Hantavirus and Leptospirosis is very DANGEROUS.
Hantavirus and Leptospirosis or better known as Weil's disease are both problems that be easily encountered when working in confined areas such as lofts where there has been rodent activity.
In this section it makes no difference if you are a DIYer or a professional trades person, the tips and advice on here need to be adhered to in order to be as safe as you can.
If you have had a rodent problem in the loft it is often better to sort that first, where possible. Occasionally it will be better to clear out the old smelly insulation and start with a clean slate. This is the line I shall take you with my tips and advice.
First you will require a lot of large refuse bags, not too large that they will not fit through the loft hatch, but as strong as you can get because they nearly always snag somewhere between the loft and a skip.
PPE (personal protection equipment) i.e. gloves, overalls and a mask, a torch, a vacuum (we used a henry type and we removed the bag and just emptied it when full), a hand brush and a dustpan., skip (even in a small property a large builders skip is useful as the bags will need to be trodden down to compact them from time to time. Obviously, you need to sheet the floor from loft entry point area to the door and you will need an access ladder to the loft.
Start from the loft entry point, rolling the insulation and bagging it as you go, thus you are not kneeling in old dirty insulation. Sweep up any rubbish as you go into the dustpan and bag it along with the insulation and when you have one filled hand it through the loft to any helpers you may have, if you are alone it will take what appears to be forever to clean a loft. Gradually and methodically carry out the procedure until you have cleared it all and swept what you can in the dustpan.
Once this part has bee finished use the vacuum from the far end of the loft and work you way back to the hatch, making sure that you have all rodent droppings from the loft.
On your way in and out of the loft, take note of any rodent runs or holes that need filling. Do this at the same time using a wire mesh into the holes and an expanding foam squirted into the wire, or just fix mesh over the hole to close off the hole and make secure.
Once you have cleaned the area, and proofed it leave it empty of any new insulation for a few weeks, that way any activity will easily be heard from the rooms below, and it will be possible to follow the sounds towards the entry point. If you look into the loft the next day there should be droppings to confirm your suspicions, I would lay traps for a while and catch any stragglers, or you may bait, however if the rodent dies in a cavity there will be a smell for a while.
You should be able to ascertain if the entry point is from a sewer or not, in which case you will need to sort out the breach, as per my rat and mouse page.
To refit the insulation may be free if the gas board are still carrying out such services still. But don’t let on that there was insulation up there in the first place as they may not offer the service.