Why You Need So Many Precautions When Dealing With Dead Mice
You might assume that exterminating mice is a simple job. Find them, starve them, break their necks, and/or poison them; simple enough, right? Actually, no, it is not. Even if there is not a bloody, gory mess left behind from snapped necks and exploding abdomens (mouse poison does this), you still have to dispose of the little corpses. Worse still, you have to be very careful about how you dispose of them. Take all of the following precautions for the following reasons.
Even a Dead Mouse Is Still a Flea Hotel
Fleas live on mice. There is always a nice warm rodent body to transport the fleas everywhere, and more than enough blood and organic material to feed the parasites for days. Perhaps even more disturbing is that fleas will continue to feed on a dead and decaying mouse for as long as there is adequate organic nourishment. Some adult fleas may move on if another rodent happens by, but then the flea eggs and larvae just stay behind and continue feeding, respectively.
If you pick up and move a mouse corpse, you become not only the fleas' transport to another host, but you also may become a carrier. Fleas will only bite humans if they are starving, but the diseases they carry have caused historical plagues. Wear protective rubber gloves if you are going to pick up a dead mouse, and definitely throw it into the nearest trash can as soon as possible.
Rabies and Guts
If you pick up or clean up and exploded mouse, or one that has been torn apart by another animal, make sure you are completely covered from fingertip to elbow and that you are wearing a face shield. Rabies in mice is a normal thing, and usually you can only contract it via a bite or scratch. However, the rabies virus does live within the soft tissues of the mouse, as well as in the intestines.
Cleaning up mouse guts, then, poses a risk to your health, as you could contract the virus. There have also been cases where inhalation of the virus occurs. Ergo, wear a face mask to protect mucous membranes (nose and mouth) and wear gloves you can throw away to prevent any possible infection.
Salmonella and Mouse Feces
You can also contract salmonella if you touch mouse droppings while picking up a dead mouse. This can happen, as all living things vacate their bladders and their bowels in the final moments of death. Picking up the mousetrap by the wrong end, for example, could put you in touch with this potentially deadly bacteria. If and when possible, use something to scoop up the trap so you do not touch anything you should not.
Talk with a service, like PermaTreat Pest & Termite Control, for more clean-up safety tips after exterminating these pests.
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