Rodent Control

RODENT CONTROL

RODENT PEST CONTROL
The black rat (Rattus rattus), the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus and Mus musculus), otherwise referred to as commensal rodents, are essentially rodents that are usually found associated with people, and are what our rodent pest control service helps to treat. However, it is important to keep in mind that the black rat species is not currently a significant pest here in the UK. At the moment, these rats are mostly confined in a few dockside areas only.

These rodents have been a nuisance for a very long time and have persistently resisted any attempt to control them over the years. However, this isn't one bit surprising because these small, omnivorous creatures are highly adaptable with incredible reproductive potential. Furthermore, they are highly athletic and come with acute senses. According to a recent study by the National Rodent Survey in the UK, commensal rodents are not declining.

You will easily find mice and rats where there is shelter and plenty of waste food. Therefore, the more these resources are available, the denser the population of these rodents. For instance, under the right conditions, a pair of mice can give rise to about 2000 offspring annually and about 200 annually for a pair of rats. Since the gestation period for these rodents is about 21 days, the likelihood of a population explosion occurring is quite high if nothing is done to mitigate them.

INTEGRATED RODENT CONTROL


To ensure that you effectively achieve rodent pest control, you will need a combination of critical strategies, including proofing, surveys, sanitation, habitat manipulation and rodent control techniques. However, always ensure that you perform habitat manipulation, sanitation and proofing after carrying out control techniques. This significantly helps in avoiding the creation of neophobic conditions (a fear of anything new in their environment), which can delay bait takes.


SURVEY


In order to identify the specific type of rodent and the magnitude of infestation, we need to carry out a survey, which will help us make informed decisions. This is in regard to the hygiene and proofing measures that you will need, including the rodent control techniques required. Some of the visible signs to look out for are smear marks and droppings.

PROOFING


If you only concentrate on eradicating pests inside the building while others outside can get in, it will only serve as a short-term solution. For instance, brown and black rats can easily find their way into your house by climbing trees or drain pipes and gain access through high up openings. Also, brown rats burrow in or find their way in through sewers and drains, while a young mouse can easily enter via any hole with a minimum diameter of just 6mm. Therefore, you should ensure that you use rodent-resistant filling materials to block out as many of these potential entry points as possible.


HABITAT MANIPULATION


You can also reduce rodent populations by getting rid of rodent harbourages. These creatures require somewhere they can hide for them to breed. Therefore, you should keep an eye out for such areas and either make them inaccessible or eliminate them. Please take advantage of our rodent control services to help you identify such areas, they could easily be that overgrown area in your garden that requires special attention. Such overgrown areas include bushes that you need to cut back, hedges, rubbish removal and unkempt grass. If this is the case, get in touch with us to discuss when to inspect your property and give you a quotation for the service. 


Keeping the area around your property well-kept and tidy is a critical part of rodent control


SANITATION


It is vital to ensure proper sanitation inside and outside your property.Cleaning up any food spillage or rubbish immediately, including any tyres or old tins that can easily collect rainwater. Moreover, it would help if you kept any skips or refuse bins covered while ensuring any water leaks are repaired. Other aspects of sanitation like disinfection are equally important. It helps in protecting human health via the control of rodent-borne diseases.



After treatment completion and complete eradication of your problem, we can offer our additional service that entails powerful carpet cleaning using a carpet cleaner.



PHYSICAL ABILITIES AND SENSES OF RODENTS


You need to have a deeper understanding of rodents to enable you to plan a proper treatment regime. For example, rats are fantastic swimmers and they can easily swim up to 0.5 miles in any open water. Also, they can tread water for as long as three days or travel via sewer lines against currents.


Rodents don't have any trouble climbing. Good examples are house mice and roof rats. However, there are less agile ones like the Norway rat. Rats can also jump vertically upwards of 3 feet from a standing position. Getting down is pretty simple for them.


In the time of need, they can drop from 50 feet high without any sign of injury. Furthermore, they'll go through an object if they find it challenging going around it. At the same time, they will gnaw via different materials, including aluminium siding, improperly cured concrete, cinderblock, glass and lead sheathing. They can even squeeze themselves through tiny openings of about 6mm for mice and 15mm for rats. These are some of the traits that have enabled these creatures to live for this long.


Below are other sensory abilities that make these creatures highly adaptable.

HEARING


These tiny creatures make high-frequency noises in different circumstances, including mating. Nobody has since understood why they make these sounds.


VISION


Mice and rats have poor vision. Nevertheless, they are incredibly sensitive to motion. However, reflective or light-coloured objects will stand out.

TASTE


These creatures have a developed palate. This means that they can easily detect the presence of some chemicals at parts-per-million concentrations. That is why they can reject baits if the baits are contaminated with alternative chemicals or pesticide odours. Therefore, it is advisable to use recent food-quality grain ingredients to ensure acceptance and bait attract ability.


SMELL


Rodents rely mostly on smell because this is how they mark pathways and rodents of the opposite sex. Also, it helps them distinguish between strangers and members of their colonies.


If you have any concerns about a possible rodent problem in your property, please contact The Pest Master to discuss our rodent pest control servers. We are here to help you and will always provide the best advice to help deal with your rodent control requirements.

Inspect

We carry out full inspections of your home or business to establish your pest control needs.. 

Protect

Let us assess your pest proofing needs to prevent the reemergence of pests in the future.

Treat

We always comply with the law, employing the safest and most humane methods possible.

Maintain

Protecting your business or your home with our integrated pest management services.

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