Effective pest control alone reduces mouse allergens in low-income housing

Recent studies have suggested that the effectiveness of environmental intervention is crucial in reducing levels of the mouse allergen Mus musculus (Mus m 1) in inner-city homes. However, the impact of mouse control alone on mouse allergen reduction has not been studied.

Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 house mouse control programs on mouse allergen reduction.

A total of 18 buildings in 3 cities in New Jersey were randomly divided and assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (1) trapping and baiting (T&B); (2) trapping, baiting, and rodent exclusion (T&B+E); and (3) existing pest control service with no or limited use of bait or glue boards (control). Dust samples from kitchen floors, bedroom floors, and beds were collected and analyzed for Mus m 1 levels at baseline, at 6 months, and at 12 or 24 months after the intervention. The T&B and T&B+E groups were combined for Mus m 1 analyses because there were no differences in mouse infestation rates after intervention between these groups.

Compared with the control, T&B and T&B+E caused greater reduction in Mus m 1 allergen levels in the kitchens in all 3 cities (P < .05). After T&B and T&B+E, kitchen levels of Mus m 1 in New Brunswick, Trenton, and Paterson were reduced by 97.4%, 85.8%, and 34.9%, respectively. In contrast, the kitchen levels of Mus m 1 in the control were reduced by 61.4%, -671.4%, and -289.6%, respectively. However, no significant reduction was observed in the bedroom in the intervention group versus in the control group in any of the 3 cities at the end of the study period.

Effective mouse control alone greatly reduced mouse allergen levels compared with conventional pest control.