Few problems can be as vexing to Acton homeowners such as yourself as a rodent infestation. Mice are especially problematic and rodent removal is even more so, as a pair of breeding mice can raise litter after litter within a matter of months. These rodents also carry a disease called hantavirus, which can spread to people and linger for months, even after treatment. At Truly Nolen, our pest control technicians can help you avoid this illness with a variety of removal and cleanup services when mice invite themselves into your home.
What Is Hantavirus?
Hantavirus affects both rodents and people but not domestic animals, like your pet cat or dog. It is a respiratory virus and can have a serious effect on the lungs and cause breathing problems, especially when it goes untreated. Hantavirus is carried primarily by mice and rats in their bedding, saliva and especially in their feces, even in old mouse poop in abandoned nests. The symptoms are comparable to certain flu strains and may include a variety of problems, including:
- Chills
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Fatigue
Hantavirus is often diagnosed with blood tests. Very young and very old members of your household may be significantly affected. While direct contact with nesting material can spread the disease, dust and debris infected with hantavirus may become airborne when you attempt to sweep infected areas. The virus can also pass through your home’s air vents when you activate the system and family members breathe in the dust stirred up by cleanup efforts. For this reason, we do not recommend that you attempt to remove mouse nests or sweeping up their feces on your own.
What Causes the Hantavirus Cycle?
The presence of hantavirus in your home may turn into a cycle of cleanup and the reintroduction of the virus that begins with discovering the company of mice in your home. These clever and adaptive rodents may find their way into your home through holes, cracks and crevices and can squeeze themselves through tight spaces in search of food, water and warmth. Once established, a female mouse can give birth up to ten times a year and produce six to eight pups each time. As a result, the growing population builds other nests inside your home in attics, crawlspaces and places where you store items like unused furniture. Each nest may contain mice that carry the hantavirus.
Mice make nests out of all different materials, including chewed-up cardboard, paper, fabric and even your home’s insulation. Some nests can become quite large and increase the risk of hantavirus once you discover and attempt to clean them up. Calling us for pest removal services in Acton can help keep you and your family safe, as our technicians have the tools and the experience to clean up these nesting sites properly.
Call Us for Safe Cleanup Services
Our rodent cleanup and removal technicians can reduce the risk of spreading hantavirus with several different techniques that prevent dust and debris from nesting material from becoming airborne. Disposing of nests and live specimens without contaminating the air is one of the most effective ways to prevent the virus from entering other areas of your home.
Once our technicians remove contaminated nesting material, they will inspect your home for any entrance or exits mice use. Feces, grease marks on baseboards and the acrid smell of mouse urine may all indicate these pathways. Plugging up holes and crevices, consistent housekeeping habits and storing pet food in airtight containers can all keep mice away from your home and prevent re-infestation.
Keeping your Acton home free of mice and the hantavirus disease they carry is as simple as contacting us for a home inspection today. Let us safeguard your home by removing unwanted rodent guests for good.