Do Mice Hate Bleach? (Looking for a Cheap Repellent?)

Finding signs of mice in your home is always a worrying prospect. But, don’t fret, it’s not that hard to deter mice from coming into your home and cleaning up every trace they’ve ever been there.

Ignore all the fancy solutions sold online. The best product to deter mice is usually already in your cupboard – it’s bleach.

We all know bleach is great for cleaning and sanitizing areas. But do mice hate bleach enough to use it as a deterrent in your home?

Yes, absolutely!

Bleach is a powerful cleaning agent. It can shift stains, mold, dirt, and whatever else you find off of most surfaces.

And, if you use it regularly you’ll be very familiar with the smell, and how it irritates your eyes, skin (which is why you wear gloves), nose, and the general smell of undiluted bleach is just tough to deal with.

Imagine how much more offensive it is to mice with their acute sense of smell. Think about the fact that they are much closer to the surfaces with bleach on, and that they have to walk on it.

Yup, the picture I’m painting for you here is that it’s a lot more powerful for mice, and works as a great deterrent for this reason.

How to Use Bleach to Repel Mice

First of all, the safety stuff. Always wear protective clothing when using bleach, read the label carefully so you know what the manufacturer recommends, and act responsibly. Please!

It’s fine to dilute bleach before using it too. Undiluted it’s far too strong. Not only is it overkill as far as being a mice repellant, but it’s also going to leave a strong smell in your home.

There are two good reasons to use bleach if you have a mice infestation problem;

• The first is that it’s the best way to clean the areas that mice have been.
• The second is that it works as a deterrent against mice returning to the same area.

Wild mice can potentially carry diseases so using bleach to clean up where they have been running around in your home is a safe bet.

Especially when cleaning up mice droppings and urine. What you’re basically doing at the same time is covering the area a substance that mice hate.

So just simply use diluted bleach with scrubbing sponges on hard floors and surfaces. Carpets are a different matter, you need to use a carpet cleaner as bleach will damage the carpet.

I’d be very surprised if they returned to surfaces and areas that have been treated with bleach within the next few days.

Don’t Stop at Just Bleach

Deterring mice is one thing, stopping them coming into your home and solving the root of the problem is another.

You can’t keep applying bleach everywhere to keep mice away. You need to figure out where they are getting into your home, what’s attracting them, and either catch them or put a stop to the aforementioned.

What works for most people is humane traps. Catch the mice, relocate them far from your home, seal up the entry points if you can find them, and everyone comes out of it unhurt and happy.