Mice Health Concerns

Mouse Health Concerns

A mouse leaves dozens of droppings a day and urine wherever it goes. Over time that waste builds up along the routes mice use, in drawers and cabinets and around their nests. Anything it touches, from boxed food to dishes and counters, can pick up germs, and food in chewed or soiled packaging should be thrown away. That is why getting rid of the mice is only part of the job. After trapping and sealing, every area they used needs cleaning and disinfecting, and heavily soiled attic insulation sometimes has to be replaced. Never sweep or vacuum dry droppings, because that sends fine particles into the air you breathe.

Which Mouse-Related Illnesses Matter, and How to Clean Up Safely

The house mouse is the mouse most often found inside Florida homes, and its biggest health effects are contamination and allergies. Mouse urine and droppings can carry Salmonella and other bacteria onto food and counters, and proteins in mouse urine and dander are a known indoor asthma and allergy trigger, especially for children.

• LCMV (lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus) is carried by house mice. Most infections are mild or flu-like, but it can be serious during pregnancy, so pregnant people should leave mouse cleanup to someone else.
• Leptospirosis can spread through rodent urine in water or damp soil.
• Hantavirus is rare in Florida. The rodents that carry it here are mainly wild native species, such as the hispid cotton rat, rather than house mice.

Safe cleanup, based on CDC guidance: open doors and windows for at least 30 minutes first. Wear rubber or plastic gloves. Spray droppings, urine spots and nests with a household disinfectant or a mix of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water until soaked, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Wipe up with paper towels, seal everything in a plastic bag, then disinfect the area again. Wash gloved hands, remove the gloves, then wash your hands.

See a doctor if you develop fever, muscle aches, headache or shortness of breath in the weeks after cleaning up after rodents, and mention the exposure. Removing the mice themselves is covered in how to get rid of mice.