A news release from the Whitman County Public Health Department contained very sad news last Friday. An area resident died due to hantavirus. News outlets up and down the Inland Empire ran stories based on this news release. When I read some of the posts in the comments section, I decided I needed to write about this topic.
Some people legitimately seemed to think the hantavirus was a new, made-up virus being pushed on people. Others thought this was another attempt to scare and control the masses. Some commenters likened it to the mass hype around COVID-19.
Let me start by saying this is not a new virus. It became better known after an outbreak in the Four Corners region of the southwest United States in the early 1990s, when a severe, unknown respiratory infection killed several people.
Studying this virus is very difficult because reporting statistics vary widely. What’s true is that it’s deadly if contracted. It kills around 35% to 40% of the people who get infected. Thankfully, it’s not an epidemic in Washington as only one to five cases are reported yearly.
Early recognition and treatment can help survival. Early symptoms are flu-like. Not every hantavirus infection will lead to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. HPS leads to death by severely damaging portions of the lung.
There is no cure or vaccine. Once transmission has occurred, the best doctors can do is support your body as it fights for life. Therefore, prevention is necessary. There is much more to discuss, but I am limited in space.
Deer mice are well-known carriers of hantavirus around America. The rate at which these mice carry the virus varies region by region. On the Palouse, approximately 10% of deer mice are carriers. That means if you see 10 deer mice, statistically speaking, one has hantavirus.
What should you do if you find evidence of mice? Carefully mitigate and exterminate the mice. Equally important is finding their entry point and sealing it.
Infected deer mice shed the virus in their droppings, urine and saliva. The virus can survive outside of the host for days to weeks. Because the range is so broad, it’s best to assume all droppings may have an active virus and decontaminate the area appropriately.
Washington’s Department of Health website has a simple resource on decontamination and cleaning: bit.ly/43fKyag. Another safety measure not mentioned by Washington is the use of respiration protection, such as a properly fitted N95 mask.
Prevention is the most important way to protect yourself. It is not a one-time task; it involves maintaining prevention strategies.
Look closely at the lower corners of your garage door’s weather strip. You may find about an inch of it missing, and a close inspection will show chew marks. There is a product called “Garage Door Rodent Guard.” It is a thin metal product fitted around the weather strip’s bottom 6 inches. It fixes the damaged area by covering it. It helps stop mice from chewing through the non-damaged weather strip.
Steel wool is well known for stopping mice from entering through gaps and holes. Unlike other gap fillers, mice dislike chewing on steel wool. An exterminator friend introduced me to a product called “Xcluder.” He said it has similar properties to steel wool, but it can be cut into the shape of a gap or hole to better block entrances. The following two fixes utilize Xcluder.
Next, check the bottom seal of your garage door. It may not fit flush to the ground, creating a gap. The gap may be large enough for rodents to enter. They can also chew through it and make an opening. The fix is a new door seal, which is an easy DIY project. When replacing the seal, include about a foot of Xcluder at each end. If desired, you can do the whole door strip, but I have found mice tend to chew through the edges to enlarge the natural opening. If the mouse chews through part of the door seal, he will be in for an unpleasant surprise when he bites into the Xcluder.
With the weather and door seals fixed, the garage door can slow or stop mouse entry.
Now, use a bright light to check for those hard-to-see gaps. If you see light, that might mean a gap is still large enough for mice to enter. If so, the track or the door may need adjustments. It could mean there is an imperfection that can be solved by shaping the Xcluder to carefully fill the gap between the garage door opening, the track and the garage door.
Unfortunately, I have exceeded my allotted words, so I must stop. However, I welcome emails if you want to hear more about prevention and mitigation techniques.
Anderson has conducted research on the hantavirus for years. He has tried and tested many methods of critter extermination, denial of entry and decontamination. He has worked to make his outbuildings house and garage mouse-proof. He has advocated caution when finding and cleaning infestations. E-mail him at crier@cityofpullman.com.
