Mouse droppings in stored clothing?

Question

I have several bags of maternity clothes stored in the garage. The garage has recently been invaded with field mice coming in from the cold.

I'm afraid to open the bags of clothing, for fear that mice have left droppings -- or worse -- nested in there. Any advice on how to go about tackling this job? Is it even safe for me to be doing this, as I am pregnant?

P.S. If I do find droppings, what is the best and most effective way to wash the clothes? Recommend a heavy duty detergent, if you know of any, thanks.

Answer 1

I'd be fearful to. Since your pregnant, I'd get someone else to open the bags outside if you can so if there are any mice still in there they will run outside instead of else where in your garage.
Give each piece of clothing a good shake, inspect for any damage of mice chewing. Anything thing that they haven't chewed should be washed in hot water. Try a detergent with added bleach.

Answer 2

I guess I don't really have an answer for this dilemma. I would think HOT water and any quality laundry detergent. I know some washing instruction tags say use warm water but sometimes when I wash colored clothes at the laundry mat, I wash in hot and rinse in warm water. I alway wash all my whites in a seperate load. My mother believes in using ammonia in the laundry. That stuff nearly knocks me out so DON'T INHALE. I have another suggestion if you don't find an acceptable washing solution. GO SHOPPING. Hit thrift stores. Since you only need maternity clothes for a short period of time you might as well save money. Also, I see alot of moms-to-be wearing extra large shirts that are not specifically maternity wear so that is an option. Good Luck and congrats on the baby P.S. I learned that mice are susposedly repelled by peppermint oil (you can put it on cotton balls) around baseboards or anywhere you suspect they might enter. You might want to put that in your home to prevent them from coming in there too before your bundle of joy arrives. Peppermint oil can be purchased from health food stores.

Answer 3

First, are the bags sealed? If so, put on some gloves and check to see if holes have been gnawed through them. If not, you probably don't have anything to worry about. If they are not sealed, take some long tongs and a laundry basket out to the garage. Take the clothing articles out one at a time with the tongs and place them in the laundry basket. Alternately, you could dump each bag of clothing in the yard. Any mice who might be inside will scurry away. Don't touch the clothes with your bare hands. See:
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/159_16809.asp
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/lcmv_rodents.htm

If you do find mice droppings in the bags, wash the clothes in hot water with detergent and chlorine bleach.

Please don't use poison or glue traps. Glue traps are so cruel that they have been outlawed in some countries. Mice have been known to gnaw off their own limbs and tear off their skin in an effort to escape, as they starve or dehydrate to death or suffocate in the glue. It can take three to five days for them to die. Poison isn't any better, as the mice die slowly and painfully from internal bleeding. It can take up to a week for them to die, and then they smell as they rot behind your walls. If you feel you must kill the mice, use snap traps. I generally recommend live traps; however, someone else in your family would have to be willing to handle the traps and relocate the mice. Here are some good live traps: :
http://veganstore.com/index.html?stocknumber=266
https://www.petacatalog.org/prodinfo.asp?number=HP200
http://www.helpinganimals.com/wildlife_livingWithMice.asp

If you do live trap mice, please be sure to check the traps several times a day and release the mice promptly, approximately a mile away from your home. It is much more cruel to allow a mouse in a live trap to slowly starve to death than to kill it quickly with a snap trap. Also, if you use the live traps outside, put some bedding (torn-up paper towels or cotton balls) inside the trap so the mice won't freeze to death during the night. When you release the mice, do it in an area with some sheltering bushes or plants.

Good luck, and congratulations on your pregnancy.

Answer 4

Ewwww!!! Honestly, I would have someone else open the bags for you, more because of the yuck factor probably leading to a vomiting session (i remember the days when thinking of something gross would make me gag). Send them in there with 2 or 3 labeled paper bags to sort the clothes for washing (whites, darks, etc.) Regardless of the outcome, I would recommend washing the items immediately upon bringing them in the house, leaving the other bags outside. I would use arm and hammer detergent or tide. After they are clean, pull them out before you dry them in case a stain or two remains. This way, even if there is mouse mess on your clothes, it will be washed away, and you can always rewash the undried clothes to get out the stains.

Answer 5

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy, next, get a dust mask and tell your husband to put the mask on and take the cloths out of the bag and throw the bag away. Then put the cloths in the washer and use Purex for colored cloths along with your detergent and wash. To feel really good about it do it twice and rinse well in warm water. Good luck.

Answer 6

Cats are the in effortless words definitive host of Toxoplasma, so as that could no longer a subject. it would nevertheless be reliable to placed on gloves, use bleach or warm water for this stuff which will stand it yet wide-spread washing must be sufficient. Mice can nevertheless carry hanta virus, Leptospira and different icky issues. you could pick to ask hubby to attempt this for you - no longer a lot for motives of infectious stuff yet, in accordance to how a recommendations alongside you're, it will be a reliable theory to reduce bending, lifting, etc. He would also be glad about the probability to make a contribution some thing to the project.

Answer 7

Put out some Mouse and Rat poison pellets, they eat the pellets, then they get thirsty and leave the house and go die by some type of creep, stream or river.

When you notice that the pellets arent bein taken anymore. Ur house mouse FREE!

I have a house in the woods

Answer 8

It is not a good idea to expose a pregant woman to mouse droppings. Call an exterminator to take care of the problem. It's worth the expense.

Answer 9

First get rid of those critters. Victor traps work the best. For bait use chocolate. After it is in the trap heat it a little making sure you don't start a fire.