Why reaching for the broom is the wrong move
You find droppings behind the stove or in a drawer, and the reflex takes over. You grab the broom, or worse, the vacuum. That is precisely what you should not do.
According to the Government of Quebec's hantavirus page, a person becomes infected by inhaling contaminated particles from the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents. Contact with contaminated objects or food is another route, and bites more rarely.
Sweeping and vacuuming do exactly one thing: they put those particles back into the air of the room, at breathing height. A household vacuum, whose filter is not designed for this, blows them straight out its exhaust.
Keep it in proportion. The strains carried by rodents in Quebec generally do not pass from person to person, and cases are rare. The point is not to alarm you. It is to spare you a pointless move that raises the risk for nothing, when the correct method takes only a few minutes longer.
What Quebec public health actually recommends
Five points, and they are simple.
- Wear gloves.
- Wear a mask if you are in an enclosed space.
- Avoid sweeping or vacuuming droppings.
- Dampen surfaces with a disinfectant before cleaning them.
- Use a damp cloth to pick up the waste, then wash your hands.
The logic behind all five is the same. Anything wet does not become airborne. You dampen, you let it sit, you pick up without raising dust.
Step by step, room by room
In order, for a closet, a basement or a storage space.
- Open up first and let the space air out before you work in it. A room that has been shut for months deserves that wait.
- Put the gloves on. In an enclosed space, add the mask.
- Spray droppings, nests and surrounding surfaces generously with a disinfectant, and let it work rather than wiping right away.
- Pick up with a damp cloth or wet paper towel, never dry.
- Bag everything and close the bag.
- Disinfect the surfaces afterward, then wash your hands.
Find the entry point
Cleaning without closing the way in lasts a few days at most. An inspection tells you where they get through. From $99, with a written guarantee.
What not to do, even with good intentions
- Vacuuming, including with a shop vacuum. The exhaust disperses what you were trying to remove.
- Blowing out an attic or a duct with compressed air.
- Dry-scrubbing a floor or shelf before dampening it.
- Mixing bleach with another cleaning product. The fumes are dangerous, and the disinfectant alone is enough.
- Cleaning without finding how the rodents got in. The droppings will come back.
Cleaning does not end the infestation
This is the limit worth keeping in mind. Cleaning removes the visible contamination. It does not remove the animal or its way in. If fresh droppings appear a few days later, it is not that you cleaned badly. It is that the colony is still there.
Call a professional when one of these applies. Fresh droppings return after a full cleanup. You find them in several rooms far apart. You hear activity in walls or ceilings. Or you cannot locate the entry point, which is the most common situation.
That is where our rodent control service in Montreal comes in, because it treats and seals in the same visit rather than doing only one of the two.
Rodents count among the criteria that make a dwelling unfit, a subject the Institut national de santé publique du Québec documents across the province.
To close access before winter, our article on sealing access points before October walks through the inspection. If you are unsure whether you have a mouse or a rat, the signs are here.
Droppings keep coming back after cleaning
That means the colony is still there. We treat and seal in the same visit.
Common questions
Can I vacuum droppings with a HEPA filter?
The Government of Quebec's advice is to avoid sweeping or vacuuming droppings, with no exception made for filter type. The recommended method remains dampening with a disinfectant before cleaning and picking up with a damp cloth.
What kind of mask should I wear?
The Government of Quebec page says to wear a mask if you are in an enclosed space, without specifying a rating. In an open, well-ventilated area it is not required.
Should I throw out food that was in the cupboard?
Any packaging that is pierced, gnawed or soiled goes in the garbage. Contact with contaminated food is one of the transmission routes listed by the Government of Quebec.
How long should I air out the space first?
The page does not set a duration. The principle is to air out an enclosed space before working in it, and to wear a mask if it stays confined.