Deer mice & Hanta virus

Found your web site today when searching for info on deer mice. I've found two in my home this week (weird, since it's warm weather.)

Just curious if you were concerned about Hanta virus?

No and yes, Lisa. But first, thanks for writing.

I take simple, that is, basic, precautions. As much as possible, I'll wear gloves when I catch the mice. (Unless they're dead or v e r y slow because the cats have tuckered 'em out.) If I catch the mice with my hands (lately, I've done that with some field mice that have come into my house), I'll thoroughly wash my hands and arms afterwards. (Note: I may be under the misguided notion that field and deer mice are too small, too weak, to puncture the skin on my hands and fingers when they bite me.) Come to think of it, I wash my hands and arms when I wear gloves while catching the mice.

When I clean the aquarium holding the mice, whether just replacing the shredded paper and general cleanup while keeping the mice (temporarily) during the winter, or at the end of the season when the mice are let go a mile or so from the house, I'll wear one of those cloth masks for the mouth and nose one wears when working on major projects (like sanding joint compound before painting walls, or what you're supposed to wear when applying polyurethane to finished/unfinished cabinets, or what we've seen recently in pictures from various Pacific Rim countries concerned about the H1Ni virus). Afterwards, I wash my hands and arms thoroughly, then take the mask off and wash my hands, then my face, then my hands and arms again.

When I use the aquarium, there's a lot of shredded paper, mice droppings, toilet or paper rolls (or both). That is, a lot of trash. I carefully pour all that into a plastic bag. I wear glasses a lot of the time, and I definitely wear them when cleaning the aquarium. Sometimes I wear goggles. (Goggles, of course, are better protection against dust, dander, and splash back getting into the eyes.)

Any paper towels I use to clean and dry the aquarium (after washing the aquarium in the bathtub with hot water and some sort of glass cleaner or get-the-bathtub-scum cleaner), I throw into the plastic bag with all the other trash. Then I tie the bag closed.

When I catch the mice off season (I agree with you: "weird, since it's warm weather'; that's been happening here, too, but with field mice, not deer mice), I'll keep the mice in a plastic food bowl (yes, alas). After I let the mouse go, that bowl gets thoroughly washed. As well as my hands and arms. I often throw in some shredded paper into that bowl. (Provide some creature comfort -- literally -- overnight.) Usually there's not much shredded paper, and it goes with the mouse when I let it go far from home. (That is, I throw the paper -- yes, trash -- onto the ground. It's a small amount of paper, it's biodegradable, and I make sure it's behind a rock so it can't be seen from the street. Self justification can be strong.)

I use *hot* water and soap. I'm not a fan of antibacterial soap. (I've read too much. That soap is good "in a pinch," like for camping or "on the road," but not so good for really keeping bugs, germs, viruses at bay from one's body.)

Write me in a decade or so. I may have changed my mind about being concerned about Hanta virus. In fact, if I *don't* respond to you at that time, I'll probably be in a state of not being concerned about anything!

Cheers,
Larry

P.S. Okay, now that you asked, I figured I might as well actually confirm whether my precautions were good enough. That is, learn something new. According to...

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/noframes/FAQ.htm

...I can do better. Specifically, "Use a bleach solution or household disinfectant to effectively deactivate hantaviruses when cleaning rodent infestations."

Gee that's a good idea. Thanks for asking, Lisa! Maybe I'll still be alive when you write to me in ten years.