First and foremost, prevent contact with rodents. Keep rodents out of your house, garage, toolshed ... anyplace you can. According to epidemiology statistics, the greatest risk of contracting HPS comes with having increased numbers of rodents in the household. In all likelihood, you will not be able to completely eliminate rodents from your residence; your goal will be to reduce the population as much as possible.

If you are trying to keep your peridomestic rodent population down, you must do two fundamental things: (1) Remove their food source, and (2) remove their shelter.

Here are some specific tips for making your residence an unattractive place for rodents:

• Keep your dwelling clean.
• Always store or dispose of your food, including uneaten pet food.
• Keep your garbage cans tighly sealed.
• Close all holes with wire screening, steel wool, or cement.
• Set spring-loaded rodent traps around your home, inside and outside.
• Clear the immediate area around your house foundations. Remove all grass, scrub, and garbage. If necessary, install a barrier or metal flashing (going at least six inches underground) for extra protection.
• Keep potential nesting sites (woodpiles, debris, etc.) at least 100 feet away from your house.
• My favorite: Encourage snakes (and other natural predators) to live nearby.

If you need to clean out a part of your residence -- such as your toolshed or your vacation home -- where there is a heavy rodent infestation and your risk factor is high, here are some safety precautions:

• If possible, open up all doors and windows in advance, to air it out.
• Wear latex or heavy rubber gloves. If possible, wear disposable coveralls, rubber boots, and safety goggles.
• If the hantavirus occurs naturally in your area, you should wear a respirator mask with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, and be trained on how to use it.
• Don't use a broom or vaccum cleaner to clean up dust and dirt. This will only stir up the infected particles.
• Wet down shelves, floors, and other potentially contaminated areas with a liquid disinfectant or a 10% bleach solution.
• Once wet, remove all waste material with a wet towel. Once finished, mop and sponge down the area again with disinfectant.
• If you find any dead rodents or rodent droppings, spray them liberally with disinfectant before removing them.
• Dispose of all cleaning materials in a double bag, and then burn or bury them. If neither of these methods are feasible, contact your state health department for direction.
• Hey, you're still wearing gloves, remember? Disinfect them before taking them off, and then wash your hands when finished. Dispose of the gloves, too.