Common Squirrel Diseases

Worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through handling of rodents, through contact with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly, through ticks, mites or fleas that have fed on an infected rodent.- Centers For Disease Control,  Atlanta, Georgia

The best way not to come in contact with rodent borne or squirrel diseases is to seal up your homes both inside and outside to prevent any entry or re-entry by squirrels, rats, mice or other small rodents. Begin trapping in and around the home and reduce the total population of rodents, squirrels, rats, mice. Finally clean up any and all food or nesting sources. Each and every one of our trained technicians can help you with this and get your home rodent free and free of any potential diseases from squirrels to your family.

Diseases Directly Transmitted By Rodents – Centers For Disease Control

Diseases Indirectly Transmitted By Rodents – Centers For Disease Control

Cleaning Up After A Squirrel Or Rodent Infestation

Wear rubber dish washing gloves or disposable  medical examination gloves. Take precautions before and during clean up of rodent-infested areas. Before cleaning, trap the rodents and seal up any entryways to ensure that no rodents can get in.

Squirrel Rabies

Like any and all mammals squirrels are susceptible to the rabies disease which causes the brain to become inflamed  and can lead to their death. Theoretically squirrels can pass rabies or hydrophobia to humans. Rabies is passed by saliva  and by squirrel bites and the best way not to contract rabies if handling any squirrel, any rodent , any mammal is always take precautions and wear disposable gloves.

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Do not handle or feed squirrels as they are wild animals and may bite.” -Los Angeles Animal Services

“Small rodents such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chipmunks, rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States. Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies. Small rodents may also carry other diseases such as: toxoplasmosis, sylvatic (bubonic) plague, western encephalitis, encephalomyocarditis, murine typhus, tularemia, endemic relapsing fever, and ringworm, all of which are still very rare.”

Rodent Plaque (Bubonic Fever)

From the CDC: “”Plague is a bacterial disease that can be transmitted to humans through flea bites. Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, chills and tender swollen lymph nodes.

It’s best that humans do not directly interact with squirrels.  We recommend enjoying squirrel watching from the distance. Here is a good reason why- read on Attack Squirrel of Orlando. How did this squirrel attack happen.

A wildlife expert postulates the squirrel became accustomed to being fed by humans.

Joe Perez of Orlando-based Advanced Wildlife Trappers speculated that the squirrel was accustomed to being fed by people and was looking for food, even if the victims had not been feeding it.  “They get very aggressive,” Perez said. “They will come after you for something to eat.”

Again, we recommend squirrel watching from a distance, but these people did nothing wrong.

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