Is there a commercial product out there that kills raccoon roundworm?

Other than napalm, no.

Sterno or Diesel,,,when lit......***NOTE*** precaution should be used when performing this method in attics or crawlspace.........

good info http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/

Ok so what do you guys do when you have an attic cleanup with raccoon latrines in it? I have a potential customer who is very worried about this and wants to be sure that all diseases are gone!

Danger Will Robinson...Danger.

Since the raccoon roundworm seems to only be dangerous when ingested, I try not to eat any.

Right....but what do you do with that type of customer?

I find it hard to believe that none of you guys deal with this. I would think it is a major concern seeing as it is so dangerous. As far as getting it by ingesting it,I dont think that is the only way to get it(I may be wrong)

Steve,

I know this topic was thrown around a bit some time ago, so probably a longer thread in the archives with some of what I'm about to say.

When it comes to wildlife disease of any kind, parasites, virus, bacteria, etc.... We can talk limiting risk with most things, but it is extremely hard, or even worse can cause liability when we claim completely risk free, or that we can absolutely reduce or destroy an organism to the point where a homeowner or client doesn't still have some remaining.

Exceptions are things that require the animal to be there to still exist (rabies is a good example). Without the warm blooded host rabies dies very quickly outside the organism especially in most ambient conditions (moist, cool environment will last longer).

So how I would look at someone asking me about how I will eliminate the possibility of raccoon roundworm would be focused on the methods you use to remove insulation, droppings and other materials from the attic space without contaminating the living quarters or air within the home or structure.

Now we all know some folks right now are pulling insulation out with raccoon droppings without a mask, tyvek, no barrier or air flow considerations and dragging broken bags right through their house and into the yard to the truck.

None of us want to be those folks, be they homeowner or poor service contractors.

So what can we do to ease the clients mind and minimize risk and liability through our claims? We follow solid procedures to protect ourselves, our crew and the homeowner through use of proper PPE (gloves, respirator, tyvek). Utilize air flow and drop cloth (clean room) equipment to establish areas where dirty and clean do not cross contaminate and utilize at a minimum HEPA vac technology to assure the smallest particles possible are being captured within the equipment used to remove after bulky insulation is out.

Flames, chemical mixes, steam, etc... are all ways folks discuss for killing it, but my analogy would be that if you remove say bat guano from an attic, can someone go in after you and find maybe a piece or two in some little nook or cranny? If so, think about the raccoon roundworm and whether you can ever say you removed it all or eliminated it all. I don't believe you can make this statement and not put yourself in a situation where you are being untruthful (in an attic anyway).

So why not discuss roundworm factually, the risks and the prevention, CDC and other docs including this one I attached are good resources. After insulation is removed and new is placed are the folks planning to be in the attic using it for storage? If not the risk goes down for future possibilities, are they going to use it for storage or renovate into a usable work space or spare bedroom, maybe the risk goes up, but they could employ their own ppe and should just to be around insulation without biohazard.

Some of this may hit for some folks and some may not, but my final thought would be since no one has created the full ability to kill and show 100% kill of raccoon roundworm in an attic, I would hesitate to be the guy/gal selling this type of service.

I would instead sell good disease risk management that is sound and proven and can do best by the clients or customers.

Hope that helps, here is a link from Ohio State, solid and good info.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/w-fact/pdf/0020.pdf

Justin

The reason ingestion is one of the most pronounced ways discussed or offered up is because little kids and sandboxes and little kids and putting things in their mouths. I would focus more openly on your airway and that includes your mouth and your nose of course and not limit the discussion to just ingestion as it isn't as you correctly state, the only way to pick this up.

Attics where droppings are dry and can be broken up and things go airborne would always be a risk factor, though if someone isn't wearing a mask you could still call it ingestion I suppose if they suck particles into their mouth and swallow.

Great post justin thank you. I just spoke with the customer and told him pretty much everything along the lines of what you said and I will be going over there today to go over his options with him He is satisfied with my research and answers so I will seehow it goes....Thanks again

Glad to hear it Steve! Good luck with it, I think the more folks think through as your doing, the more education we all get from feedback you receive from customers and how you feel the job or project came off in the end.

Best,

Justin

Good job!

What about soaking down areas where dry fecies are present with a bleach spray before removal like is done with mouse droppings when cleaning up to prevent contamination by hanta virus.

You would have to ask yourself if a bleach solution kills roundworm eggs. Virus...eggs...bacteria...fungus...are all different animals.

I dont know about the eggs,thats why I asked, but bleach solution is effective on the other 3 you mentioned.At the very least it would prevent the eggs becoming airborne.

Boco, It is a good question, with either of these issues saying you completely kill it when doing what you do to clean or mitigate a site can be a falsehood as you won't be doing any post cleaning swabbing, or sampling that might detect remaining particles.

With hantavirus of course you are talking about something you are simply trying to avoid the airborne risk or contact with. Roundworm is similar in the airborne risk, but when talking about large chunks of raccoon droppings, putting down enough water may lead to wet drywall, 2x4's and other issues that could cause you to come out of pocket through your insurance.

Hanta is different in its biology as an organism it is a virus, the roundworm issue is a parasitic one and it is the egg cases themselves that are tough as nails.

When folks mention blow torches and high temp steam devices we are in another category from what we tell folks here in NM as well for cleaning the cabin in early summer and avoiding hantavirus.

The main thing is to "stay in your lane" when it comes to these issues. To make sure your statements reflect those of CDC or leading expert research versus putting you or your company and clients out on a limb in backing up what you did.

I would always prefer to protect myself and my client by using the best current info if possible, though I admit not all things are as thoroughly researched as we'd all like and benefit from.

Justin

Thanks for your info HD.I was thinking more along the lines of minimizing exposure while cleaning up an area ,not to claim complete decontamination after the fact.

No problem, it is a good point for just minimizing risk!