Mouse droppings

[Nadja86]

Hi all,

We are moving house and I was cleaning up our pantry when I discovered some mouse droppings and a half-chewed almond. We had a mouse this summer but killed it and hadn't seen any signs since. I am kind of doubting that this is leftover from this summer, as I feel like I would have noticed...

Anyway, I promptly dropped everything in my hands into the sink and washed my hands a couple of times. I am going to try not to worry about any potential contact.

I guess my concern is... Should I be worried about any contamination of the food items on that shelf? It is mostly spices, and my husband is currently cleaning up and says he sees no evidence of a mouse chewing into any of the packages. We have a really nice spice collection and I'd hate to throw it all away. Do you think I need to be that paranoid about contamination?

 

[Nadja86]

Update: I got DH to clean up and sanitize everything and we decided to throw out everything in the pantry that wasn't in a sealed container, since we're moving anyway. It's kind of creepy to think of how long they were there, I hadn't noticed them before, but I'm hoping I didn't get infected with anything... If I did I guess there's nothing I can do about it now

 

[lilmisscaviar]

As long as you washed your hands after touching everything, which you said you did, then you will be fine. I would have done the same, thrown out everything that wasn't in a sealed container and had DH sanitize the containers containing everything else. You did all you could do. I wouldn't worry about it now.

 

[Nadja86]

As long as you washed your hands after touching everything, which you said you did, then you will be fine. I would have done the same, thrown out everything that wasn't in a sealed container and had DH sanitize the containers containing everything else. You did all you could do. I wouldn't worry about it now.

Yes I think I did the best I could! I'm trying not to go overboard with thinking that everything is contaminated, there's only so much I can do. I guess it's a good thing we're getting out of here, now let's just hope we don't get any mice in our new place!

 

[Nadja86]

While I tried to stay calm and collected, I didn't have much success. I made the mistake of Googling and read about this horrendous yet rare virus called LCMV that can be spread by mice and cause birth defects. I have no idea how long the dropping were there and I'm worried I came into contact with some gems from the same cabinet earlier in the week without knowing it. Anyone able to offer any reassurance? It seems like there have only been 55 documented cases of congenital LCMV since the 60s, so obviously super rare, but I can't help but worry