Does Bleach Repel Mice?

If you’ve ever used bleach in your house, you will definitely concur that it has a powerful smell. Like humans, no mouse can stand the strong smell of bleach. So, if you’re wondering if bleach can repel mice – yes, it does.

To prevent your house from reeking and having too much stench, you should add water to the bleach. Then, fill a spray bottle with the somewhat diluted mix. Go forward and spray it in the areas where you think mice pass through. Leave the exit unsprayed because the critters will want an escape point when the smelling bleach overwhelms them.

Apart from bleaching having a poignantly sharp and off-putting smell, it is also a caustic substance. Hence, it eliminates viruses and harmful bacteria on the surfaces where it is sprayed. While that may be the case, do not expect the bleach mix to pull off miracles. When you do the spraying in one area, the mice will most likely go to another place in the same house with less stench. If you can, strive to do the spraying all over the house. If you notice that the rats or mats are not in your place but are in the yard, spray the bleach mix at entry points to discourage the mice from getting into your home.

Can Some Bleach Mix Kill House Mice?

While the answer to this question is yes, there is a catch to it. For the bleach to kill a mouse, it has to be in the mouse. So, you have to get the critters to drink the bleach mix. Unfortunately, since the solution has an unpleasantly strong smell, a mouse will not just come up to it and drink it. At this point, you need to bait the mouse by masking the odor. One of the products you can go for is peanut butter since it is delicious and has an equally strong smell.

To start the masking process, scoop a tablespoon of the peanut butter. Then, dip and stir it into a mix of the bleach. You should do this until you can’t smell the bleach. To ensure that the peanut emits an even stronger smell, ensure that you add some powdered peanut butter. Apart from making the mixture more appealing, the powder will also prevent the bleach mix from becoming too runny.

If you’re in luck, a greedy mouse will fall for your concoction, take the bait, and eventually drink the bleach. However, it may be a very tough call. Even if a mouse eats up all the mixture, they are unlikely to die the same minute. It could take about two days before you record a fatality. So, we already established that it is easy to repel a mice family but very challenging to kill it using bleach. If the bleach doesn’t get drank, you shouldn’t worry since you will have engaged in house disinfection.

Other Mousy Deterrents

Mice are cute, or they can be appealing. But, their cuteness dies when they choose to invade your house and clear all your food pantries. Luckily, you can use a couple of ways to rid your home of mice without hurting them; that is, the natural methods. Let us now look at them extensively and get their fine points.

Method 1: Using Natural Methods To Discourage Mice

Point 1: Ensure That Your Home Is Ever Clean

More often than not, mice invade homes in search of food. If nothing can be eaten in the house, they are unlikely to extend their stay. If they find bread crumbs all over the kitchen table, they will nibble on them and call in their families. So, always keep all your food in airtight containers. Alternatively, you can seal all your pantries so that the food inside is safe from mice attacks.

Point 2: Use Peppermint Oil As It Is A Natural Deterrent

As mentioned in this point’s headline, this unique oil will naturally deter mice. Peppermint oil has a very intense smell that is too much for mice to bear, and they cannot go near it. Apart from preventing the mice, the oil will give your home a lovely smell. It is not toxic, like many synthetic chemical treatments. You can get this particular oil in some grocery stores or even some health food stores. Here’s how you should go about the application of the oil:

1. Take a cotton ball and use a dropper to drop the oil twice.

2. Then, take the oiled cotton ball and put it near or under your garage. The cotton ball’s smell will deter mice from getting it.

3. Also, place the more oiled cotton balls in places where mice will most likely enter your houses, such as heat vents and doorways.

4. You will need to change the cotton balls every 5 to 7 days. But that will be dependent on the oil quantity that you put in the balls.

5. Apart from using oil, you can plant some peppermint near your house’s entryways. It will come in handy as a cooking ingredient, and it will help in deterring mice.

Point 3: Use The Dried Feces Of A Snake

Make a visit to a zoo, a pet store, or the local reptile center. They, you can ask the attendants to get you dried snake poop. If those facilities are not near your place of stay, talk to someone who owns snakes. Once you get enough of them, place the droppings in areas where mice like to and near entrances. The only precaution to take is ensuring that the feces are out of the reach of pets and children.

Point 4: Use Ultrasonic Sounds To Zap The Tiny Rodents

You will find electronic units sold in some specialty stores that usually emit a beeping and ultrasonic sound that every rodent hates. You will find the units online or at a local home improvement store. What you should know about them is they only work on a single line of sight. So, you need to know which path the invasive mouse is taking exactly. Also, the electronic units are not a long-term solution. They will only work for a while before the mice get used to the sounds.

Point 5: Use An Organic And A Commercial Deterrent

Other than traditional poisons harmful to the surroundings, some eco-friendly companies make organic garden products and mice repellents. Many of the companies’ products use natural ingredients (such as peppermint oil), which mice are known to disagree with. The products will not kill mice but will them out of the areas they are not needed.

Point 6: Put Any Trash Cans Away From Your House

If mice can smell garbage from inside your house, they will likely follow through and get inside. If you keep the trash cans away, they are unlikely to move into your home.

Point 7: Let Birds Of Prey Nest In Your Yard

If you can, build a nest box and erect it in your yard. The shelter box will attract some birds of prey. While this may take a while, it will be worth the effort. The box will be home to a mouse eater, and you won’t have anything to pay for the business. Here’s a tiny table noting a few pointers:

On Promoting Birds Of Prey To Nest In Your Backyard
Note	Rationale
Ensure that the shelter box has no safety hazards like nails.	The birds may not see these hazardous items and can get injured.
The target is barn owls.	These unique birds of prey can eat many mice in a single night.

Method 2: Creation Of Barriers

Point 1: First, Know The Points Through Which The Mice Are Coming

You may see mice droppings or some greasy strains in those areas. Also, you will notice a particular odor. Once you identify the specific points, mark them with caulk, mostly if it was hard to find. This way, you will stop them quickly.

Point 2: Block All The Holes You Find In The Interior Walls

It would help if you began with the interior walls because they are the best way out for the critters. The mice may leave your apartment or home for easy pickings at some other place. Here are some fine points to take note of:

1. Use caulk or spackle to seal all the holes that seem relatively small. If you have discovered large holes that spackle and caulk cannot fix, you will have to use drywall or plaster. While this may be a bigger, more tasking job, the mice will not get a chance to fit in the hole.

2. Ensure that the boards are very secure and have no gaps. This will ensure that the mice do not squeeze from behind them (the boards).

3. If the mice are trapped within the walls, the critters may want to chew up new holes. So, you need to leave some space for them to escape before sealing any entry point.

4. Blocking is arguably the most effective way to deal with mice. Taking up this alternative means that you won’t have to go for poison or traps.

Point 3: Ensure That All Entry Points In The Exterior Are Sealed

In this step, experts usually recommend that you fill the holes (or entry points) with steel wool. Sadly, steel wool becomes rusty with time is not a proper permanent solution. Instead, you can use kitchen pads that have been cut to the right sizes, or you can go for copper scouring pads. You need to ensure that the pads are secure to the hole’s sides. If you don’t, the mouse will pull them out eventually. If you’re looking at large exterior holes, those may need professional repair.

Once you ensure that the interior walls are toughly secure, cover up any hole on your building’s exterior. While you can use plastic scouring pads, some cases may require you to do other repairs such as tuck-pointing.

Point 4: Check And Recheck All The Entry Points Multiple Times

After a few days, check to see if there is any mouse activity going on. If you find out that mice have been crisscrossing the entry points, check all the holes that you had sealed. Also, scan and see if there are more holes and fill them as needed.

Ensure that you clean up the areas all around the entrances. If there are traces of feces, remove them entirely, and ensure that the area is disinfected. This will help you to clear any mousy smells. To accomplish the clean, mix one part of bleach with ten parts of water.

Method 3: Trap The Mice

Point 1: Go For A Humane Option Of Trapping The Rodents, Such As A Live-Catch Trap

There are various traps that you will want to try, all of which give you a chance to set the mouse free. The most common ones usually include a box that a mouse can get into but cannot get out. This is the most friendly way of catching mice. Here are some more fine points:

1. If some mice fall for the trap, you should take the trap out and release them around 1 mile away from your residence. If you can, choose a heavily-wooded area so that the mice get a place to go.

2. Removing or killing the mice alone will not solve the problem, especially if it is an infestation. When the mice are removed or killed, more of them will move into the house to take advantage of the available resources. Removing or killing one mouse can cause the remaining ones to bread. Still, it is an excellent move to dent the mice population rather than give up with the fight.

Point 2: Make Your Own Human, Homemade Traps.

You can create a trap by using a coin and a bowl. You will need to stick some chocolate in a large glass bowl and then invert it. Then, use two coins to balance the bowl at a specific angle (ensuring that a large coin is at the edge). Then, leave the trap in a room where the mouse roams.

The mouse will be pulled to the bowl because of the scent of the chocolate. Then it will try to reach up for the stuck chocolate. When it does, the bowl’s balance will get upset, and the bowl will completely cover the mouse. If you discover the trapped rodent, take it out and place it very far from your house.

Point 3: Get A Towel And Throw It Over A Mouse

This applies when you have the mouse in sight. Since it will only stay under the towel for a short period, you should act. Invert a waste-paper basket and put it over the towel. Then, tuck all the exposed bits of the towel under the inverted basket to ensure that it is firmly stuck to the ground. Slide a large cardboard piece under the towel and basket. Then, pick your entire innovation carefully, taking it out of your home to a distant location. If you feel like you’re far enough, release the critter.