Opening the cottage is an exciting time for cottage owners because it marks the start of summer and all the fun things that go along with this much-loved season – sunshine, gorgeous weather, lazy relaxing days by the lake, and fun days on the water.

Opening the cottage can also be a stressful time for cottage owners because these are often 3-season properties, which are mostly used in the core summer months. Outside of the summer season, they are rarely used or visited if at all, which means that when you open it for the season, there is always a chance that you’ll come across the following not-so-fun things:

Winter season wreaked havoc on your property.
Normal ‘wear and tear’ has taken its toll on your dock, boathouse, main cabin, bunkie, shed or trees/foliage/landscaping.
Things may not be as you left them or have been taken from your property.
Your property may have been broken into.
Wildlife or pests invaded your structures.

a grey mouse sitting on orange cheese

We can confidently tell you from personal experience, and with over 3 decades of rodent control experience, that discovering a pest problem, especially a rodent issue can completely ruin the joy of opening the cottage and instantly cause stress and anxiety.

Mouse Infestation at the Cottage

If you have ever experienced the unwelcome surprise of finding evidence that a deer mouse or house mouse has been making itself at home in your cottage, you know that it’s not a pleasant discovery. It can become even more unpleasant, stressful, and worrisome if you cannot find the dead mouse. Your mind goes into overdrive worrying:

When did the mouse get inside?
Is it still in the cottage?
Is there more than just one? Are there babies?
Did it or did an army of mice build a nest inside, and where is it?
What did the mouse touch or chew on?
Will I get sick?
How do I properly clean up all the urine and droppings?
How will my cottage ever feel clean again?

If this blog post already has you stressed out about mice in your cottage or it has triggered a past mouse infestation that kept you up at night, take a deep breath and keep reading because this post is filled with professional advice for how to effectively clean up the mess left by a mouse or mice and tips for how to prevent future intrusions so your cottage becomes a mouse-free sanctuary.

How to Clean Up After a Mouse Infestation at the Cottage

1. Assess the Situation

The first step is to assess the extent/severity of the mouse mess. This will help you better understand what’s been impacted in your cottage, and help you come up with a clean-up game plan.
Look for droppings, gnawed food packaging, chewed wires, visible nests, and live or dead mice. DO NOT TOUCH these with your base hands and avoid coming into direct contact with them to prevent bacteria and viruses from becoming airborne.
Assessing the situation can also help locate where/how the mouse got in and where possible nesting sites are.

2. Protect Yourself with Proper PPE

It is important to clean up a mouse infestation carefully as their feces, urine, nesting materials, and physical bodies (alive or dead) can carry and transmit bacteria and disease. When cleaning up during and after a rodent infestation you need to be careful to avoid direct contact and take measures to protect yourself from potential health hazards.

Wearing the following PPE can help:

Wear a shirt with long sleeves, non-absorbent gloves, and a mask (ideally an N95).
Depending on the level of infestation you are dealing with and what your situation looks like, you may also want to wear rubber boots or cover your footwear with disposable shoe covers, wear a respirator face mask and protective eyewear.

3. Remove Contaminated & Damaged Items

IMPORTANT: If any of the items are covered in visible mouse feces or nesting materials, do not handle them until you follow the steps in #4. Disturbing these could cause bacteria and viruses to become airborne.

You will need plastic garbage bags for the next two steps.

Fully inspect your pantry and cabinets, discarding any food packaging that shows signs of nibbling or tearing. Mice will nibble on paper towels, facial tissue, and toilet paper, so check these items too.
Fully inspect your furniture, bedding, linen, and clothing, discarding any items that have been chewed on.
After you fill a plastic garbage bag, tie it up, and then place it inside another plastic garbage bag, and tie that one up to. Immediately bring these bags outside your cottage.

4. Clean & Disinfect

We know we’ve just gone over it, but proper hygiene and sanitation practices are essential when dealing with cleaning up contaminated items and surfaces to ensure the safety of yourself and others.

IMPORTANT:

Avoid using brooms and vacuums when initially cleaning up rodent droppings, urine, or nesting materials. Using these can cause bacteria and viruses to become airborne to spread throughout your cottage, putting people and pets at risk for sickness. Keep reading to find out when it is safe to use these during clean up.
The types of cleaners needed to properly clean up the mess left by a rodent may not be suitable for all surfaces, finishes, fabrics, or materials in your cottage. They could cause damage, so we recommend that you refer to a product’s washing/cleaning instruction, if available to try to prevent or minimize staining or damage during clean up.
If you have any concerns about cleaning up after a mouse infestation consult a professional cleaner or a pest control professional for advice and guidance.

Tips for cleaning mouse droppings, urine, and nesting materials:

Use a bleach solution, commercial disinfectant, or off-the-shelf disinfectant/antibacterial cleaners like Lysol. Refer to any manufacturer instructions for mixing.
Follow the ‘double bag' approach for discarding droppings, urine, nesting materials and the contaminated cleaning cloths or paper towels used to clean these) – place in a plastic garbage bag, seal, and then place in another plastic garbage bag and seal that one.
To clean up mouse droppings or nesting materials, first saturate with one of the cleaning productions mentioned above) for approx. 5 minutes. Next, pick them up with a damp cloth or paper towel (also saturated with cleaner) and place in a plastic garbage bag.
- After droppings, nest materials or severely contaminated items have been saturated in the proper cleaning products, it is safe to use a broom or a vacuum with a HEPA filter to aid in clean up efforts.
Clean all contaminated hard surfaces (floors, countertops, cupboards, pantries, etc.) Dispose of your paper towel or cleaning rags in a plastic garbage bag.
Wash any contaminated dishes in a disinfectant wash or mixture of bleach and water. If you have a dishwasher at the cottage, run a separate load for just these dishes on the hottest, longest cycle. Some dishwashers have a sanitation setting.
To pick up feces from soft surfaces like clothing, linen, bedding, sofas, couches, chairs, carpets, and rugs, use damp paper towels with cleaner/disinfectant on it to carefully pick up these items and put them in a plastic garbage bag.
To clean and disinfect soft furniture, carpets and rugs, shampoo with a professional disinfectant or use a steam cleaner with a HEPA filter.
Before laundering any contaminated items, be sure to have followed the tips above to remove rodent droppings.
- Wash any contaminated clothing, bedding or linen separately from non-contaminated clothing items, on the highest temperature setting with the longest wash time to kill bacteria and viruses. Consider adding a disinfectant laundry additive to the wash cycle for extra sanitization.
- Dry these items on your dryer’s highest heat setting recommended for the fabric. Reminder - These types of settings can damage clothing/materials/fabrics so look at the washing instructions first.
- If washing by hand, use hot water and wear gloves to protect your skin.
- Clean and disinfect the washing machine and any surfaces that may have come into contact with contaminated items after laundering.

IMPORTANT: Thoroughly wash your hands with soap & water (or use an alcohol hand sanitizer if handy) when you are finished cleaning up, or if you take breaks in-between clean up.

Tips for Keeping Your Cottage Mouse-Free

Cleaning up after a mouse infestation is definitely not how you want to spend your precious time at the cottage. The good news is that there are things you can do to help prevent or minimize them from getting inside.

We cannot stress enough that regular cleaning and maintenance are key to keeping mice at bay. Keep your cottage clutter-free, store food in sealed containers, and promptly clean up any spills or crumbs. By eliminating potential food and shelter sources, you can discourage mice from taking up residence in your space, especially when you’re not there.

To help prevent future infestations, you need to seal off potential entry points for rodents. You may be able to locate these by inspecting the exterior of your cottage for gaps or cracks that mice could use to gain access. If you’re able to locate them, seal any openings with caulk or steel wool to keep rodents out.

A very effective way to help you discover how the mice are getting into your cottage is to hire a pest control professional experienced in rodent control. Working with a reputable pest control company also means you will be given detailed recommendations for rodent proofing, and depending on the severity of those recommendations, they may be able to complete some or all of the exclusion work. Otherwise, the cottage owner, property manager, handyman or a contractor could be brought in to make any needed repairs or fixes needed to keep these unwanted guests out. Hiring a pest control professional (like us) is also an effective way to deal with an ongoing mouse issue or prevent mice through a high quality rodent control program.

Prevent Mouse Issues at the Cottage

By following the advice and tips shared in this post, you can effectively clean up after a mouse infestation and take proactive measures to prevent or minimize future occurrences.

That being said, depending on the build/structure of your cottage, where it’s located and the feasibility of the exclusion work that is needed to keep rodents from getting inside, mice may be an ongoing issue.

To help prevent mice, eliminate, or minimize mouse issues at your cottage, seek professional help from a licensed pest control expert like Environmental Pest Control who specializes in mouse control at the cottage. Our rodent bait program will help you safeguard your cottage all year long, and give you peace of mind, so that you can enjoy your cottage and worry less about invading pests.

Happy cottaging this summer!