Protecting a business from rat intrusion can be a challenge. Pest rats–the most common being the roof rat and the Norway rat–are able to squeeze or chew their way through small gaps, walk across electric and telephone wires, fall from a height of 50 feet without being hurt, and leap up to four feet horizontally. But your pest experts at Copesan have some tips that can help.
Control The Food
Whether you have a solitary store or your store is part of a larger building, you can deter rats with proper sanitary practices and by protecting all food sources. Rats enter human structures in search of food. If they don’t find what they are looking for, they may move on. Clean counters, floors and rugs daily. Keep all trash in clean sealed cans, and don’t let it build up. The less trash odor you have, the less interesting your business will be to rats.
If you store food, make sure it is not kept in cardboard or paper containers. Rats can easily chew into these and gain access to the food. Use hard plastic containers to keep smells in and rats out.
Train Employees
Make sure your staff knows the signs to look for.
- Small pill like droppings in the back of drawers and cabinets.
- Holes in food packaging.
- Urine stains on shelves and in the backs of drawers.
- Footprints in dust or other fine power.
- Scratching or thumping in walls.
- Rats walking along the wall (obviously).
Seal Walls
Rats can chew through wood quickly. Do regular inspections to make sure you have no new entry points.
- Check walls for chewed holes.
- Check around windows.
- Inspect all screens for holes.
- Fill in gaps around pipes, air conditioning units, outlets, and other objects that pass through your exterior walls.
- Keep delivery doors closed and make sure weather stripping and door sweeps are in good working condition.
If rats continue to infest, contact Copesan, or have your property owner get in touch with Copesan. Protection from rats benefits your entire building. No business should be without a pest management plan.