Could Mice in My Home Be Making Me Sick?

Mice might look completely innocent but that doesn’t mean they carry no risks. If mice have chosen to take up residence in your home, they could even make you and your family members sick. That’s in addition to chewing through cables, clothes, books, and all sorts of other items.

Mice don’t have the best sense of cleanliness. As pests can carry disease, even being near them can create several health concerns. Diseases can be spread by mice in a variety of ways, including parasites, bites, and waste.

Bites

Mice don’t often bite, but when they do, bacteria may be introduced that can cause rat-bite fever. This can occur through a direct bite or touching a dead mouse that was infected. Eating or drinking items contaminated by mice can also spread this illness.

Parasites

Mice can also spread disease through the other pests that might come into the home. As an example, ticks can spread Colorado tick fever and Lyme disease. Ticks may come into the home on the back of a mouse. If your lawn has ticks, it’s even more likely that mice will bring them inside.

The Bubonic plague is caused by fleas brought in by mice and other rodents. This is a huge concern for anyone who owns a home, especially if you also have pets.

Feces and Urine

Droppings from mice indicate a problem and can also make you seriously sick. Urine can do the same thing and is often used to mark territory. Mice waste can carry lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), salmonella, and hantavirus, even if you don’t touch them.

LCMV can cause neurological issues and is carried by house mice. You can be infected through feces, urine, saliva, or nest materials.

Mice often track dirt and bacteria around the house, including on countertops. This can cause salmonella while preparing food in the kitchen. Some symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and fever.

Urine and feces from mice turn to dust and can spread hantavirus. It’s often spread in this manner and leads to aches and pains, chills, and fever. Left untreated, it can cause extreme shortness of breath or kidney failure.

As you now know, mice inside your home could be making you and your family sick. The more mice are present, the more likely you could become ill from them. If there are mice in your home, the best thing you can do is hire Mice Mob Exterminator. They will ensure all mice are gone and have no threat to the health of those in your dwelling.