What could this be?

ddxbe

My family just moved into a rental in the country. The house is raised and there is no basement or attic. All of the flooring, walls and ceiling are wood planks. In my daughters room I was putting something up on a shelf above the closet rod and something fell off so I looked up there and there are tons of little black things. A large number of them are dead bugs, but the others look like mouse droppings. The thing is that other than a couple of other similar things I've found on the floor there are no signs of mice. This shelf is basically free standing about 6 feet off the ground. There is nothing other than bare walls on any side of it. There is no smell or sign of urine on the shelf and my husband said he couldn't see any signs of scratching or chewing or anything else. Just these black things all over that shelf.

I've heard that mice can get just about anywhere, but could they get up that high when all surfaces getting to it are 6 foot vertical walls and there is no other sign of mice? I don't have a picture right now, but I can try to get my husband to take one today to post.

If it IS mouse droppings, is it okay for my daughter to be sleeping in there? It's a very small room and when I looked up mouse droppings I saw all of these articles about Hantavirus, etc. What is the safest way to clean this up and make it okay for her to be in there and use the room?

CopperClad

Without seeing a photo it would be hard to say. Do you like cats? Someone needs to take a visit in the attic. Welcome to DIY and we look forward to your pics, good luck ! Sorry, I reread your post and noticed you stated you didn't have an attic? So it's a flat/shed roof?

Wiscbldr

Some pics would help determine what youre talking about.

You can also get some cheap snap traps and bait them with peanut butter. Spead them out around your house (away from where kids or pets would get to them), and then check them periodically to see if you get any action. That will tell you in a hurry. You can also spread some floor around the areas you suspect pests to see if something leaves tracks.

But pics would be helpful...

DangerMouse

Peanut butter in snap traps will tell you quickly if they are still around.

DM

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wkearney99

Mice run around crapping at will, no surprise to see droppings without other signs. Get a shop-vac, clean it up and set some traps. If you're squeamish then call an exterminator.