Safe Cleanup of Rodent Droppings at Home: A CDC-Based Guide.

If the space has been closed up, such as an attic, garage, shed or storage room, open it and let it air out for about thirty minutes before you work. Stay out of it while it airs. In summer, do not go into a hot attic to do this at midday.

• Wear rubber or plastic gloves.
• Consider a respirator or mask rated for the job if you are working in an enclosed space.
• Keep children, pets and others out of the area.
• Wear clothes you can wash afterward.

Gloves are the minimum. If you are not comfortable doing this, or the area is large or hard to reach, ask for help.

Spray droppings, urine stains and nesting material with disinfectant or a diluted bleach solution until they are thoroughly wet. Let the disinfectant sit for about five minutes. Do not sweep or vacuum dry waste.

Wiping with paper towels is the next move. Pick up the wet material and the towels, and put them straight into a bag.

After the waste is removed, mop or sponge the floor and surfaces with disinfectant. Clean any items that were contaminated. Wipe down gloves with disinfectant or soap and water before you take them off, then wash your hands thoroughly.

• Wash hands with soap and water after you remove gloves.
• Wash clothes that may have been contaminated.
• Seal and discard cleaning materials that cannot be disinfected.

A dead rodent should be handled with gloves. Place it in a bag, seal the bag and put it in the trash. Disinfect the trap and the area before resetting. Do not handle live rodents.

If a smell suggests an animal died in a wall or attic, see our guide on finding a dead rodent smell.

Call for help when the area is large, hard to reach, very hot or heavily contaminated. Attics and crawl spaces fit that description more often than not. Attic and crawl space rodent cleanup describes how it is done, and rodent exclusion comes first so animals cannot return.

• Sweeping or vacuuming dry droppings, which lifts dust into the air.
• Skipping gloves because the area looks clean.
• Wiping before the disinfectant has had time to sit.
• Reusing sponges or rags that touched droppings.
• Throwing waste into an open bin instead of a sealed bag.

If you are unsure at any step, stop and ask. A short pause is better than guessing, and the CDC pages linked here explain each step in detail.

If you feel unwell in the weeks after cleaning, with fever, muscle aches or trouble breathing, tell a doctor that you were exposed to rodent waste. We cannot give health advice, and we do not judge anyone's individual risk.