Fact sheets and brochures
Downloadable brochures (PDF)
- Facts about rats and mice
Rats and mice are common in King County. People can get sick from handling rats/mice, contact with their feces, urine, or saliva, or from bites. Diseases spread by rats and mice include leptospirosis, rat bite fever, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and hantavirus (spread only by deer mice in western Washington).
- Rats and Mice: Guidance for people living outdoors or homeless
Rats and mice can spread diseases such as rat bite fever and hantavirus. People can get sick from handling rats/mice, contact with their feces, urine or saliva, or from bites. You are more likely to come into contact with them when living in cars, RVs and outdoors. These important tips will help you stay safe and healthy.
- Rats Unwanted: Four Steps to Prevent and Control Rodent Infestations
You can help prevent rodent problems in your neighborhood. In King County, it is the responsibility of property owners to prevent conditions on their property that provide a home or food source for rats.
- How to use rodent traps and bait stations
Learn how to effectively use rat traps and bait stations as well as tips for choosing a pest control operator and how to safely dispose of dead rats. - How to Keep Rats Away From Your Home
Poster of an illustrated neighborhood showing how to keep rats away from homes.
. - Bird Feeders and Rats: What You Need to Know
Bird feeders are very popular in King County and provide many hours of enjoyment for people who love to watch birds. However, if you feed birds expect to see increased rat numbers around your home.
Related sites
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): Facts, brochure and surveillance in King County
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) was first reported in the United States in the Southwest in 1993. The Sin Nombre virus is the main cause of HPS reported in the U.S., but other hantaviruses cause similar illnesses in other countries. In the U.S., the deer mouse is the main reservoir of the virus. Other wild rodents can also be carriers. Infected rodents shed the virus in their urine, saliva, and droppings, but do not show any signs of illness. Illness in humans results from inhalation of aerosolized virus-containing rodent excreta. The disease is not spread person-to-person.
- Rodent control after a disaster, CDC
Surviving rodents after a disaster often relocate to new areas in search of food, water, and shelter. Learn tips on how to remove food sources, water, and items that provide shelter for rodents.