Mice droppings in garage storage space (floors, townhouse, smell, furniture)
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Thanks for all the messages. It's reassuring that I don't need to hire a remediation company. The information online makes it sound super dangerous having mice droppings/urine around. Probably still smart to minimize the risk. Isn't sweeping more likely to bring things airborne versus vacuuming as much as possible with HEPA filter bag?
My main concern is that I have kids at home.
Thanks
I would use a shop vac and open doors and windows for good air flow.
The internet makes us afraid of a lot of things.
It's not healthy to live with mice. We should prevent them from living with us. But environmental contact in barns, garages, and the outdoors, with things mice have touched/peed on, etc is probably not possible.
I’d avoid using any type of poisonous baits, especially if you have dogs/puppies or cats. The last thing you’d want to do is poison a pup. Much more fun to just play with pups!
I would use a shop vac and open doors and windows for good air flow.
The internet makes us afraid of a lot of things.
It's not healthy to live with mice. We should prevent them from living with us. But environmental contact in barns, garages, and the outdoors, with things mice have touched/peed on, etc is probably not possible.
It's a garage. For ventilation can have garage gate open. But I will close the inside door that connects with interior of the house so air doesn't get in.
Removing as much stuff and all food/water from the area would be the first place I would start. Then sealing-up entrance-points.
Mix peanut-butter with baking-soda and place a gob in the middle of a bunch of glue-traps. Even if they manage to steal the bait, they die from the baking-soda.
Check the traps daily, you do not want the mice to suffer for too long. If you find a live mouse stuck on a trap, cover its head with something like glue or caulk, they go-out in less than a minute.
If they die from poison, isn't there a risk they die inside the wall and smell badly?
If they die from poison, the biggest risk is that they will be found and eaten by other animals. Here on the farm we have our own pets, as well as eagles, owls and other varmints I don't want to poison. They're not really big enough to smell bad inside a wall.
I hate sticky traps too, they're fairly brutal, and because i have cats and dogs who could also get stuck on them.
There are bait stations that trap the animal inside. You then just dump the whole thing and don't have to deal with live or dead ghastly things.
By far, the best solution is not trapping or killing, it's just eliminating food so they don't want to be there.
Hi all. Went to check if I still had lawn seed in the storage room and found bag ripped with seeds all of the place and lots of mice droppings. I did see one small mouse. A lot of the stuff in the closet is junk anyway and I am happy to get rid of them, but I was also storing things such as camping gear in there.
I need to clear that whole closet and disinfect. Pest remediation companies are quoting an amount that I can't currently afford, and I am not sure it's needed considering the problem is localized to the storage room (4x5 ft). What do you think?
Could I instead hire a junk removal company to haul everything and then I can clean floor and spray walls with bleach/water mixture. Would it be good enough?
The stuff I intend to keep, I can wipe as much as I can with a mix of water/bleach or another non staining product (any recommendations?) Now, some items like a small pressure washer, camping stove, might be difficult to know if every single area got wiped. Maybe I can leave it out in the sun as well?
How much stuff are we talking about? A closet's worth or an entire large garage attic storage space? Not worth paying someone else to do this IMHO. Sounds like it needs a good sort so you'd need to do that in person anyway.
I'd remove all the contents and spray or wipe down surfaces (walls, floors, etc) with a 10:2 water/bleach solution (10 parts water, 2 parts bleach) and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. There are various low toxicity commercial disinfectants like chlorhexidine readily available but ordinary household bleach will work and the active chlorine will offgas on its own very quickly. Surfaces don't need to be totally dry before being wiped off, in fact better if its still damp so bacteria or molds don't become airborne all over again as you work. Launder soiled fabrics, spray down/wipe off the other stuff, re-pack smaller items in new boxes or plastic storage bins. Cardboard is likely to end up being chewed or soiled again so maybe not the best option. Don't store seed or other potential food in there again. Be aware mice aren't just searching for food...they're also searching for shelter and nesting material, so chewable materials like fabrics will be targets.
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-10-2023 at 03:43 PM..
How much stuff are we talking about? A closet's worth or an entire large garage attic storage space? Not worth paying someone else to do this IMHO. Sounds like it needs a good sort so you'd need to do that in person anyway.
I'd remove all the contents and spray or wipe down surfaces (walls, floors, etc) with a 10:2 water/bleach solution (10 parts water, 2 parts bleach) and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. There are various low toxicity commercial disinfectants like chlorhexidine readily available but ordinary household bleach will work and the active chlorine will offgas on its own very quickly. Surfaces don't need to be totally dry before being wiped off, in fact better if its still damp so bacteria or molds don't become airborne all over again as you work. Launder soiled fabrics, spray down/wipe off the other stuff, re-pack smaller items in new boxes or plastic storage bins. Cardboard is likely to end up being chewed or soiled again so maybe not the best option. Don't store seed or other potential food in there again. Be aware mice aren't just searching for food...they're also searching for shelter and nesting material.
It's really inside the closet (4x5) and some spillage right outside the door of the closet. I plan to hire someone to come and take all the junk away. They will likely sweep or vac the area. You think helps if I spray the area with the bleach/water mixture before they start working on it just to minimize risks?
If they die from poison, isn't there a risk they die inside the wall and smell badly?
Thanks
YEP!!! BTDT too many times. Poisons also pose secondary risks to non-target animals that happen to come across a dying mouse that makes it to the outdoors: your neighbors' pets, beneficial wildlife including hawks, owls, snakes, mammalian predators...
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-10-2023 at 03:55 PM..
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