Help! They want the smell or ferrets gone NOW!

[weloveourweasels]

Feline pine is GREAT for the smell factor but I don't like it because it breaks down so fast and you have to scoop wet sawdust which is more difficult to do then scooping wet newspaper pellets. I sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the box after I washed it and put fresh litter in and then after I scoop the poop I mix the litter around. I change the litter once a week. I also spray this on top of the litter and it works like a charm. www.mothernature.com/shop/detail.cfm/sku/60660/S/10000

The vanilla smells SOOOO good. And it really lasts forever. I have had the bottle I have now for like 5 months and it isn't even halfway gone yet.

[josiesmom]

I have over 40 mice in one room and there is barely any noticeable smell. My "daily constitutionals" emit a stronger and more lingering odor than the mice do! For those moments I use a 3 second spritz of Lysol air cleaner.

For the mice I use a mix of carefresh and pine chips for their bedding. Every third or fourth day I've been picking out the mouse potty spots.

I do not have any windows I can open and there is only one A/C heat vent supplying the entire apartment. The thermostat is upstairs with the landlords. SO there is very little air exchange in the apartment except for what leaks in around the door, or when I go in and out the door. I have a very sensitive nose so very quickly would be put off by poor smells.

I'd be willing to bet that if you just put the ferrets "away" when that nurse visits the next time, she'll comment how much better the house smells even if all you did was put them and their things out of sight! Some people just BELIEVE that ferrets wreak when in fact they have no more odor than a dog or a cat. Sometimes even less- I can't stomach the smell of cat poop, or a wet dog!

My ferrets use newspapers for their potty spots and these get changed every other day. I've asked visitors if they notice any smell and to be honest with their answers and they say they cannot.

I also use those battery operated Lysol air fresheners, set to go off every half hour. I have one in the bathroom where the mice are. One in the hallway where the feeding dens are. And two in the living room/kitchen area. The scents I use are the citrus or the rain scents- these smell clean and fresh and not flowery or heavy.

My landlord has requested I do not use any open flame for candles or insence because they use oxygen tanks upstairs. I know it would be a stretch if my candle caused their O2 to explode, but I humour them and have not burned any candles anymore.

I also use febreeze pet care for the carpeting and furniture, but I make sure the ferrets are put up when I spray this stuff. An acquaintance told me she used it to spray around her son's two ferrets while they were in the cage and the ferrets died that night. SO I err on the side of caution and move them to other rooms or shut them in the bathroom when I use Febreeze.

I do NOT recommend using any carpet powders- these can irritate the ferret's respiratory system and their eyes too. And I wouldn't want them ingesting (by grooming), any that they may get on their fur when rolling about the floor.

I do use White vinegar for cleaning up oops poops. The worst smells I encounter are when the kids manage to hide away a raw meaty bone! But with using the feeding dens, this has pretty much stopped.

Some people are just prejudiced against ferrets. You've got a lot of great suggestions in this thread many should work very well for you.

Cheers,
Kim

[ferretpalooza]

I thought the pine pellets made the urine smell worse. I was using yesterdays news and switched to try and save money but I found the ferret room smelled horrible!! I use a combo of YN and some new recycled litter that is softer pellets and more absorbant. I also sprinkle the Arm and Hammer Cat deoderant powder in the boxes. Its real important to get the urine litter out of there as mine's urine is very strong smelling.

[josiesmom]

Sof Sorb is a great litter that really reduces odor- for those that can use litter. My guys think its grand fun to spread about the house! Petco online does regular two for one deals on this stuff. It is made from recycled paper so it is very absorbent but is small beads, not pellets like YN.

Has anyone ever used those crystal cat litters for ferrets?

Cheers,
Kim

[wienercat]

the crystals in the cat litters is dangerous for ferrets. It has a clumping ability (it's made from Silica gel). I had bought it because my fuzzy's litter pan in the cage is one of those made for diggers... and raspy would throw the poop everywhere. So it has a grate on it, which poop and pee goes in, but they cannot play with it. Anyway, i was trying the silica gel stuff till i read the dust can harm them. I am trying feline pine right now.... and scooping is easy!

I have to check out sof sorb.

this?
www.petco.com/product/100574/Kaytee-Soft-Sorbent.aspx

[harrisi]

Something for keeping the litter pan odours down aswell is to put some paper towel down in the bottom of the litterpan and put some white vinegar and baking/bicarbonate soda on top of that then the litter - totally safe, cheap and worthy!

[josiesmom]

Yup, that's the stuff Weinercat!

Harrisi, If you mix the vinegar with the baking soda you'll get a chemical reaction. They are good for cleaning the pans- but only the bicarb soda would be advisable to use in the pan. Even though I'd not use it personally because the small particles and the way ferrets snorkel in their litter might create respiratory distress. Also the bicarb soda is SODIUM bicarbonate, which may introduce too many salts to their system if they get it on their fur and then groom themselves.

The paper towel idea ought to help soak some urine- at least until the ferrets see it and dig it out! I've given up on litter and just gone to newspapers, since ferrets can't read- they don't flip through the pages!

Cheers,
Kim

[whipple]

I would love to do newspapers for all my boxes. And right now I have newspapers in one box outside the cages and newspapers in a popular toilet corner. And so far they have left them alone. I used to have rats, and I am still in the frame of mind that they (the pets) will get into and ruin anything and everything they can. So I tend to watch them like a hawk. Exactly why I have not left the newspaper in any of the cage boxes. Someday I will get used to them not being rodents and will start trusting them a bit more.

[tsslilsis]

Please let us know how everything goes next time the lady visits.

-~Ketlin

[whipple]

I got the freshmatic automatic thingy, it smells like alcohol Thats another issue altogether with the nurse.
Anyhow, there's hardly any poop, but their pee stinks bad! So now I am scooping twice daily to try to keep up. I can notice it all of a sudden, and it's not pretty.
But the thing is, my house is clean. My ferrets are clean. Just because they smell does that mean anything? No! Do you tell a stable owner to try to get rid of the horse smell? No. It does not mean it's dirty, it just isn't the same as your home. I'm having issues with ignorant people lately. Especially now that I have decided I am rehoming Lars. Gah! I am so not a people person

[charmantpapillon]

dont worry. stupidity is more common than common sense. and if she says something again ask her if its really smelly or if she has an aversion to ferrets. if she gets all offended its probably because you called her out on disliking your ferts. and if shes prejudiced and says something they cant JUST go on her word alone. they'd do a full on investigation of your home but because you are a very good mother and ferent (from what i've seen) they wouldnt have any evidence against you to be able to take your children away. I wouldnt bend over backwards to get rid of the smell, i'd just up the effort a little and if she still complains and you cant smell anything politely tell her that not all houses smell the same and you scoop their litter twice daily and keep your home clean. It honestly galls me that you have to go through this. But hang in there the smell (pardon the pun) of bull crap goes away eventually.

[whipple]

So she came today. And I would have to call it a very successful visit!
At the end of her visit she mentioned that she couldn't detect a smell. Yay! Even after they had fish for dinner the night before So I explained how at her last visit they were still getting kibble and that it contributes to the stink". But now so the smell greatly decreased. I didn't happen to mention I made sure the cage was washed an hr before she got there, the litter changed, everything frebreezed and the air freshened. But she didn't need to know that.

[suds]

;D glad your visit went well , keeping my fingers crossed that you will have no more problems with her in the future

[Forum Administrator]

Excellent!

[cristina]

I use baking soda at least once every 2 weeks (its a natural and safe way to deodorize!) I sprinkle it on my carpet wherever they may roam and let it sit for a couple hours and then vacuum it up, it works MIRACLES!!!

I also put down a light layer (dont be afraid to use more, it wont hurt them at all) before I put in my litter (yesterdays news) and it also helps to keep the litter dry and helps soak up the urine so you dont have much of the smell at all!

Clean their cage with a mixture of baking soda, warm water and vinegar solution (wipe down the solid surfaces with this and you can use it for spot cleaning on the carpet (if you have it in your cage) too.

Another contributer to smell is the oil from their skin soaking into blankets and such, make sure you wash their bedding at least once a week and it really helps (put in a half a cup of baking soda in the wash with the bedding too, it keeps it fresher for longer).

I wash my walls once every 3 months since drywall can hold in smell (I use the mixture I mentioned above, I notice this helps as well).

I vacuum almost every day if not every other, this helps keep smells from "sticking" on the carpet and like I said I always sprinkle baking soda on it as well and I barely smell a thing!

Basically it sounds like the smell (from what you have explained) sounds like deep set stains or trapped odors. All I can say is make sure you clean generously (its all natural ingredients I have mentioned so dont be afraid to use alot!) to get those deep smells.

Like others have said a fan also works wonders, even if your windows are small and dont open very far, a fan helps direct the air out and circulates the outside air in the room.

I dont know if this helps either but I also put the poop and such that I scoop out of the litter boxes in a zip lock baggie which doesnt let any smell leak through so your trash wont smell.

I hope I helped a little! I am a fanatic with cleaning (and using natural products) since my parents are against me having ferrets because of the smell alone (but now they are happy because they cant smell anything!), so feel free to ask anything cleaning is what I do best!!!