Experts issue warning about disturbing health threat carried by household mice: 'Increases your risk'

Mice in the home are more than a minor annoyance — they're associated with a number of diseases, including Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, experts warned.

What's happening?

Pennsylvania experts recently spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about some of the dangers of mice in the home.

While they noted that the type of mouse and duration of exposure ultimately determine risks — for instance, house mice are less likely to spread disease compared to their wild counterparts — some of the local risks for Pittsburghers include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, salmonella, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis. 

Why are mice in the home concerning?

Mice can get into tiny cracks in the home, and once they move in, it's hard to get them to move out.

"If they have food and shelter, they're not leaving," Nick Phelps, owner of Ross-based Bio-One of Pittsburgh, told the Post-Gazette.

And wild species like the white-footed mouse and deer mouse, which are more likely to spread disease, have been known to move into homes, particularly in rural and suburban areas, experts told the publication. 

"(Deer mice) can get into your house. They can live in your shed or wood piles," Tufts said. "If they're living in your house, they could potentially bring ticks into your house, or bring ticks into your area, which also increases your risk for getting bitten by a tick."

Plus, in recent years, urban areas have become hotspots for mice infected with Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease, one expert added.

Tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are already on the rise thanks to the overheating of our planet, which is helping ticks to expand their ranges and seasons.

For instance, one area of Maine is being battered by tick-borne diseases, and a local nurse practitioner there says they expect to see this trend continue with warming temperatures. And Lyme disease risk doubled between 2000 and 2015 in the Canadian province of Quebec and tripled in Manitoba.

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What can be done to limit risks?

The experts told the Post-Gazette that people need to remove droppings promptly and properly.

Instead of sweeping them away with a broom, they advocate for ventilating the area and using a disinfectant to wet droppings and nests before removing them. They also recommend wearing gloves and a mask. Trapping and exclusion from the home can also help with rodent problems, they add.

As for ticks, they can be encountered when spending time outside as well. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourage people to walk in the middle of trails to avoid ticks and keep their legs covered. Meanwhile, scientists are developing a tick-repelling drug for humans to fight the bite.

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