humans, repels mice. The fact is that it irritates the pads of their paws, so mice tend to find a more comfortable place to live.
- You can also use the now popular ultrasonic repeller. But we won’t recommend it to you: manufacturers vying with each other to praise their product, while buyers complain not only about its ineffectiveness, but even about the opposite effect: for some reason there are more mice in the house than before purchasing this device.
- Better yet, get a cat! Even if the mustachioed tabby does not turn out to be a born mousecatcher, rodents will avoid your house just because of the natural smell of a pet.
The best remedy
Now you know how to get rid of the smell of mice in the house, how to treat certain surfaces with active solutions. However, it is best to prevent mice from entering the room. You also now know how to do this.
Ways to drive out mice
Before you start fighting the unpleasant odor of mice, you need to get rid of the source of the problem. If the rodents leave the house, the smell will not appear. To kill small animals, people use traps, mousetraps, poisons, and other dangerous means.
You can remove mice more safely by using the following measures:
- use ultrasonic repellers;
- call the deratization service;
- use folk remedies.
Important!
Mice cannot stand the smell of tar. Therefore, to eliminate them, place rags soaked in this liquid in the corners. Rodents also do not like wood ash. It is scattered in places where pests may live.
Potassium permangantsovka
Potassium permanganate is used almost everywhere: small children are bathed with it, they drink it for intestinal disorders, it is used for disinfection, and much more. In addition, potassium permanganate copes with the destruction of stench much better than some odor neutralizers. Therefore, if a rat died under the floor or behind a wall, and the corpse began to emit a stench, potassium permanganate is perfect.
To remove the smell, it will be enough to simply wash the floors and baseboards in those places where rats most often ran, and spray it into those places (cracks) where the corpse of a rodent may be located. In addition, potassium permanganate will also destroy most of the harmful bacteria that parasites might leave behind, so the risk of becoming infected with something in the future is reduced to zero.
Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate)
Mummifying poisons
Getting rid of the smell of corpses is one thing. But how can you make sure that after deratization of the room the chance of getting a “bouquet of aromas” is sharply reduced? Many people poison rats with conventional poisons, from which the rodent dies where death overtakes it. Great luck if he died in a visible place or right in the middle of the room so that he could be removed.
To prevent this from happening, you need to use special mummifying poisons. We wrote about them in this article. After death, the dead rodents begin to gradually dry out, turning into a real mummy, and do not emit unpleasant odors at all. These poisons have different effects: they can accumulate in the body, or they can kill immediately. Therefore, you can choose exactly the one that suits your situation.
Chlorine
Chlorine, as you know, has an interesting property: it removes any odors, and at the same time disinfects the surface being treated. The most famous representative of chlorine-containing products is “Belizna”.
Using bleach is similar to using vinegar. It is also necessary to treat horizontal surfaces, especially carefully around the baseboard and in all cracks in the walls. In addition to the smell, whiteness can destroy various microorganisms that can be harmful to health and pose a risk of poisoning.
White (bleach) removes unpleasant odors well
