What To Do If You Find Mouse Or Rat Droppings

One of the last things you want to find in your home (or office) is rodent droppings or urine. Cleaning this type of animal waste isn’t the same as cleaning up after one of your pets, because certain rodents (including deer mice) can be carriers of hantaviruses, which are dangerous to humans. Exposure to infected mouse or rat droppings, through either the skin or the lungs, can pose a serious health risk.

The best rodent pest control action you can take when you find rodent waste is to call in the rodent control experts. Here’s a look at what else you should do – and NOT do – if you discover rodent droppings:

DO

• Call a rodent control expert ASAP. The pros can safely clean the area for you and help you with your rodent pest control problem.
• Wear protective gear, including rubber gloves, safety goggles and a dust mask when handling anything the rodent waste may have touched.
• Spray a virucidal cleaner in areas you think were exposed to rodent waste; let the cleaner soak for five minutes.
• Use a disinfectant or bleach to mop your floors.
• Shampoo or steam-clean affected upholstered furniture and carpets.
• Wash bedding, linens and clothes exposed to the rodent waste in hot water. If you’re not sure about an item’s exposure, wash it.
• Wash the rubber gloves you wear with soap and water for one minute before you remove them. Then wash your hands for one minute.

DON’T

• Vacuum or sweep up rodent waste or any nesting materials you find. Doing so can send the hantaviruses, if present, into the air.
• Keep the rubber gloves or dust mask after you finish cleaning. Throw them away instead.
• Neglect the symptoms of hantavirus, which are similar to the flu: headaches, fever, sore muscles, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and coughing. The virus is fatal to about 30 percent of those infected with it, so see a physician as soon as symptoms appear.

The best way to prevent exposure to dangerous hantaviruses is to allow the experts at Western Exterminator to do the rodent pest control work for you. You can never be too careful when it comes to the health of you and your family.