If you ever had rats in or around your house you may be wondering how to clean rat poop. Let’s look at a few reasons and precautions you need to take before jumping in and cleaning this up. You need to be real careful, and here is why.
First Make Sure Rats Are Gone
You will need to do some investigating, how are they getting into your home? Then you will want to set up some traps to catch them before sealing up any openings. Of course you don’t want to trap them in your home only to die and then cause even more problems. Once you are confident you have removed the rodents, then you can secure any openings. If you call Problem Solved Pest Control in Charlotte County, we will get the rodents trapped for you. Talk to use about options for rodent control.
Why Rat Poop Is Dangerous
Rodents, especially some mice and rats can carry hantaviruses. One of the most dangerous is HPS or hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This virus can make you very sick and in some instances could even lead to death. Don’t be overly alarmed at not every type of mouse or rat carries this virus. The warning is that you don’t know which ones do, so you need to assume that any droppings that need cleaned up are dangerous.
It’s not just touching the rat poop that can cause problems, it can actually be stirred up in the air, or can be carried by the rodent walking on its own poop, then walking on other surfaces in the home. So shat is a safe way to protect yourself and clean up your home? Here are some suggestions.
How To Safely Clean Rat Poop
- The CDC has provided the following guidelines to clean rat poop.
- Wear rubber or plastic gloves.
- Spray urine and droppings with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water. Make sure you get the urine and droppings very wet. Let it soak for 5 minutes.
- Use a paper towel to wipe up the urine or droppings.
- Throw the paper towel in the garbage.
- Mop or sponge the area with a disinfectant or bleach solution.
- Wash gloved hands with soap and water or spray a disinfectant or bleach solution on gloves before taking them off.
- Wash hands with soap and warm water after taking off your gloves.
Clean-up tip: Do not sweep or vacuum up mouse or rat urine, droppings, or nests. This will cause virus particles to go into the air, where they can be breathed in.
So What Can You Use To Safely Disinfect After Cleaning Rat Poop?
- General-purpose household disinfectant. Make sure the word “disinfectant” is written on the label.
OR
- Bleach and water solution. Mix 1 ½ cups of household bleach with 1 gallon of water. Smaller amounts can be made with 1 part bleach and 9 parts water.
As you can see this is a task that should not be taken lightly. In most cases it’s best to contact a local pest control company like Problem Solved Pest Control. We have all the protective gear and can help get rid of pests in your home. When you are our client, we will set up a plan to keep rodents out of your house in the future as well. We know the importance of keeping your family safe.
Give us a call today or complete the online request form. We look forward to working with you!
