Mouse in the House

Been cleaning-out nest boxes.

Forty seven of them to be exact.

Nesting season is just around the corner and I want to be sure that the boxes have been cleaned of all of the old nesting material, any dead birds or other junk.

Spring housekeeping.

Some of the boxes have been occupied over the winter and up to the present time by these guys.

The first sign that they might be living in your bird box is when your sniffer detects the strong smell of urine.

This is the most common mouse in Wisconsin and the most widespread rodent in North America.

Peromyscus maniculatus.

Since it's at the bottom of the food chain it is an important food source for owls, fox, hawks and coyotes.

They're not very aggressive and are easily handled. They’re actually sort of playful.

And they don’t bite.

The bad news is that they are a host for the very dangerous hantavirus - which can cause Hantaviral Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in humans.

You can be exposed to hantavirus by means of inhaling debris from a nest.

HPS starts out pretty much like the ordinary flu – fatigue, fever, chills, aches and nausea. Before too long it can lead to – shortness of breath, reduction of oxygen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) and a buildup of carbon dioxide (hypercarbia) and acid (acidemia) in your blood, respiratory insufficiency (shock) or failure, buildup of fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), arrhythmia and multiorgan failure.

Any signs like this and you should see your doctor.

When cleaning out a Deer Mouse nest from a nest box I guess I better do more than just hold my breath, eh? That little guy could kill you.

Blech.