I inspected a barn this week in Litchfield, Ct for the presence of bats. When I arrived there was no doubt that the bats had been there. Further, there was no doubt that something had to be done about the bat droppings strewn throughout the barn as seen below.
Before cleaning bat guano, mouse droppings or any other animal waste it’s very important that the proper safety measures be taken care of first. The reason is that there are many diseases associated with animal waste. The two most predominant are histoplasmosis which is associated with bats and hantavirus which is associated with deer mice. Both are equally as dangerous and both can put your health at risk.
If you must clean bat guano or mouse droppings without the help of a professional, here’s how it’s done.
1. Wear appropriate safety gear such as disposable suits with booties and latex gloves.
2. Wear canister style, full face respirators only. A dust mask is insufficient for this work
3. Spray dead animal carcasses and droppings with a solution of virus killing material like bleach and water. This is so that cleaning will not cause particles of waste material to become airborne
4. Don’t vacuum droppings with a shop vac. The droppings should be gently shoveled, swept or loaded into a bag with a scooper
5. Double bag droppings and throw away in an outside garbage
6. Respray with disinfectant the areas that have had the droppings removed
7. Remove and dispose of all coveralls, gloves etc at the job site
Cleaning animal waste, bat droppings and mouse droppings is serious business. If you have this type of problem and need help, call Envirocare Pest Control at 1-888-879-6481