Alarm bells should ring at the sight of mouse droppings. Bad enough that the excrement poses a sanitary problem and indicates the presence of mice. Whoever picks up a broom to clean up the dirt is endangering his health. In fact, mouse droppings can transmit disease. This guide explains why, how to identify and properly remove mouse droppings.

Cute but dangerous: Mice and their droppings transmit various diseases

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Source of danger mouse droppings
  3. Hantavirus Questions & Answers
  4. identify mouse droppings
  5. Properly remove mouse droppings
  6. Prevent mouse droppings disease
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. the essentials in brief

    • Mouse droppings are harmful to health because they can contain hantaviruses and other pathogens.
    • Mouse faeces can be recognized as 3-7 mm small, dark brown faeces with a strong odor of urine.
    • In order to properly remove mouse droppings, a respirator, disposable gloves and disinfectants are essential.

    Source of danger mouse droppings - Hantavirus lurks

    Hantavirus can be transmitted through mouse droppings

    Mice can carry the hantavirus. As so-called reservoir hosts, the rodents excrete the dangerous pathogens via urine, faeces and saliva. This circumstance makes mouse droppings in the house and garden a ticking time bomb for health. Every year, numerous people in Germany contract a hantavirus infection because they came into unprotected contact with the excretions. A mouse problem indoors or outdoors should therefore not be taken lightly.

    For well-informed people, the danger of mouse droppings is less of a concern. Read below what the hantavirus is all about, how to recognize mouse droppings and remove them properly. Finally, please take a look at useful tips for effective measures to prevent mouse droppings disease.

    Hantavirus - 10 Questions & 10 Answers

    The close association between mouse feces and hantavirus raises important questions. At least since the coronavirus pandemic, we have been sensitized to the dangers that the invisible enemy poses to our health. The following 10 questions related to hantaviruses receive an answer suitable for everyday use:

    How harmful is the hantavirus?

    The European hantavirus is very similar to a "normal" flu

    Hantaviruses are distributed worldwide with numerous and very different species. In Germany, the two virus types Puumala and Dobrava-Belgrade occur, with the Puumala virus having by far the largest proportion of reported diseases. In contrast to the feared South American virus strains, the course of the disease in European hantaviruses is comparatively harmless.

    In 2012, a fatal outbreak of hantavirus infections occurred in Yosemite National Park in the United States. At least nine visitors contracted HPS (Hantavirus-Induced Pulmonary Syndrome); three of them died. HPS is caused by hantaviruses, which only occur in North America. This virus type, known as Sin Nombre Virus, is much more dangerous than Central European hantavirus species and manifests itself in a different clinical picture.

    Due to flu-like symptoms, an infection with hantaviruses in Germany is often not recognized as such because there are no severe symptoms. Sufferers struggle with health limitations for some time and then get on with business, safe and sound. Consequential damage to health is not to be feared. Experts from the Robert Koch Institute assume that after an infection, those affected are immune to the specific hantavirus for life.

    How can you get infected with the virus?

    This sweet mouse is one of the main carriers of the Hantavirus in Germany

    The greatest risk of infection comes from contact with rodent excrement. Various small mammals are natural hosts for hantaviruses, most notably mice and rats. The infected animals themselves do not become ill. In Germany, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and the field vole (Apodemus agrarius) are the main vectors. The rodents excrete the pathogen via urine, feces or saliva. A person becomes infected with the virus in several ways:

    • Skin contact with excrement
    • Inhalation of infected dust particles
    • Eating food contaminated with mouse droppings
    • Bite from an infected animal

    It is enough to rake leaves in the garden, remove mouse droppings in the basement, clean the garden shed (€24.90) or simply walk through the forest to catch the hantavirus. Wherever mice, rats and other rodents are, the virus can be present. Thus, there is an increased risk of infection for recreational and professional gardeners and forest workers. It is very unlikely that there is a risk of infection via dogs or cats if the pets have eaten an infected mouse or had contact with mouse droppings, for example. Furthermore, no cases have occurred in which patients have been infected with the hantavirus via mosquitoes or ticks in the garden.

    What are the symptoms?

    Central European hantavirus types cause symptoms that are indistinguishable from the flu for the layperson. The following symptoms are characteristic of a hantavirus infection in Germany:

    • sudden, high fever over 38° Celsius for a period of 3 to 4 days
    • chills
    • strong headache
    • visual disturbances
    • excruciating abdominal and back pain
    • Circulatory problems, especially drop in blood pressure

    In the case of a severe course of the disease, renal dysfunctions occur up to acute renal failure. The lungs are very rarely affected if the patient already has previous illnesses. A fatal course of the disease is the absolute exception. Specialists from the Robert Koch Institute point out that the mortality rate is well below 1 percent.

    Severe headaches and high fever are among the symptoms of the hantavirus

    How long is the incubation period?

    On average, the first symptoms appear after 2 to 4 weeks after infection. Occasionally, patients experience the first symptoms as early as 5 days after contact with infectious mouse faeces. In individual cases, the incubation period extends over 60 days.

    How long do hantaviruses survive in mouse feces?

    Hantaviruses are tough and can survive in the environment for several days and weeks. If the bank vole or another furry host has excreted the pathogens, there is no reason to give the all-clear. How long the hantavirus survives depends on local conditions. Old mouse droppings are particularly dangerous because the dried excrement can release toxic dust particles into the air even with the slightest vibration or air drift.

    Is the pathogen a particular danger during pregnancy?

    The Professional Association of Pediatricians e. V. addressed this question in detail in its specialist journal when the reported infections in 2022 increased tenfold compared to the previous year. Because a vaccine is not yet available, experts urgently advise pregnant women to consistently avoid typical routes of infection. A hantavirus infection usually takes a harmless course and usually heals without consequences. However, there is a risk that high fever can trigger premature labor and birth. The good news is that the unborn baby is not at risk from the pathogens.

    Is hantavirus infection notifiable?

    According to the Infection Protection Act (IfSG), there is an obligation to report hantavirus infections. In § 6 paragraph 1 it can be read that the suspected illness, the illness and death as a result of the virus infection must be reported to the public health department by name. The health department must be notified within 24 hours of noticing it. Section 7 (1) IfSG stipulates that direct or indirect detection of hantaviruses must be reported. In Germany, the persons who are obliged to report are primarily senior laboratory staff and physicians.

    How many people are infected with the hantavirus in Germany?

    The mouse droppings disease hantavirus is characterized by strongly fluctuating numbers of infections. Detailed analyzes indicate a close connection with the bank vole population. When the trees in the forest bear numerous fruits in the so-called fattening years, the rodents multiply explosively in the following year due to the overabundance of food. The following table documents the clinically diagnosed cases from 2006 to 2022:

    year number of infections
    2006 72
    2007 1.687
    2008 243
    2009 181
    2010 2.016
    2011 305
    2012 2.825
    2013 161
    2014 574
    2015 829
    2016 282
    2022 1.731
    2022 235
    2022 1.451

    Researchers suspect a high number of unreported cases of actual hantavirus infections. Because the disease often progresses with mild flu-like symptoms, those affected do not consult a doctor. This thesis is supported by evidence that in Germany alone 1 to 2 percent of the population have hantavirus-specific antibodies. These people consequently contracted the virus at some point in their lives and are now immune.

    Are there other diseases transmitted by mouse droppings?

    Typhoid is also transmitted through mouse droppings

    Hantavirus isn't the only disease caused by mouse feces. In fact, numerous other pathogens can be lurking in the excrement. This includes the infectious disease typhoid, one of the most serious diarrheal diseases. More rarely, tularemia is transmitted through mouse feces with flu-like symptoms. Furthermore, direct contact with mouse excrement triggers the infectious disease Morbus Weil, which is accompanied by high fever, tormenting vomiting and severe diarrhea.

    Sick from mouse droppings - what to do?

    A sudden, high fever is a serious warning sign and can indicate illness from mouse droppings. If you have the slightest suspicion that you have been infected with the hantavirus, contact your family doctor immediately. You don't have to worry about being quarantined because hantavirus infection is not contagious.

    Important note: This guide only provides general information and must not be used for self-diagnosis under any circumstances. Reading this information is not a substitute for consulting a doctor.

    digression

    Mole suspected to be the hantavirus host

    The Robert Koch Institute draws attention to the fact that the nova virus was recently detected in moles. This is a largely unexplored type of hantavirus. It is not known whether this newly discovered virus is as dangerous for humans as the Puuma la and Dobrava-Belgrade viruses. One more reason not to pursue the protected mole in the garden. Instead, welcome the hard-working insectivore as a natural pest controller. In peaceful coexistence with the underground beneficial, there is no significant risk of contact with its excrement.

    identify mouse droppings

    Where the paths of humans and mice cross, infected excrement can be found. Caution is therefore required indoors and outdoors in numerous locations: house, basement, attic, balcony, terrace, garage, shed, garden shed or in the woodpile. The following table provides assistance in determining mouse droppings in comparison to other animals that are in the house and garden:

    comparison mouse droppings rat feces bat droppings hedgehog droppings marten excrement
    size 0.3-0.7cm 0.5-2.5cm 0.3-1.5cm 3-6 cm 8-10cm
    shape (appearance) round to spindle-shaped cylindrical thin, pellet-shaped rolled, tapering sausage-shaped, twisted tip
    color dark brown glossy dark brown dark brown to black dark brown to black dark gray to black
    odor strictly for urine repulsive to ammonia imperceptible odorless horrible stench

    Mouse droppings or rat droppings comparison

    Appearance, size and smell are the first clues as to whether it is mouse droppings or rat droppings. Additional information supports the decision as to which rodent the excrement came from. This is especially true with regard to the fact that the faeces of adult mice and young rats look confusingly similar. Therefore, examine the site from the following point of view:

    • mouse droppings: widespread because mice defecate where they sit or walk
    • rat feces: accumulated in certain places as a latrine

    Because mice occasionally drop their tiny droppings, mouse droppings are often mistaken for a bundle of fluff. In contrast, the latrine of a family of rats is unmissable, unless the horrible stench of ammonia has long since betrayed the presence of the beasts.

    To bother for a long time with an unappetizing mouse droppings or rat droppings comparison is superfluous against the background of the harmful risk. Both rodent species serve as hosts for hantaviruses. The following instructions for safe disposal are relevant for both types of faeces.

    Remove mouse droppings - How to do it right

    Disinfectants, gloves and a face mask are must-haves when cleaning up mouse droppings

    Removing mouse droppings without risk to health requires a careful procedure. Important preparatory measures, the right equipment and professional cleaning prevent contact with potentially present hantaviruses. The following instructions explain how to properly remove mouse droppings in the apartment, in the garden shed or on the balcony:

    Furnishing

    • Respirator mask (ideally fine dust mask FFP3)
    • Rubber boots, disposable gloves (ideally disposable overalls)
    • Broom, hand brush, shovel
    • spray bottle or pressure sprayer
    • Disinfectants instead of conventional household cleaners
    • Bucket, mop, pick-up or steam cleaning device
    • garbage bag

    Please do not use a vacuum cleaner to remove dried, old mouse droppings. Infectious dust particles could be whirled up via the exhaust air. If you use a disinfectant, such as Danklorix or Sagrotan all-purpose cleaner disinfection, you can remove the smell at the same time as cleaning.

    Step-by-step instructions

    1. Ventilate the room for 30 minutes beforehand, without a draft
    2. Put on protective clothing and a respirator
    3. Disinfect the floor and mouse droppings with disinfectant from a spray bottle or pressure sprayer
    4. Sweep up mouse droppings with a broom, hand brush, shovel and pour into the garbage bag
    5. Fill buckets with hot water and disinfectant
    6. Wipe the floor wet and let it dry
    7. Clean the floor again
    8. Throw away pickups, sponges, and disposable gloves in the trash bag
    9. Wash work clothes, disinfect rubber boots

    Immediately after cleaning, you should take a long shower, shampooing your hair at least twice.

    tips

    Compared to mouse droppings, the potential danger of rat droppings is frightening. The causative agents of more than 100 serious diseases have so far been detected in rat excrement. These include cholera, dysentery, toxoplasmosis, plague, hantaviruses and various Lyme disease bacteria.

    Preventing infection from mouse droppings - tips

    Cats are a great help in keeping mice away

    Prevention is the best protection against disease from mouse droppings. The strategy is obvious: where there are no mice, there is no mouse droppings either. Furthermore, the coronavirus epidemic has taught us the importance of hand washing and respiratory protection as prophylaxis against viral infection. The following tips sum up how you can prevent diseases transmitted by mouse droppings:

    prevent mouse infestation

    Mice want to be close to humans because the rodents are on the lookout for food sources and nesting sites. Where there is nothing to feed and no safe place to nest, the furry reservoir hosts stay away. You denied bank vole and company access with the following measures:

    • Close loopholes, such as door gaps, wall openings, supply pipes (all openings with a diameter of 2 cm or more)
    • Store food in sealable glass jars, metal cans or sturdy plastic containers
    • Clean pet bowls thoroughly after each meal
    • Equip rubbish bins inside and outside with a tightly closing lid
    • Remove crumbs in the kitchen and on the balcony promptly
    • Do not dispose of leftover food and animal waste in the compost

    Yellow sacks, bulky waste, rubbish heaps or old tires offer mice ideal conditions for rearing their numerous offspring. If you remove such places for shelter and nesting, there is no reason for the rodents to settle in the house, in the garden or on the balcony.

    Take care when gardening

    When working in the garden you can never be sure that a bank vole or vole has not recently arrived. There is an increased risk of infection from mouse droppings if the property is near a forest or you or your neighbor have been confronted with the rodents in the past. You can avoid inhaling infectious fecal particles or touching toxic mouse feces by taking the following precautions:

    • Wear a respirator when stacking firewood, raking leaves, sweeping garden sheds or balconies
    • Only do planting and care work in the garden bed with gloves
    • Wash hands after each stay in the garden, garden shed or tool shed

    Special care should be taken if you come across an abandoned nest while doing garden work. Arm yourself first with a protective mask and gloves. Then spray the nest with water or disinfectant. Then throw the nesting material in a rubbish bag, which you tie and dispose of with the household rubbish.

    frequently asked Questions

    Is mouse droppings dangerous to humans?

    Mice can carry the hantavirus or another pathogen. The rodents excrete the harmful viruses, which makes mouse droppings a dangerous source of infection. In Germany, the bank vole is the main carrier of the hantavirus. But other mice, such as the band vole, can also be used as reservoir hosts. For this reason, mouse droppings are always dangerous for humans, regardless of where they are found.

    How long is mouse droppings infectious?

    Hantaviruses can survive in mouse faeces for several days and weeks. How long the excrement is dangerous depends on the local humidity and temperatures. Crumbly, old mouse droppings pose a high risk. Air drifts can spread infectious dust particles that are inhaled by people nearby.

    What does mouse poop look like?

    The remains of mice can be recognized as 3-7 mm small, brown droppings. In the early stages of infestation with small amounts of mouse droppings, no odor can be detected. Only a larger population of adult and young mice produces such large quantities of 60 to 80 faecal pellets per day and animal that a strong urine odor spreads. Fresh mouse droppings are soft and shiny. Over time, the excrement dries up and takes on a hard, crumbly consistency.

    Is mouse droppings toxic?

    Mouse droppings are not toxic in the sense of substances that are directly harmful to health or deadly. Thus, the legacies are not comparable to toxins produced by animals, such as snake venom, scorpion venom or puffer fish venom. Mouse droppings only pose a serious health risk to humans if the animal was a carrier of the hantavirus or another pathogen. If you breathe in the dust from uncontaminated mouse droppings during cleaning work, you have not become infected or poisoned.

    How do you tell bat droppings and mouse droppings apart?

    Bat droppings (pictured here) and mouse droppings look confusingly similar

    Bat droppings and mouse droppings can hardly be distinguished optically. Only on closer inspection do two striking distinguishing features become apparent. The bat feeds exclusively on mosquitoes, spiders, beetles and other insects. This diet is reflected in digestion. Bat droppings contain easily recognizable, indigestible insect remains. Because mice are predominantly herbivores, little or no plant remains can be seen in them. In addition, bat droppings are dry and will break down if you crush the pellets between gloved fingers. Mouse droppings are harder and won't break down.

    Where does the name Hantavirus come from?

    The name refers to the Korean border river Hantan. As the Korean War raged there in the 1950s, more than 3,000 soldiers contracted a severe infection with a very high fever, often accompanied by kidney failure. The pathogen has been puzzled for a long time. Only in 1977 did Ho Wang Lee succeed in isolating the hitherto unknown Hanta virus. Numerous hantavirus species are now known worldwide.

    Is mouse droppings uniformly dangerous in all regions of Germany?

    Hantan virus infections through mouse faeces are not equally common in all regions of Germany. Puumala virus infections caused by the bank vole occur more frequently in north-west, west and south Germany, especially in the Münsterland, the Teutoburg Forest, in Lower Franconia, the Odenwald and in the Swabian Jura. Increased cases of illness are also recorded in the Bavarian Forest, in western Thuringia and in Upper Swabia. The field mouse is widespread in northern and eastern Germany, so that there have been frequent cases of illness from the Dobrava-Belgrade virus.

    Is mouse droppings infectious at any time of the year?

    There is a risk of infection with the hantavirus all year round. Once mice have caught the virus, the animals are lifelong carriers and leave behind dangerous mouse droppings. There is a particularly high risk of infection from April to September, because contact with infected faeces is more likely at this time than in autumn and winter.

    tips

    A proven remedy against voles in the garden is high-proof schnapps. The cheapest, foul-smelling booze you can buy at a discount store is ideal. Use the shovel to open up a tunnel in the ground and pour in a good shot of booze. The smell attacks the delicate noses of the voles, which panic-stricken and run away.

Category:

Animals in the garden