Rodent Droppings in Your Attic? Here’s What Florida Homeowners Should Do
Discovering rodent droppings in your attic can be unsettling. Whether the problem came from rats, mice or other wildlife, getting the animals out of the house is only part of solving the problem.
Rodents and wildlife can leave behind feces, urine, carcasses, nesting materials, odors, debris and contaminated insulation. Even after the infestation has been eliminated, those materials can remain throughout the attic.
That's where attic restoration comes in.
Attic restoration, abatement, or remediation is the process of removing contaminated or damaged attic materials, cleaning and treating the exposed attic, and restoring the space with fresh insulation. It is often recommended after rats, mice, or other wildlife have lived in an attic and left behind contaminated insulation.
Rodent control and attic restoration serve two different purposes. A pest-control or wildlife company addresses the active animals and how they are entering the home.
Attic restoration addresses what the rodents left behind.
When rodent activity has contaminated loose-fill insulation, simply removing visible droppings from the surface may not address contamination buried throughout the insulation. Depending on the condition of the attic, Florida Attic Professional's restoration process may include removing the existing insulation, removing accessible rodent droppings, nesting materials and debris, cleaning accessible attic surfaces, applying disinfectant and odor-neutralizing treatment, inspecting the exposed attic, ensuring the attic is properly sealed off to avoid re-infestations and installing new insulation.
The result is essentially a reset of the attic space rather than simply covering contaminated material with new insulation.
When Does Rodent-Contaminated Insulation Need to Be Removed?
A few isolated droppings on an accessible surface are very different from months or years of rodent activity throughout an attic. When contamination is extensive, homeowners may find droppings throughout the insulation, nesting material buried beneath it, urine contamination, dead insects or animal remains, damaged insulation and lingering odors. In those situations, simply spraying something over the top of the insulation isn't the same as actually removing the contaminated material.
What About the Holes Where the Rodents Got In?
Cleanup shouldn't be confused with preventing another infestation. The CDC recommends identifying and sealing gaps and holes around a home that rodents can use for entry. CDC Florida Attic Professionals does not provide trapping or ongoing pest-control/wildlife services. For an active infestation, we recommend having a qualified pest or wildlife professional remove the animals and address ongoing monitoring as appropriate.
For restoration projects, exclusion sealing may be available as an add-on depending on the scope, but our primary specialty is restoring the attic after contamination—not operating an ongoing pest-control program.
Florida Attic Restoration After Rats and Rodents
If you've already handled the rodent problem but are left looking at an attic full of old insulation, rat droppings, nesting material, odors and debris, you don't necessarily have to live with what's up there.
Florida Attic Professionals specializes in comprehensive attic restoration, including insulation removal and replacement, attic cleaning, disinfecting and deodorizing.
Rather than simply covering old contaminated insulation with new material, we can remove the existing insulation so the underlying attic can be exposed, inspected and addressed before new insulation is installed.
We are a small, family-owned business serving homeowners throughout Central, East, West and South Florida.
Comments