on Yelp
If you discover rodent droppings in your parents’ home, you undoubtedly need to know what steps you need to take to address the issue. There actually is a three-phase process that you need to follow when you find your parents’ home to be contaminated by rodent droppings:
- Dealing with possible rodent infestation
- Remediating the rodent dropping situation
- Protecting against future rodent infestation
Each of these three phases of addressing a situation involving rodents and rodent droppings at the home of your parents is discussed and analyzed in detail in this article.
Danger of Rodent Droppings
The dangers associated with rodent droppings frequently are underrated. If you are dealing with a rodent droppings issue at your parents’ home, you understandably may be among those people who may not fully realize the real dangers presented by rodent droppings.
Rodent droppings can carry a number of different types of diseases. These include:
- Salmonellosis
- Bubonic plague
- Hantavirus
Hantavirus provides a solid example of the dangers of rodent droppings. If an individual becomes infected with hantavirus, that type of infection is nearly always a death sentence.
Hantavirus remains viable or alive in rodent droppings for an extended period of time. This virus remains viable and capable of infecting people even after rodent droppings dry.
When rodent droppings dry, they readily crumble. When they crumble, rat dropping dust is sent into the air. That dust will contain hantavirus if that pathogen is present. The dust can be breathed in as well as sent through an HVAC system. A person or multiple persons can become infected in this manner.
The nature of rodent droppings, coupled with the pathogens that can be contained in them, underscore the need for professional assistance in cleaning up a situation when this type of biohazard is present. This is discussed in greater detail in a moment.
Dealing With Possible Rodent Infestation
If you’ve tentatively identified a rodent infestation issue at your parents’ home, you are wise to take prompt, immediate action. There certainly are do it yourself remedies available to address a rodent infestation problem. On the other hand, by engaging the services of a professional, the odds of eliminating a rodent infestation will be far more likely than if you do it alone. Indeed, if you take a DIY course at the beginning, you likely are delaying the inevitable. You almost certainly will need to retain the services of an exterminator at some juncture in the not too distant future.
There are a number of commonplace signs that indicate the presence of a rodent infestation. These include:
- Scratch marks on floors
- Scratch marks on walls
- Scratch marks on soil surrounding residence
- Noise in the walls (scratching sounds and squealing)
- Droppings
Remediating the Rodent Dropping Situation
If your parents are facing a rodent dropping situation at their home, once the rodents themselves are eradicated, you need to consider seriously engaging the services of a rodent dropping cleanup company like Eco Bear. Eco Bear has a solid background in remediating the presence of rodent droppings in a residence or business.
The team at Eco Bear can be present at a property promptly to undertake safe, thorough rodent dropping cleanup. The professionals at Eco Bear are appropriately bonded and insured. They have extensive training in all aspects of rodent dropping remediation in a comprehensive and safe manner.
Arrangements should be made to undertake professional rodent dropping cleanup directly after rodents themselves have been eliminated from the premises. Likewise, the process to protect against future rodent infestation needs to commence at the same time, as is discussed in greater detail next.
Protecting Against Future Rodent Infestation
Once a rodent infestation has been addressed and associated droppings have safely been removed, you need to take steps to avoid a proverbial repeat performance at your parents’ residence. The bottom line is that unless you take specific steps to protect against future rodent infestation (and associated droppings contamination), you will be facing this precise situation at your parents’ home in the not-too-distant future.
These specific steps are:
- Fill holes, gaps, and cracks through which rodents can enter. Keep in mind that these critters can enter through very small defects of this nature.
- Eliminate potential food sources for rodents. This includes keeping trash containers (inside and outside) covered.
- Eliminate clutter inside and outside of your residence.
- Keep vegetation away from the side of your residence. Maintain a no-vegetation zone of about two to four feet around the side of your residence.
If you see evidence of a return of rodents at your parents’ home, call a removal or extermination professional immediately. You can save yourself and your parents a tremendous amount of headache by being as proactive as possible if you see an infestation issue starting up yet again.
