Rodent damaged insulation is common in many homes. However, more often than not homeowners do nothing about it and think replacing rodent damaged insulation is too difficult or too expensive. On the contrary, quite the opposite is true; in fact, from a health standpoint you probably can’t afford not to replace the insulation.
Here’s why:
Aside from the obvious gross out factor, rodent damaged insulation contains many pathogens that can make you and your family ill. The cause of damaged insulation is not only from rodents, but also from wildlife like squirrels, bats, and raccoons. In some attics with widespread rodent damaged insulation there’s no choice but to replace it. If you think I’m kidding here are a few of the diseases related to mice, raccoon, and bat droppings:
- Histoplasmosis
- Hantavirus
- Leptospirosis
There are a few ways to fix rodent damaged insulation. The first and easiest is to remove only the damaged areas and replace them. This works well when the damage is confined to a small area.
The next and most popular way to fix the issue is to remove all the rodent damaged insulation, clean the area, and then replace that area along with the remainder of the the attic with a blown in cellulose insulation like T.A.P insulation. T.A.P stands for thermal, acoustic, and pest control. The process we use is called attic capping, this means that we put new insulation on top of the existing insulation to make a newly cleaned and freshly insulated area. A T.A.P insulation install is the one-stop shop to a renovated attic.
Cleaning droppings in an attic
Cleaning up rodent damaged insulation is not just rolling it up and putting it in a bag. There’s a process you must follow to clean up the insulation. The process for our cleanup procedures looks something like the following:
- Lightly wet the droppings with a solution of bleach and water to kill bacteria and also keep the droppings from becoming airborne
- Remove and bag all soiled insulation
- Repeat step 1 to the newly exposed top of the drywall
- Vacuum from the top of the drywall all the newly wet droppings (We use an asbestos style vacuum with the highest filter available)
- Replace area with new insulation
During this process the area is well ventilated and our service people wear full disposable suits, gloves, booties, and full face respirators.
As you can see this service is not a job for just anyone. The person doing it really needs to know what they’re doing.
If you have rodent damaged insulation and need help, please call Envirocare Pest Control at 1-888-879-6481.