When you find out you’ve got mice, it’s probably a sickening realization. Not only do they chew through wiring and fabric, they carry diseases like the Hantavirus and Rat-Bite Fever. Even just their droppings can expose to you these illnesses. They also reproduce at a fast rate, and your problem can go from one mouse to an infestation of them before you know it. So what do you do? There are different poisons you can go out and buy, traps that will kill or capture them, and of course, you can always use cats. But what about some DIY solutions? There are many do-it-yourself options out there, one of them being bleach.
What Do Mice Think About the Smell?
Most of you have used bleach in some capacity, whether it’s cleaning or laundry. And if you’ve been exposed to it for even a small amount of time, you know how unpleasant it is. The smell is strong and the fumes sting your eyes. If you touch it, it can quickly burn your skin.
The stench of bleach is a powerful one. Humans can’t stand it for very long, and so neither can mice. If they smell it, it will be so off-putting to them, they’ll avoid it.
Bleach isn’t the only thing that’s unappealing to rodents. Other scents will turn them away just as quickly. So what smells do mice hate? Find out here.
Using Bleach as a Repellent
Because the smell of bleach is so undesirable to rodents, it makes a great repellent. You’ll want to mix it with water so as not to create too much of a stench for your home, then spray in any areas you suspect mice activity. 
Leave an exit untouched, though, so that the mice can escape your house. If you spray all corners and pathways and leave no clear place to leave, they’ll stay longer.
Something else useful about spraying it around the areas mice have been the disinfectant properties bleach has. Since it is so caustic, bleach destroys harmful bacteria and viruses on surfaces. Considering mice carry disease, it’s helpful to have bleach around to get rid of any microbes you’d find in mice droppings, urine, and blood.
Don’t want to use harsh chemicals in your pest control? Go the natural route. More information on natural mouse repellent can be found here.
A Deadly Weapon
Bleach is useful in many ways, but it can also be deadly in high concentrations, using chlorine as its main component in varying forms. And a person or animal doesn’t have to just drink bleach to be harmed by it. Inhalation causes damage, as well.
Two things happen when you inhale bleach for too long:
- Particles in the fumes come in contact with your nose, esophagus, and lungs.
- The bleach breaks double bonds in cells’ of the soft tissue, destroying it and causing many problems like bleeding and decreased oxygen intake.
There’s more than one smell that mice don’t like. Peppermint is one of them, and probably the most well known. But does cedar repel mice? Learn more here.
If bleach comes into contact with your stomach or skin, the following takes place:
- Epithelial cells start to break down, similar to a burn.
- If bleach continues to go deeper, it will break down inner tissue and fat, as well.
So how do you use bleach in pest control? While it’s not so hard to use it as a repellent, it’s a little harder as a deadly poison. But there are things you can try.
There are different forms of pest control you can use with mice. Pellets, bait, traps, to name a few. But what about spray? More details on spray for mice can be found here.
How can I get mice to get close to bleach?
Since the smell of bleach is so strong and unpleasant, it’s very hard to hide. A mouse most certainly won’t just come up and drink bleach like water, so you’d have to mask it somehow, and peanut butter is probably your best bet.
Peanut butter has a strong smell and is one of the tastiest substances out there for mice.
- Take a tablespoon of it and mix in just a little bit of bleach at a time. If you can smell the bleach more than the peanut butter, there’s too much.
- You could mix in some powdered peanut butter to both keep it from getting too runny after adding the bleach and to also keep the peanut smell strong.
If you’re lucky enough that your mice take the bait and eat it, the bleach will kill them, but only if they’ve ingested enough of it. And it won’t be immediate; it could take a day or two.
If you’re dealing with mice and want to try something different, bleach is one way you could go. And if the mice won’t eat it as you want, then don’t worry – at the very least, you’ll disinfect the house anywhere you spray it as a repellent. The beauty of DIY pest control is that you can always move on to another idea right away if the first doesn’t work exactly how you’d planned.
I live in a basement apartment, so my outside walls are dirt. Mice come in every cupboard and some drawers. My pantry is full of mouse poop. When I empted it out to clean it was weird, the mice had not gotten into any food items. Nope didn’t chew thru a thing! Nothing!! Not even rice!! So Why are they getting in there?.Just to poop? Not even a raisin! Even on my pots and pans, poop!!! So why??????
I don’t have an answer, just similar situation. There is one kitchen bottom cabinet with dog treats, only thing edible, trash bags, ect. Nothing chewed up, no treats eaten, but enough poop looks like the dogs out house. Next cabinet over everything been chewed on and nothing in it edible. Must be a reason.
Hi with have a mouse in our kitChen we have bleached the whole floor will it kill it as I have fear of mice and rats
The mice look for a nest for their family. Not really looking for food.
I live in a two bedroom apt on a second floor of an apartment building and yes I have notice some small hole in the link g of my floor which is covered with rugs how can I patch theses up to at least hold down what can work best someone plz help me I’ve seen one or two mice already and it’s really erking I try I mean I really keeps my apt sparkling why are they still around
Go to the hardware store and get some caulking the corking will still hard
In a mouse battle. I grabbed Clorox spay and got some good shots at the mouse. Will that kill it?
I just want to remind everybody to be careful of clothes n furniture when using BLEACH to get rid of mice.I always.end up with spots on my clothes when.I use it.I noticed that mice steal paper and other materials ‘m my drawers
I left a sandwich plate that I love in the garage. Found mouse
droppings on it. Can it be used again?
Found mouse droppings in kitchen, put tap in drawer of measuring cups(?) Caught5, 6th one died in trap. Drowned 2 in bathtub using bleach n soapy water(ick) caught 9th in son’s room 2 nights later in cleaned out trap. & I HAVE A CAT! ALL in last few months. Had landlord Patch holes on brick outside. I USE PEPPERMINT ALL THE TIME!!! HELP!!! DESPERATE!!!
Im learnin g lots about rats as Ive seen a couple in the flat which is on the same terrace as a sushi takeaway ad an old chinese chippy which has been stripped completely and redone for rerent to another..the rats have obviously been disturbed and want a new home ..so have been pestering me.. ive gone ballistic with wire wool/expanding foam and 13mm chicken wire under all the floors working from one room to the next making ‘runs’ onsolete..as they wont gnaw thru steel wool or buched up chicken wire..making sure on holes at all..as they will get thru 1 20mm upwards sized hole.. Im dreaming rats ..imagining seeing rats as im so tired after doing night shift listening for signs and whereabouts etc.. Ive tried traps..wooden and plastic.. didnt tease them with unset traps at first which ive read that you should..until they’re used to them..then set them.. dont touch without gloves.. ive now tried the wax poison blocks..peanut butter..etc..they’re smart..and set off two traps..and avoid them.. unlike mice , they learn and are very sneaky.. driving me nuts..its quiet at the moment..3 in morning.. but its all out war.. im slowing cutting off all access..but it takes time..lifting floorboards using mirrors/torches. listening like some demented fool for ages in silence..trying to stop belly from grumbling..i have now put down bleach and some antifreeze..as no other animal can get to it..and they need water which they cannot get to now..bleach is going all around and squirted all over in gaps etc as they hate it.. its not over yet.. but its MY HOME.. and they will try to make it theirs.. having a skip tommorow to get rid of loads of collected stuff and clothes i dont use.. good luck.. and be sneaky.. but dont go stir crazy like i have.. im seeing things when i get too tired.. good job im isolated on lockdown for this battle.
Use peanut butter and mix some bleach and sugar and put in place where the mice come in at also put some steel pad in the hole also if you can get some mice or rat repellent to spray around the area it be good or bleach and water around the house outside would help also
It’s funny to read these comments as most of us who have an apartment / house HATE TO SEE THESE THINGS OR SEE SIGNS that they are actually in our dwelling!!!! I too am up all night, sleeping with all the lights on. Something I’m finding also (which a couple of people mentioned) is that they don’t want my food in the cabinet (rice, crackers, raisins), this little fool has brought in food from somewhere (I’m a vegetarian and the food I found on the floor the other day was meat) else. Also, the droppings are very small – like the size of pepper so I assumed these were roach droppings even though I have never seen a roach until I saw the piece of meat the other morning on the floor. I too bleach everything and I’m constantly looking for signs or listening for noises. I HATE these things and have never had one enter my dwelling so am I scared of them I also want to kill them (sorry, I’m not going to be humane in this situation). I’ve set 2 snap traps and some bait box around the dwelling inside and I have placed 3 glue traps too. I just read last night fox urine will deter them as they think it’s preditor. Oh, I also bought some steel wool and put around the flooring that had gaps (the landlord redid floors and there are gaps at each one). I really dont know where they are getting in as all the sink holes are sealed. The small different shaped droppings (they look like pepper) is what is throwing me off. I’m not sure how effective the peppermint oil smell is and if it is effective how long before they become familiar with the smell. Those sonic plug in do not work, so don’t waste your money. Regarding the traps, people say mice like peanut butter and that may be true for some, but I keep reading that mice also like chocolate that might be an option to use in the traps if they are passing up on the PB.
I HATE THESE THINGS SO MUCH THAT I WANT TO CATCH THEM, POUR LIGHTER FLUID ON THEM, THEN LIGHT A MATCH AND WATCH THEM BURN!!!!!
Your comments echo how l am feeling now l have 7 Humane traps nothing works ,l put a camera on the floor l have proof the mouse just sits there looking at one of the traps .Peanut butter,cake,chocolate,bird seed,dog food etc nothing entices these mice.l have OCD so l feel the place is dirty all the time now which it is .This mouse literally poops everywhere.l do have clutter as my mother was a Clean hoarder which l have tried to deal with .Just found poop in the attic l want to cry.l need help
Rosa, I feel your frustration, I want to hurt kill them, I’m sorry for those who are humane. I once called this place home, i can’t sleep, eat, concentrate nothing. Im getting a cat, I’m buying bleach, I have traps every where they avoid them like the plague, they make churping sounds day and night, I can’t sleep. Terminex has come here and said your house is clean I can only suggest you wrip out the heaters so I did that and put steel wool in them, now they can’t leave, I’m going insane, I even put black pepper along the floor boards. Im at the point I just want to shoot then with a bb gun.
Going to try some 99% granules (pool sanitizer) on newspapers around the motorcycle they have just found. Barn type environment so no way to close it up. Thanks for setting the gears in motion to solve an issue. Caution this stuff is extremely toxic, handle with extreme care. glove up. Using newspaper so I do not damage the concrete.
Attic full of mouse poop.hear scratching noises.left poison up there.they haven’t touched it.bleach and cinnamon oil placed in each room.What happens to the poop does it attract flies
First let me say, I HATE MICE!!!!!! I use to use traps and put peanut butter and cheese on them, but the mice would eat it, but not set traps off, aarrrrggghh. I then decided to use the “unhumane” glue traps. They work wonders..I love them. They don’t kill the mice, but the mice can’t get off. Now I know people will hate me for saying this, but I just chuck the whole trap with the live mouse attached, and put them in a plastic grocery bag and throw it away in outside trash can. I feel no remorse or sentiment in doing this, because I’m rid of the mouse. Yayyyy!!
i hate mice so badly and i hate my dirty smelly apartment and i cant wait to move out in a few months
I feel you on the putting them in plastic bags. My dad does that technique
I love to know what type of glue traps you use. The ones I use they didn’t even bother going near. I put cheese, peanut butter on the glue trap, it still left it alone.
I can’t believe wherever I go these rodents reach. I went to Edinburgh an the room god oh god can’t belive this it all started from my dad’s house I trapped emm on the glue traps an carried emm downstairs to the front an threw emm as didn’t think that they will come to haunt me now wherever I go there there as I don’t see emm there either under the floorboards or in the walls or ceilings I can smell there nasty xmelly musky smell please can someone advise why can I smell emm god I can’t sleep everythme I go to my dad’s there’s the smell so bad there’s different types of smell god unexplainable an no-one else can smell apart from me buoyed especially in Edinburgh I couldn’t breath that’s how bad the smell was an now when I moved into my house I was soso soi relieved an guess what they’ve landed here can smell emm what can I do been to doctors they can’t help please someone out there help me how can I get rid of this smell????
I know how you all feel I have been dealing with mice/rats from end of May. I finally caught one the other day but have seen one tonight. I haven’t seen any dropping just the site of these fury things and me and my 4 kids are terrified. We don’t sleep or anything I have had traps down for months tried all different baits even tried bleach pellets etc nothing kills these things.
This is my home, but the mice make me wish I could burn it to the ground and get a new one. Sadly, I’m too broke to get a new home.
I found mice were getting in my house because the previous owner had left space between the bottom of my screen door and the door – to run cords for Christmas lights. I went to put steel wool in the holes to plug them – but my dog went crazy over the steel wool and tried to eat it. So I am using the inhumane glue traps – but when I catch a mouse I drown it so it doesn’t suffer. The glue traps work best when you’ve trapped the mouse in a room with no food or water – they will be desperate to get to the glue trap. They don’t work as well in a kitchen – because you can’t have any food or water available – not even a crumb – or they will have no need to seek out the glue trap.
I drowned a mouse today. I feel kinda bad. Bought this glue trap thing bc the snap traps no longer work. They USED to. What is up with that? Do mice TALK to each other? Scary little beasts. So this mouse is in this glass box and can’t get out and the glue is not sticky enough, and it is screaming, and moving around a lot. I can’t get it out of the box and put it in the bag and go run it over (what we normally do when they are on a glue trap to put it out of its misery)… There was a big bucket of water next to me. So I just drowned the darn thing. But guys… I feel all your pain. They have ruined my home. I dream about them. I hate them so much I hardly care about being humane. They make me too miserable. Filthy bags of s%%t. I just want them all to die.
Hi there, I wonder if anybody has an answer to this? I have cupboards under sinks in both my Utility and kitchen separated by about 5 metres. In both cupboards there is no foodstuffs and the mice have entered via the waste pipe hole. Common enough, I assume, but what is strange is that in both cupboards the mice have gone for the Domestos(bleach) and gnawed holes in the plastic bottles, mainly in the top of the bottle but also in the bottom allowing the bleach to flow out.
Any reasoning for this. Any ideas out there?
I put a search out on the net and all I got back were results where bleach was used as a repellent not an attractor….
Hi I live in Southern Britain and have been having an awful time with MICE and RATS for a few years now . My SO is a real pain . He moved here with stacks of stuff because he is a hoarder apparently ! WEll the double garage is still full of tons of his stuff a lot in cardboard boxes . I had to get the pest control man and eventually he poisoned them which I hate . .My friend put my big sack of sunflower seeds for the birds in the garage and of course the mice and rats had a ball . I still dont like to go near the garage . I bought disinfectant spray , gallons of it ! I am going to try bleach as well . My friend wont let anyone sort it and doesnt do it himself, so now 4 years later I am going to get someone in to clear it at great expense , while my man is in hospital for a few days . Its ruined a very nice house ! Nobody would help me , they were scared of getting a blast from him I guess. He put his stuff all over the house, it was in the spare room which my cleaner helped to clear the other day while he was away, success, but everything in there was covered in mouse droppings . It gives me the creeps ! Hate hate rodents !!! I think he must have brought them here in all his boxes .
Have seen YouTube videos of people getting rid of mice and rats using a mixture of baking Soda and plain flour. Use gloves and don’t touch with hands when making up the mixture. They eat the flour/soda mix and the soda kills them.
Another similar mixture is flour and plaster of Paris. Both work well.
James, they not going for it. Maybe I need to give it time. They love Reese Pieces cereal though. That concoction (baking soda, flour) works on rats though. Rats not picky. All my traps are empty because they saw their bros and sises in the traps. lol. I guess without food the mice get desperate and will venture into the traps again.