So, you discover that rats were living inside your attic and you have been able to extricate them. Good for you. These animals are a serious danger to you and your family, and could actually start a fire in your home should they chew on the electrical wiring. It's a good thing you got rid of them when you did.
Unfortunately, they weren't very good guests while they were inside your house. It is likely that they left urine and feces all over in your attic area and now you have to clean it. This may make you wonder what you do to clean urine and feces of rats out of your attic area?
Start by Protecting Yourself
Before taking any action at all, you want to begin by protecting yourself. This means that you should wear clothing that covers all exposed skin, meaning you should have on long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Wear gloves and boots. You should also wear a surgical mask and goggles. If you don't have them, go out to get them.
Understand that inside the droppings of those rats are parasites and bacteria. As they dry, they become airborne. You could easily get this material on your skin or in your airway while you are trying to clean. This is why you need to play it safe.
Try Not to Sweep
Most people start by sweeping up the droppings. Bad idea! As mentioned in the previous section, you are likely putting those parasites and bacteria into the air. This is why it is better that you use a vacuum that does not have a bag to it. One that uses a filter that keeps all particles within the container. This stops the parasites and bacteria from becoming airborne.
Scrub, Scrub, Scrub
After you have thoroughly cleaned up all of the droppings and urine, it is time to start scrubbing that area vigorously. Either use a solution that contains bleach or ammonia. It should be a mixture of hot water, to show up, and either of these two products. You may even want to use a little hydrogen peroxide.
Note: don't use ammonia and bleach together. To breathe this in could be dangerous to you.
Scrub the area thoroughly with your solution. When you are done, let it dry and then perform this task at least twice more. This should ensure that all bacteria and viruses are killed.
If there are droppings or urine on clothing, insulation, blankets, newspaper articles, or any other possession of yours, you may have to just throw them away. It is extremely difficult to clean these kinds of materials once they have had the waste of a rat on them. As tough as this may be, it is actually safer for you to simply dispose of them than to put yourself at risk by trying to clean them.
This should help you to clean up your rat mess. Hopefully it wasn't too much of a disaster.
Go back to the Murrieta wildlife removal home page.