How Rodents Affect Indoor Air Quality & Health

The air quality of your home is important. Your family spends a lot of time in your house, and you want to make sure it's as healthy as possible. Maybe you’ve already taken steps to keep the air quality good, or maybe you’ve never given it a second thought. 

Whether you’ve given it a lot of thought or barely any, you’ve probably never considered how rodents might affect your indoor air quality. The truth is that if mice or rats get into your Colorado home, they can affect your air quality and the overall health of your house. Find out how rodents affect indoor air quality and health below.

Why rodents are bad for your home’s air quality

Mice and wood rats in Denver, Colorado Springs, and throughout the state affect a home’s air quality in several ways. First of all, there are their droppings. You’re probably aware that rodents leave droppings all over the place. You’re probably also aware that those droppings are often contaminated. However, most people are less aware that contaminated rodent droppings can be an issue for air quality.

Because where rodent droppings are deposited in your home, there is a high likelihood of ingesting the contaminants in your food. When mice crawl around on your counters or wood rats get into your pantry, they’ll contaminate your food, but that’s not the only way they can make you sick.

As rodent droppings break down, they can release contaminated particles into the air. These particles can then be inhaled and cause sickness. The same is true of rodent urine and rodent fur. Rodent fur is also a problem for people who struggle with allergies and asthma. Rodent allergens in fur and dander can be a major trigger for people who have sensitivities to those allergens.

Common air contaminants spread by rodents

The most well-known air-borne illness spread by rodents is hantavirus. Most homeowners don’t have to be too concerned about contracting this illness because it is extremely rare. However, it is something to be aware of because it is very dangerous. 

Hantavirus is spread when rodent droppings, urine, or saliva are disturbed and particles become airborne. If those particles are inhaled, you can become sick with an illness that affects the lungs, kidneys, or both. This virus causes serious, and sometimes fatal, infections.

It is far more likely to have air quality issues due to one of two other contaminants from rodents. Rodent urine contains urea, which breaks down into ammonia as it dries. Not only does ammonia give off a very strong scent, but it is also a known respiratory irritant. Inhaling ammonia can lead to coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

The other common issue when it comes to rodents and air quality is rodent dander and fur. Dander and fur can easily become airborne. There is a good probability that they’ll get into your home’s ventilation system, causing them to spread throughout your house. This can affect the air quality for everyone inside but can be especially detrimental to anyone in your home who suffers from allergies or asthma.

How rodents get into homes without being noticed

You may be thinking that you’ll never have to deal with air quality issues due to rodents in your home because you’ll notice right away if rodents get inside. Surprisingly, it’s easier than you might think for rodents to enter without being noticed. In fact, rodent infestations can last for months without being noticed.

How does this happen? It’s primarily because rodents are shy. They are not going to parade through your kitchen at dinnertime. They’re not going to build their nests in your living room. Instead, they’re going to spend their time in the areas of your house that you rarely frequent. 

Mice and wood rats are most likely to be found in out-of-the-way locations like attics, basements, and wall voids. They’ll look for food in your house when you’re not around to see them. This makes it easy, especially in the early stages of an infestation, for rodents to remain undetected. By the time you realize there’s a problem, there are a lot of rodents in your home and a lot of contaminants as well.

Professional rodent control to protect your home’s air quality

At EnviroPest, we understand how important your family’s health is to you. We also know how difficult it can be to keep rodents out of your home without professional help. That’s why we offer the home pest control you need for 24/7 protection.

Our Smart Home Pest Control comes with digital rodent monitoring. We’ve partnered with Anticimex to bring you this revolutionary electronic rodent monitoring system. We use a three-part process with this system.

• First, we’ll inspect your home, study its layout, and ask you a few questions in order to assess the optimal layout of the system. 
• Next, we’ll install our state-of-the-art, multi-purpose technology throughout your home based on your customized plan. This technology will detect rodent infestations and pinpoint areas prone to problems. 
• Finally, the system will provide 24/7 monitoring that reports directly to us so that you don’t have to. We’ll take care of any issues, and you can relax knowing that your home is safe from rodents.

Since digital rodent monitoring is part of our Smart Home Pest Control, you also receive the benefit of protection from other common house-infesting pests in addition to rodents. 

Improving air quality after a rodent infestation

If you’ve recently eliminated a rodent infestation in your home, your work is not quite finished. With digital rodent monitoring, you don’t have to worry about preventing rodents anymore because EnviroPest will do that for you, but you do need to make sure your air quality improves. To do that, you have to remove the contaminants in your home.

Cleaning rodent droppings, urine, and fur can be dangerous if not done correctly. You do not want to stir them up because that can release contaminants into the air. We recommend either hiring a professional cleaning company with safety protocols for these types of cleanups or following the cleaning guidelines laid out by the CDC here.

It’s also wise to install HEPA filters in your air filtration system to filter out dangerous particles. Air purifiers are another good option for improving the air quality in your home.

Whether rodents are currently an issue in your house or not, being proactive when it comes to rodents is the best way to protect your family from rodent-caused air quality issues. With EnviroPest’s Smart Home Pest Control with Digital Rodent Monitoring, your home will be fully protected with safe, eco-friendly, technologically advanced, and highly effective pest control. Contact us today to get started.