Chewed up furniture, little black droppings and greasy marks are a nightmare for any homeowner. What’s worse? Is the potent mice urine smell that comes next. It’s bad, strong, and makes the whole house foetid.
Mice are tiny rodents that sneak into your house for warmth, shelter, and in search of food. Once they identify an easy way in, they make a few trips between your house and their original burrow outback, before nesting in your house. If you come home from work and smell something pungent from your house, it’s most likely mice’s urine! If left untreated, this can turn into a dire situation with many health risks and an unwelcoming feeling.
There are a few steps you can take to remove mice urine smell effectively, but before we get into that you need to know how to remove mice naturally. The first step is identifying a rat or mouse infestation.
Source of the smell
It is extremely important to find out where the smell is coming from. It can come from furniture, floors, kitchen corners, and cabinets. If this is the case, you need to first take control of your mice infestation. You can easily identify a mouse infestation with these signs.
- Droppings scattered or clustered around corners and dark places.
- Chewed and gnawed pieces of foam, furniture or any nesting material that is out of place around your house.
- Strong smell coming from a particular place.
- Grease rubs on walls and along tracks/mouse paths.
Deal With The Source
If you’ve got any of these signs, the bad news is waiting for you! You have a mouse infestation. It is better to deal with the mouse nests first and then clean the smell. Otherwise, you will be back at square one with the mice urinating again.
You can take a few steps like covering food sources, throwing away leftovers or refrigerating them, and taking the trash out at night. All of these tips tell you how to remove mice naturally. But for quicker results you can contact mice removal services and professionally handle the situation eliminating health risks, once and for all.
Steps To Remove Mice Urine Smell
Mice aren’t the smartest rodents. They travel on the same routes and passing tens of times through the same path that runs around your house, they are bound to litter and drop urine across the path. If the path runs over a carpet or furniture, you might need to buckle up and gather supplies.
- Supplies You’ll Need
Mice faeces and urine carry dangerous viruses that can infect humans. Hantavirus and lymphocytic choriomeningitis being two of the most dangerous ones. For this reason, you’ll need to spend a few bucks on some protective arrangements.
- Rubber Gloves
- Face Mask
- Rubbing Alcohol and antibacterial soap
- Bleach
- Baking Soda
- Locate the Odour Source
Finding the source of the smell isn’t difficult. Look for signs like grease rubs on walls, fur and nesting materials like chewed-up plants and fabric and identify their path. If it runs through rugs and on curtain ends, you’ll have to clean these too. Their next favourite spot is the kitchen and the smell will mostly come from under the fridge or in corners.
Don’t shake any rugs, curtains in an attempt to shake off the droppings. This can make tiny bacteria airborne and a health risk.
- Ventilate
Once you have found the source of mice urine smell. You can now open all the doors and windows to get rid of most of the smell trapped in the house. This will also help with drying any wet urine spots and make the place easier to work with.
- Clean Up fabric and furnishing
Using bleach on your carpets, curtains and sofas can be destructive. Apply disinfectant and fabric cleaners to such areas and carefully vacuum them. If urine has been soaked in your couch, the only option is to steam clean them. You can use a soft bleach that is colour safe and wash your curtains and beddings.
- Clean Up Hard Surfaces and Floor
For hard surfaces, you can stir a mixture of 10% bleach with water and spray on any areas you suspect of mice urine and droppings. Spray plenty and let it sit there for 5 – 10 minutes. The bleach will act on any bacteria and reduce health risks significantly. Wipe the sprayed area with paper towels and throw them away.
The next part is mopping the area with a disinfectant like alcohol or any other product. You can also use a sponge, but a mop will keep you at a safe distance. You can spread baking soda over the smelly area and this will also help neutralise the smell.
- Clean yourself
After cleaning the affected areas, wash your hands with disinfectant and soap with your gloves still on and then again after you remove your gloves. Avoid scratching yourself or touching your face anytime during the cleaning process.
If you discover any chewed up food boxes or materials with a strong smell, take them outside and clean them there. Throw away any paper or cardboard boxes that have any urine or grease rubs on them and clean the plastic ones thoroughly.
Take Your Home Back
After you’ve cleaned everything, your home might smell like alcohol and disinfectant, similar to a hospital. Get a cross-breeze going in your house and ventilate as much as possible. Once the smell is gone, use air fresheners to rejuvenate your house again.
Take preventive measures to deter any rodents from nesting in your house. The best way to deal with a mice infestation and disinfection is to allow professionals like Action Pest to handle the situation and control your pest infestation.
You can get a free quote for any kind of rodent and pest troubles all across Canada/Hamilton. For effective control and guaranteed work, reach us now!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Will vinegar get rid of mouse urine smell?
Vinegar and water mixture can effectively remove mice urine smell. It dissolves the mouse urine and can be used as a bleach alternative.
How do you get rid of rat and mouse urine smell?
You can use bleach and water to wipe any mouse urine and droppings. This will effectively remove any smell coming from that area. Alternatively, you can use baking soda, which can remove the smell from the air.
Can mouse urine be cleaned?
Mouse urine can be cleaned by spraying 9 parts water and 1 part bleach mixture on the affected area and wiping it after about 5 minutes using paper towels.
How do you get rid of mouse urine smell naturally?
Mouse urine smell can be removed by using a bleach and water mixture. Spray it on any areas that you suspect of mice droppings and wipe it using paper towels.
Can you get sick from smelling mouse urine?
In short, yes! Mouse urine has hantavirus that can get airborne if the area is agitated and this virus can jump the species barrier to infect humans.
Can mice make your house smell like pee?
Mice are territorial rodents and like to mark their territory with pee. This also helps them travel along a path making it more familiar. Mice urine has a strong pungent smell like ammonia and is most noticeable in a closed space.
Why do mice pee everywhere?
Mice urinate along their travelled path, to mark areas and keep track of where they’ve travelled. They also do it to mark their territory.
Can you smell pee through walls?
If you have a solid wall, you won’t have this problem. But porous dry walls can allow pee smells to enter other rooms of the house.
Do mice leave puddles of urine?
Mice and other rodents are known to urinate everywhere they go. While they will not leave puddles like a dog, they can leave urine marks on the floor and walls similar to a grease rub from their skin.
Does mice urine attract more mice?
Mice are notorious for leaving urine around the places they visit. This can surely attract other mice and help the original mouse to visit the place again.
How many mice is considered an infestation?
It’s not easy to spot these tiny rodents, but if you can spot at least two different mice. Even worse, if they are male and female, you can call it an infestation.
How long does rat urine smell last?
Rat urine is one of the strongest smells and without ventilation it can seep into your furniture and soft fabrics. With your windows open and a cross-breeze, it can take up to 3 weeks to get rid of rat urine smell.
