Pest Control
The big clean-up: making your home sanitary after a rodent infestation
Once the rats or mice have gone, the clean-up matters. Never sweep or vacuum droppings. A safe, step-by-step guide to making your home sanitary again.
Once the rats or mice have been dealt with, the clean-up can feel like a big job. It does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be done in the right order, because the way you clean matters as much as what you clean.
The short version
- Never sweep or vacuum droppings, urine or nesting material. Dampen them with disinfectant first.
- Wear gloves throughout, and disinfect the whole area the rodents used, not just the obvious mess.
- Throw away anything unsealed that the rodents could have reached, and keep watching for fresh signs.
Before you start
Make sure the rodents have gone first: cleaning while they are still active only means doing it twice. Then open doors and windows and ventilate the area for at least half an hour before you begin. Put on rubber or disposable gloves, and keep them on until the end.
Do not
- Do not vacuum or sweep droppings, urine or nesting material. Rodent droppings and urine can carry harmful bacteria and viruses, including the hantaviruses that rats can carry, and sweeping or vacuuming lifts dried particles into the air where they can be breathed in. A dust mask does not make dry sweeping safe.
- Do not mix cleaning products. Bleach mixed with other cleaners, especially ammonia-based or acidic ones, can give off harmful fumes.
Do
- Spray droppings, urine and nesting material with disinfectant or a diluted bleach solution, made up as the label directs, until they are thoroughly wet.
- Leave it to soak for about five minutes.
- Wipe it up with paper towels or disposable cloths, put them in a plastic bag, tie it, and put it in your outside bin.
Disinfect the whole area
- Hard surfaces. Rodents urinate as they move, so urine is spread along their routes rather than in obvious puddles. Disinfect worktops, floors, shelves and skirting boards in every area they used, paying most attention to where food is prepared.
- Kitchenware. Wash crockery, cutlery, utensils and food containers in hot soapy water.
- Food. Throw away any food that was not in a sealed tin, jar or airtight container. Check packaging for gnaw marks and droppings.
- Soft furnishings. Shampoo or steam clean carpets and upholstery that may have been fouled. Do not use bleach on fabrics.
- Clothes and bedding. Wash anything that may have been contaminated on a hot wash.
- Loft insulation. Insulation that is heavily soiled with droppings and urine cannot be cleaned. It is best removed by someone with the right protective equipment and replaced.
Lastly
- Wash your gloves in disinfectant before taking them off, then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water.
- Stay alert for fresh droppings, new gnaw marks or nibbled packets. Any of these means rodents are still getting in.
- Keep dry food in airtight containers, at least until you are sure the problem has gone, and ideally for good. It gives rodents one less reason to come back.
When to call us
If the contamination is extensive, if it is in a loft or under floors, or if you would rather not tackle it yourself, we can do the clean-up and decontamination for you, alongside dealing with the infestation and proofing the building so it does not happen again. See our rat control and mouse control pages.
More pest guides
Mice in the loft? How to spot them, and stop them
Light scratching overhead after dark, small droppings by the insulation. How to confirm it is mice, how they are getting in, and how to stop it for good.
Read the guide →The British mice identification guide
Britain has several kinds of mouse, but only a couple cause trouble indoors. How to tell a house mouse from a wood mouse, and why it changes what you do next.
Read the guide →Not sure what you're looking at?
Send us a photo or describe it. We will tell you what it is, whether it needs treating at all, and what it would cost, before anyone comes out.