Sadly, one of the most important and time-consuming jobs to complete when you have had a wild animal invasion in your home is to clean up the animal waste. This will mean getting rid of poop and pee, as well as nesting material, decomposing matter, old food reserves, and maybe more. It might seem like an easy enough task but with certain wild animals, this simple job can get more than a little dangerous, and if you’re thinking of doing this task yourself, there are more than a few things you should be aware of.

Wild animal waste will include things like:

- Removing old pheromones and scents to prevent attracting further creatures. 

- Cleaning up urine and poop in the insulation, as well as surrounding areas. In fact, any area the wild animal had access to. 

- Getting rid of dead bodies trapped in the crevices of your walls.

- Eliminating bad odours caused by the animals. 

- Getting rid of other pathogens, bacteria, and pests as a result of the animal invasion. 

As you are probably aware now, this is going to be quite the troublesome task. 

You’re going to need quite a lot of equipment if you want this job done properly. You’ll need protective clothing, and in the case of bats, breathing apparatus too. The droppings that bats can leave behind can transmit a nasty lung and respiratory infection-based disease called histoplasmosis, and when left to its own devices, particularly in children and those with a weakened immune system, can even prove to be fatal. 

On top of this, you’ll also need a filter vacuum. Without this, you have practically no chance of getting rid of all waste matter and again, in the cases of bats and other small critters, the faeces can be very small and hard to spot or pick up with gloved hands. A filter vacuum will make light work of the job. 

In the worst case scenarios, the entire insulation of your attic will need to be ripped off, destroyed or disposed off appropriately, and replaced, with you being unable to separate the waste products from your wild animal friends from the stuff that’s meant to be keeping the heat in your home. Some animals may even have flattened or shredded the insulation, using it for nesting material or bedding of their own, and once again, this will be a relatively expensive job getting it all replaced again. Luckily, a wild animal removal specialist will be able to tell you your options (cheapest and most effective), so you can make sure you’re not replacing whole sections unnecessarily. 

If you haven’t had bats or small creatures but instead are having to remove large droppings from your attic, left by opossums and raccoons, you’re going to need some seriously heavy-duty, thick gloves, as well as a full biohazard suit, the correct HEPA breathing apparatus for your face, and appropriate bagging and disposal methods to ensure you’re not spreading any disease. The faeces left behind by these wild animals can contain pathogens which will make you and your family rather sick if you don’t get rid of it all in the right manner. Bat droppings alone (guano) can spread a disease called histoplasmosis which, as we’ve discussed, is a rather nasty side effect of your animal invasion. 

As well as making sure you remove all droppings and waste products, you’ll need to remove any bedding or nesting material, and this will often mean removing actual parts of your home such as insulation. If you don’t remove everything, you could leave parasites in your home which will go on to cause an infestation if left untreated, and your family pets will be put at risk. 

The final step in your quest to clean wild animal waste from your attic will be to ‘fog’ it out, to ensure that your hard work will not have been in vain, and all traces of those wild animals are completely eliminated. These will include particles left by the animal’s fur or feathers such as oil and grease, plus any urine, fleas, ticks, and more. It’ll also help to get rid of any mould that may appear as a result of your little visitors. 

You can’t just buy a can of something here, and leave it to work its magic in your attic. Things work a little differently to that - you’ll need a special machine that is designed to work with a special biohazard cleaner that has enzyme-based properties to really get to the root of the grime and waste. Not just getting rid of the bad particles, bugs, and pathogens left behind, the fogging act will also help to get rid of any leftover smell, so it won’t encourage newbies to come back days, weeks, or months down the line, smelling their old friends and thinking they still live there!