It is not uncommon for small rodents to make their way into your home for warmth when it gets cold. These rodents aren’t much of a problem alone, but they may leave their droppings around the house. If you are cleaning your house, and you accidentally vacuum mouse droppings, what should you do?
You mush do three things. Firstly, you need to disinfect your vacuum cleaner and any nearby surfaces to prevent infection. Then, remove the mouse to prevent further incidents. Finally, you should be aware of the signs of infection from mouse droppings.
Mouse droppings can be a considerable problem if ignored, but there is no need to panic if you follow the correct procedures. This article will discuss what you should do if you accidentally vacuum mouse droppings. Let’s get started!
Steps to Take Immediately
Although mice can sometimes carry viruses which can be harmful to humans, if you act quickly, you can protect you and your family from potential infection.
When mice droppings enter a vacuum cleaner, tiny particles break loose as they travel through the rapidly-moving air. These tiny particles can land on other surfaces as you vacuum your home. If the dropping particles contain harmful viruses, and you come into contact with them, they can make you sick.
Here are the steps to follow once you realize you’ve unknowingly vacuumed mouse droppings:
1. Turn Off Your Vacuum Cleaner
As soon as you realize that you have accidentally vacuumed mouse droppings, turn your vacuum cleaner off and unplug it from the wall. Remember that the longer you keep the vacuum cleaner on, the more pathogens and other germs you spread around the room.
2. Ventilate the Room
If you have a face mask nearby, put it on so that you don’t breathe in any disease-carrying particles. If you can, open windows and doors to allow the mouse dropping particles to leave. Avoid opening doors leading to other rooms in your home as this can spread the pathogens.
3. Deep Clean Your Vacuum Cleaner
You may decide it’s best to throw your vacuum cleaner away once it contains mouse droppings. Thankfully, this isn’t necessary if you’re willing to put in the effort of deep cleaning it.
Follow the steps below to deep clean your vacuum cleaner:
- Work outside or in a well-ventilated room, and wear a face mask, disposable gloves and goggles.
- Empty the vacuum cleaner’s contents into a trash bag, and dispose of it safely.
- Remove the canister (the part that contains the vacuumed-up dirt and dust), and disassemble the pipes.
- Using a clean cloth, wipe the remaining dust off these parts.
- Place the parts in a large plastic container, and fill it with hot water, dish soap, and a tablespoon of bleach (or another disinfectant of your choice).
- After cleaning the vacuum cleaner parts, allow them to dry.
- Before assembling your vacuum cleaner, dust the rest of the appliance, and wipe it down with an antibacterial wipe or a cloth soaked in disinfectant.
You could also watch the YouTube video below which explains how to deep clean a vacuum cleaner:
4. Deep Clean the Room
Now that you’ve deep cleaned your vacuum cleaner, you should focus your efforts on cleaning the room in which you vacuumed the mouse droppings. Here’s how to do it:
- Wearing disposable gloves and a face mask, remove any visible mouse droppings with an antibacterial wipe. You should take care when doing this because they can easily crumble when picked up, leading to their bacteria becoming airborne.
- Place the droppings in a garbage bag, and place the bag in your garbage can outside.
- Dust the surfaces with a dry cloth, and remove any residual dust on the floor with a broom instead of a vacuum cleaner. You can easily wash and disinfect the broom afterward.
- Spray all surfaces with an antibacterial cleaner and leave it for half an hour to work its magic. Avoid using a bleach-based cleaner if you have carpeting or soft furnishings as it can leach the color from these materials.
- Wipe down the surfaces with a clean cloth or antibacterial wipe.
- If your floors are carpeted, consider having them professionally cleaned. Otherwise, clean the floors thoroughly with a suitable floor cleaner.
Get Rid of the Mice in Your House
After deep cleaning the room with mouse droppings, you’re probably keen to avoid encountering them in the future. The best way to do this is to eliminate mice and other rodents in your home.
Here’s how to get rid of the mice in your home:
Call a Pest Exterminator
Dealing with mouse droppings should be treated as a biohazard, and if you have access to professional help, you should take it.
A good pest exterminator will get rid of mice in an effective yet humane way. They can also inspect your home and advise you if there are holes or nests that need to be dealt with to prevent further infestations.
Set a Mouse Trap
If you believe that your mouse infestation isn’t serious, consider dealing with it yourself using a few mouse traps.
Feeke Mouse Traps from Amazon get rid of mice quickly and effectively. The traps come in a pack of six, and are easy to set up.
Alternatively, you could make your own mouse traps. Here is a YouTube video on making DIY mouse traps for your home. They are all catch and release, so whether you feel bad killing the mice or simply don’t want to deal with a dead mouse, these should quickly fix your problem:
Use a Natural Repellent
Using chemicals to repel or eradicate mice is not a good idea as you, your family or pets could accidentally come into contact with it and become ill.
Mice are thought to hate the smell of the following substances:
- Peppermint. Soaking a few cottonwool balls in peppermint essential oil and placing them in strategic places can repel mice effectively. Plus, it can introduce a pleasant scent to your room.
- Cloves. The next time you’re at the grocery store, buy some dried cloves and place them in a few small, gauze bags.
- Cayenne pepper. Most folks have cayenne pepper in their pantries. Sprinkle a few granules where you think the mice enjoy hanging out.
Dangers of Mouse Droppings
It’s important to deal with the problem as soon as you notice mouse droppings in your home. This is because there are a number of viruses and infections that you can contract from coming into contact with mouse droppings, but the most common are the following:
- Leptospirosis: This is a bacterial disease affecting both humans and animals. Untreated, it can cause liver failure and meningitis, among other symptoms.
- Hantavirus: Hantavirus is a family of viruses spread by mice and rats that can be extremely dangerous if left untreated.
- Endemic or Murine Typhus: These pathogens are a group of infections that can be carried by many animals and present similarly to a common flu virus.
- Rat Bite Fever: Rat Bite Fever is a dangerous virus that, despite the name, doesn’t only come from rat bites. The bodily fluids of any rodent can carry Rat Bite Fever.
All these illnesses can cause severe illness. If left untreated, many have a dangerously high mortality rate, so you must remain vigilant about your symptoms following contact.
As with all infections, septic shock risks, if you don’t get yourself treated quickly, may also cause severe respiratory distress that may require ICU treatment in extreme cases. If you begin feeling chest pain or tight breath, seek medical attention immediately.
While many symptoms of infection are nothing to worry about, once you have come into contact with mouse droppings, you are better to be safe than sorry. Symptoms such as high fever, vomiting and nausea, and severe fatigue should not be left to resolve on their own.
See your doctor immediately after noticing symptoms and explain your situation.
Final Thoughts
You will probably be fine if you have accidentally vacuumed mouse droppings. You are not in any immediate danger but you should be careful to avoid additional exposure.
After vacuuming mouse droppings, turn your vacuum cleaner off immediately. Wearing disposable gloves, remove the mouse droppings, and give the vacuum cleaner and room a deep clean. It’s also worth tackling the mouse infestation so that you don’t contract any harmful diseases that they can spread.
