For Durango Pest and Rodent Control owner Jered Whatcott, being an exterminator is a lot like being a detective – and when mice who may be carrying hantavirus are involved, cracking each home’s case becomes especially important.
“It’s almost like checking on a crime scene, you know?” Whatcott said. “Just, where did you get in? What little things have you done? … I really like the detective work, and like that rush of … finally, after 40 minutes of poking around everywhere, finally finding the little footprints hidden in some random corner.”
Whatcott, who has over a decade of experience in the pest control field, also helps rid homes of other unwanted visitors like wasps, hornets and bats; but with hantavirus receiving renewed national attention in recent months after an outbreak occurred in May on a cruise ship headed to the Canary Islands, mice are especially prominent in the minds of Whatcott and some of his clients.
The strain that caused the outbreak on the cruise ship, called the Andes strain, is the only known hantavirus strain capable of spreading person-to-person, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That strain differs from the Sin Nombre strain found in Southwest Colorado, formerly called the Four Corners virus, which is not spread via human contact.
The Sin Nombre strain has resulted in the deaths of several Four Corners residents over the years, including a 38-year-old Durango woman in 1998 and a 36-year-old Hesperus man in 2015.
Despite some deaths having occurred from the virus, La Plata County Public Health Director Theresa Anselmo told The Durango Herald in May that the risk to La Plata County residents remains extremely low.
Deer mice are the most common carriers of the strain endemic to the Southwest, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment – but other rodents native to the area can also carry the virus.
“La Plata County – really the whole Four Corners region – it’s like the hot spot in the country for hantavirus,” Whatcott said. “ … We’re in the highest risk region, and then doing the highest risk activity.”
That “high risk activity,” Whatcott said, is employing a good old fashioned Southwest Do-It-Yourself cleaning and exterminating attitude in response to rodent activity or droppings on one’s property without using proper personal protective equipment, like a KN95 mask.
“The problem really is … when you’re coming into contact with the droppings, or you’re vacuuming or sweeping the droppings,” he said. “Anything that can put that dust up into the air from them is what starts to put you at risk.”
La Plata County Public Health specialist Audrey Gallegos wrote in a recent Durango Herald op-ed that the best approach to cleaning safely is to “wet clean” by spraying droppings and nearby areas with disinfectant or bleach solutions. Gallegos also highlighted the importance of wearing a KN95 mask and other protective gear, like gloves, when cleaning areas with mouse activity.
The spring and summer months have seen the highest rates of hantavirus historically across the state, according to CDPHE data, with infection rates at their highest in July, followed closely by May and June.
Whatcott respects the “I can handle it” attitude some Four Corners residents employ when it comes to dealing with rodent and other pest activity – but some cases are better treated by a professional, he said.
“If you’re going into a crawl space with infestation, I would just call somebody, because if you’re crawling around in there and you’re putting (droppings or dust) on your elbows or your knees, then you brush your pants off when you get up … then you end up picking up a sandwich and eating it … that’s kind of how (infection) could happen,” he said.
Whatcott wears protective gear and employs a sealing strategy intended to keep pests like rodents out permanently when working with a client, he said. His rates generally lie in the $600 to $800 range.
As any good honorary detective would, he uses flashlights, black lights, retractable mirrors and endoscope cameras to seek out droppings, urine, footprints and other signs of rodent activity, and seals any entrance points with pest-blocker spray foam, silicone or copper mesh wool.
Depending on a client’s preference, Whatcott might set traps for any lingering pests, or place a one-way “rodent door” that allows rodents to go out, but not back in, as a humane, no-kill option.
Some preventive measures can keep mice from finding their way into homes to begin with, Whatcott said, like ensuring there are no small holes or openings left by things like water damage, poor construction or decay that can let mice or other pests into houses, sheds or crawl spaces.
Mice can enter a space through holes as small as a ¼ inch, he said.
Whatcott said residents should be aware of the risks of hantavirus, and be educated on how to keep themselves safe – but no one needs to panic.
“I wouldn’t be scared,” he said. “It’s just good to be aware because of where we live. … There’s no big emergency going on in your house just because you have some mice … but it’s to be taken seriously.”
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