Chew Over These Questions with Your Pest Management Provider

Rodents don’t waste any time when it comes to making your business their home. So, you shouldn’t waste any time when it comes to helping stop them. The best approach is a proactive one, and your pest management provider can help you create a plan that is customized to your business and property. (Think rodents aren’t a big deal? Our free rodent report will make you think again.)

When defending against rats and mice, it’s important to go beyond the mouse traps and develop a strategy that focuses on exclusion, maintenance, sanitation and monitoring. To make sure your plan is up to speed, ask your provider these questions:

1. What are the signs of a rodent infestation?You and your staff won’t be much help if you can’t spot the rodent red flags. Ask your pest management provider to host a staff training so that everyone knows what to look for – and what to do – if they see a rodent or signs of rodent activity, which include droppings, nests, burrows and gnaw marks.

2. What “hot spots” are most attractive to mice and rats?At the end of the day, rodents are looking for food, water and shelter. Your business provides all three, so it’s important to know which areas mice and rats might scurry to first. Stock rooms, floor, wall and ceiling voids, cluttered areas, cafeterias and custodial closets are common danger zones. The more you know, the easier it is to develop a plan customized to your business’s weak points.

3. How can employees help prevent rodent activity?Pest management is a team effort and requires coordination between you, your pest management provider and your employees. There are some simple tasks that can be incorporated into your employees’ regular routines to help deter rodent activity while keeping your property in tip-top shape!

4. How can you tell if your rodent control plan is working?Your pest management provider should help you establish an effective monitoring and documentation process. Through close monitoring and detailed documentation, you will be able to identify changes in rodent activity and ultimately determine if your Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan is effective. This not only helps reduce rodent populations at your business, but also comes in handy during annual audits.

By asking these questions, you and your pest management provider can get on the same page to stop rodents from gnawing on your bottom line. To learn more about how rodents can impact your business, download our free report, RATS! Your Guide to Avoiding Rodents Like the Plague.