Have you ever noticed tiny bite marks on the soap in your household? This could make you wonder who would be eating the soap.
Do the mouse in your house eat soap?
Quick Answer – Yes! Mice, like cockroaches and other rodents, love eating soap.
Soaps contain edible items such as oils like canola and olive and fats like lard and coconut. Mice can eat anything to everything to get proper nutrition and survive.
But why would mice bother to eat soap that may harm them? Let’s read more to find out.
Table of Contents
Why Mice Can Eat Soap?
Image Source: Nature.Com
Mice can eat soap because most of the soaps we use today have animal fat as the primary raw material. Mice like to eat animal fats, and hence, they eat soap.
Moreover, soap consumed in small quantities does not harm mice.
But the soap they eat does not have fragrances. The ones with fragrance can repel mice.
Mice are omnivorous animals. This means that they can survive on both animals and plants. In addition, they are known for their large appetite.
In fact, they eat one-third of their body mass.
It is then natural that mice would like to eat all the time. They spend most of their day foraging. Having a good bar of soap lying around means a buffet for them.
The reason why mice can eat soap lies behind its ingredients. Although the components of a soap differ, the base products are mostly the same.
Soaps can be made from many ingredients, but what all soaps have in common is:
Fats
Soaps cannot be made without animal and plant-based fats. There are many types of animal and natural fats that can be used in the process of soap making.
Soap-making industries use lard which is derived from the fatty tissues of pigs, and coconut oil.
They also use tallow which is similar to lard and is derived from cattle or sheep. These are the main ingredients that attract the mice most.
Oils
Soap industries also use different kinds of oil to give soaps a moisturizing effect. They use oils like olive oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. These oils are edible and are also another reason to attract mice.
Lye
It is an ingredient that reacts with all the components in a soap block to form the soap. This chemical gives the soap its texture.
The chemical is harmful to the mice if they consume large quantities of it. But it is not enough to kill a mouse.
Dyes
Most soaps use dyes to get the desired color of the soap. The pigments are also not harmless to the mice but can be if eaten in large quantities.
What Happens If Mice Eat Soap?
Some types of soaps may harm the mice and even kill them. But most of the soaps are not life-threatening to mice. Mice will eat anything edible and won’t eat if they find the soap fragrant.
Mice Might Die
Mice might die if there are harmful chemicals present in soaps. Once chemicals reach their abdomen, they start damaging their body organs.
Mice will not touch highly scented soaps for this reason. But, the taste glands of the mice are underdeveloped. So they might not identify the harmful toxins present in the soap.
This causes the mice to eat a large quantity of scented soap. Mice are hungry creatures, and soap might seem like a delicacy for them.
Mice Might Fall Sick
Fragrant soaps are harmful ones. But even if they nibble on it, it is not deadly for a small amount. They will most likely suffer from stomach aches or organ damage.
In most cases, the organ damage would go unnoticed by the mice. The damaged organs are not that severe, and the mice can live with that.
The whole infestation will not die just because of a little bit of soap one mouse ingested.
Soaps have an ingredient called lye which can be harmful to any animal. But soaps consist of 10% of lye, and mice nibble on a small amount; it is not deadly.
Mice will not die from taking a bite from a soap, even with a toxic chemical.
Mice Might Vomit
When the mice eat harmful soap, they might try to throw it up. Throwing up the substances means mice will have a better chance of surviving.
The mice will vomit up the soap they ate and their last meals to get the toxins out.
This might save some of the mice who did not eat a large quantity. Mice’s bodies will start making them nauseous after having the soap. The mice can also be dizzy and can faint if the reaction is serious.
In most cases, the mice will be fine after a few hours or days after vomiting.
What Type of Soap Do Mice Eat?
Do Mice Eat Soap Bars?
Yes, mice can eat soap bars. Soap bars are full of animal and plant-based fats and oils. However, some kinds of bar soap may not be suitable for mice.
Bar soap with a lot of perfume will not interest the mice.
Do Mice Eat Irish Spring Soap?
Yes, mice can eat Irish Spring Soap. It is a myth that Irish Spring soap will repel mice and other rodents. The reason behind this is that this particular type of soap has a powerful citrus-like smell.
The smell is very strong even for humans. Many believe the Irish Spring soap will put mice away, but that is not true. Irish Spring soap does not cause any significant physical damage to the mice.
The only effect soaps cause in mice is it disturbs the proper functioning of the liver.
In some cases, people have observed that mice will obviously nibble on this type of soap. If the soap does not taste delicious to the mouse, he will leave it.
Do Mice Eat Dial Soap?
Yes, mice will try to eat Dial soap if they find it lying around. Dial soap is an antibacterial soap with Benzalkonium Chloride as one of the ingredients.
The chemicals in the Dial soap are dangerous. But mice are very intelligent creatures. If they find out the soap is dangerous, they will leave it.
The Dial soap is chemical-based. Consuming it in a limited amount would only cause vomiting and nausea in the mice.
The amount mice consume is not enough to kill it. So, it is not going to repel mice or any other rodents.
Do Mice Eat Ivory Soap?
Yes, mice may eat Ivory soaps. It is safe as Ivory soaps are free of dyes and perfumes. So, this soap is not going to harm the mice. Mice will try to eat this type of soap as it looks and smells tempting.
The soap emits a mouth-watering fragrance that is not chemical and attracts mice. The mice will take a bite from this soap. The soap is not at all harmful to the mice as it is free of toxic chemicals.
It would not even cause them minor damage like the Irish spring or the Dial soap.
Recap
To conclude, we can safely say that mice enjoy taking itsy-bitsy bites from your soap. Soaps are made of edible items like oils and fats, which attracts mice.
The ingredients of the soap can harm mice if it is consumed in large quantities. But often, the mice will not be repelled as the soap is not strong enough to harm them.
Lye, an essential ingredient in soap making is harmful by itself, but the amount used is not enough to kill mice.
Mice will eat any type of soap it finds, given that the soap does not have a strong perfume.
Mice will do anything to survive; if it means eating soap, they will. They will not try to eat dangerously fragrant soap, however.
Wait, can mice eat chocolates too? Read Can Mice Eat Chocolates? to find out!
