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I have lived in New York City for 15 years now and in that time, I have occupied some truly horrific apartments, as broke post-grads are known to do. In that time, I have battled mice and roaches—and crucially, I have emerged victorious from these battles. If and when you see a mouse—which can happen to even the cleanest, most careful person—your first thought may simply be about how to get it the hell out of your house.
But after the shock wears off, you’ll also need to think about cleaning. Once you’ve spotted a pest in your home, it’s important to clean and get rid of anything that might attract more of its friends—but also specifically because some pests, like mice, can carry diseases or otherwise make your place unsanitary.
How to clean after you have mice
David Price, Associate Certified Entomologist and Director of Technical Services for Mosquito Joe, tells Lifehacker that cleaning is a key part of prevention, whether you just cleared an infestation or want to ward one off in the future. This means some bigger home maintenance tasks, like sealing gaps and cracks in your home’s exterior with steel wool or caulk and keeping exterior grass trimmed and removing weeds—but it also means just keeping up with the small stuff, like cleaning up food spills quickly and not leaving pet food unattended.
Over the years, I’ve learned my own prevention techniques as an urban renter with little to no control over what, if anything, my building does to keep me mouse-free. I use airtight containers for all my foods, for instance. Mice are crafty and hungry, so a bag or cardboard box of food in the cupboard is nothing more than a little puzzle for them to eat right through. A set of four mouse-proof containers, like these, is around $20. And when it comes to your pets, don’t pile a bunch of food in their bowl and call it a day. Dole out small portions and remove what they leave every night.
As for post-mouse cleaning, you need to thoroughly disinfect every place they may have gone. Marla Mock, President of Molly Maid, says you should sanitize all counters, floors, and other surfaces, plus check areas where they might have hidden, like under appliances and inside cabinets.
Wear gloves and use a diluted bleach solution to sanitize these areas. If you find droppings, cover them in your diluted bleach solution for a few minutes before attempting to sweep them up. Mice also have a tendency to run next to baseboards and other low surfaces. You may see some greasy-looking streaks. These are nefarious, as other mice can see them and feel confident a peer was in that same location. Thoroughly bleach your baseboards and any low surfaces, like table legs or the bottoms of appliances.
How to clean after a roach or bug infestation
Price, the bug expert, recommends removing any sources of standing water after getting rid of bugs. Without giving away too many personal details, I will say I learned the hard way two years ago that you can’t just leave a leaky shower head alone because it’s
How to Clean Up After You Spot Mice, Roaches, and Other Pests
