Rodents and Indoor Air Quality

Rodents and Indoor Air Quality

Rodents and Indoor Air Quality – Almost everywhere in the planet where people have settled you can find rats & mice and other rodents, they often try to live in and around peoples homes, schools and businesses as they’re seeking shelter and food.

Unfortunately the presence of rodents can lead to poor indoor air quality and property damage. Rodents are know for chewing through wood, insulation, wires and many other materials, this can result in a dangerous and costly fire.

Rodents and Indoor Air Quality – The presence of rodents can cause allergenic reactions in some people.

Mice can spread over 35 different diseases according to the centre of disease control and prevention. These diseases can be spread to humans directly by direct contact or exposure to their droppings. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly through ticks, fleas or mites that have fed off of the rodents directly.

Cleaning up after and disposing of rodents should be done in a safe manner the CDC lists proper ways for handling the situation on their website at www.cdc.gov/

 

Cleaning Rodent Droppings

How to clean up rodent droppings and fecal matter, whatever you do don’t grab the dustpan and brush or your vacuum for cleaning this mess.  These droppings may contain harmful bacteria, with the ability to cause Hantavirus, E. coli and other harmful bacteria’s. 

Most people don’t realize the potential dangers of dealing with rodent droppings. The CDC recommends that you make a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water put it in a spray bottle and mist it onto the area where the droppings are. Let this sit for half an hour to one hour and then using paper towel wipe them up and immediately dispose of it in double bagged plastic into the garbage outside.

Whatever you do make sure that you use rubber gloves and a dust mask when dealing with rodent droppings. If the droppings are in your furnace’s duct work you will have to get professional furnace cleaning done along with a recommended sanitizing spray into the ducting.

 

These are just a few things to know about rodents and indoor air quality.