Rodents 101: How to Identify and Control Rodents in Your Facility
In my experience, mice are curious creatures and will wander into traps, such as the typical multi-catch trap. Rats are much more cautious, and it will take more creativity on behalf of the pest control operator to catch them. Pre-baiting is essential, and getting a rat to become accustomed to feeding on bait from a trap will be necessary in getting a successful capture later. Choosing the proper rat trap is necessary as well, because if the trap is sprung and the rat is hurt but not killed, the rat will forever be hesitant to approach traps in the future. Rat traps differ in their ability to kill rats, and selecting a less-than-lethal rat trap will only make the rat population trap-shy. The following table outlines the need-to-know attributes and behaviors of common rodent pests, including rats, and how to control them in your facility. (Note: Please click on the table for the readable version)
Register to attend the pre-conference event sponsored by Bayer at the 2019 Food Safety Consortium, “Salmonella Detection & Control Sanitation Workshop”. The event takes place on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. View the agenda for more information.
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