Mice in my dishwasher?  How do mice get in the dishwasher? Should I use mouse traps? 

If you've found mice droppings (fecal) in your dishwasher, you're not alone. As a home inspector I see things you wouldn't believe and mice are not uncommon. They can be found at various areas, from basements, garages, attics and kitchens. Mice can be found inside appliances including; furnaces, hot water tanks, stoves, dishwashers and nesting behind appliances too. Mice know how to get into your dishwasher, even when the door is closed tight and you cover the opening to your garbage disposal. This blog addresses common house hold mice with the focus on how they get in your dishwasher. While dishwashers use similar parts and features, sometimes parts can look a little different from one brand to the next. We're going to use pictures to help you identify parts, but remember your actual dishwasher and parts might vary.

So, you turned your dishwasher on prior to retiring for the evening. When you woke up in the morning your dishes appeared to be clean, but you found black fecal droppings on the bottom.

You've tried leaving the door closed and locked. Some discharge/drain tubes attach to the garbage disposal and some terminate in a stanchion pipe under the sink. But, even when covering the opening in the sink leading to the garbage disposal or the opening at the top of the stanchion pipe you still find mice droppings. Before we get started with the remedy for this situation you need to know that cleaning mice droppings and/or removing dead mice can be dangerous.

HEALTH AND SAFETY:

One of the dangers from mice in your dishwasher is the fecal droppings. These droppings, along with urine, saliva and nests can cause disease. If your going to tackle this job yourself, be especially careful with clean up. Always best to hire a professional.

1. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is an infection and known to be fatal in some cases. Disease and ultimately infection can be caused when in contact with dead animals, urine and droppings. In addition, breathing dust associated with the urine and droppings can cause disease/infection especially when trying to clean up the mess.
2. Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM) is also an infectious disease contracted from typical house mice; their saliva, fecal droppings and nests. 

 CHARACTERISTICS OF MICE AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE:

• They are attracted to the fecal droppings that they leave behind.

• They can fit through very small holes (approximately a 1/4 opening is all they need)

• They usually leave lots of droppings in areas where they are nesting and hunting for food.

• They are shy and are typically not visible, but typically come out at night when there's little to no activity in the house.

• They mark their territory with urine - if you are suspicious of an area try using an ultraviolet black light and look for florescent urine stains.

OK, AT THIS POINT YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO REMOVE THE DISHWASHER.

• Shut off the electrical circuit breaker or unscrew the fuse (typically located in the electrical panel box) that is connection the circuit for for the dishwasher.
• Then shut off the individual water supply to the unit (typically a cut off valve under the kitchen sink).
• Start sliding the dishwasher out (that is if its mounted under the counter). If it doesn't slide easily (appears stuck) you may have to disconnect the water supply tube (typically under the sink), discharge drain tube (also typically located under the kitchen sink) and maybe even the electrical wire (typically located behind the lower front base panel). Be 100 % sure the electrical power and water cut off valve is off!!!

Seal holes and openings where you suspect mice are getting - an obvious tell tale sign would be mouse droppings. Using mouse traps at various areas will help to prevent them from traveling through your house.


STARTING THE CLEAN UP PROCESS

• Put on rubber gloves and a face mask first. 

• Don't disturb nesting materials, droppings and/or the area where the droppings are located. Spay and wet the areas with disinfectants (mixture of bleach and water, approximately 1 part bleach and 10 parts water) only to prevent breathing air borne diseases. 

• Clean, disinfect and sanitize - put all cleaning materials, gloves and face mask in the trash - seal the bag. 

MICE ENTERING THE DISHWASHER HERE.

The black tube in the above picture is the water filler tube. The two holes at the left side are air vents. These vents are open to the inside of the dishwasher compartment and the spot that they are getting in. The grayish and white stains are caused by the mice; these stains are referred to as Rub Marks. Clean and disinfect.

The yellow spot at the bottom of the right hole in the above picture is the tip of the handle to a pair of pliers. The pliers were inserted from the dishwasher compartment. These two holes have to be sealed to prevent the mice from getting in.

NEXT, HOW TO SEAL THE OPENING SO MICE WON'T GET IN.

1) Get a piece of metal, stainless steel, fine course screen (kitchen cooking strainer), cut out a piece to bend and fit over the holes.

2) Form the cut screen to fit over holes.

3) Use heavy duty tape to secure the screen.

4) Once taped into place, it should look like this.

That's it, you've sealed the holes where mice are getting in the dishwasher and your house.  Replace the dishwasher to it's original location, reconnect wires and tubes as necessary. And always, if you're not handy and uncomfortable working with the dangers of electrical, plumbing and cleaning associated with a project like this you may want to hire professionals.




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