Rodents
The presence of rats and mice in buildings is usually regarded as undesirable
from the viewpoint of food spoilage and contamination, physical damage,
and the transmission of diseases to humans. Rats and mice are responsible
for enormous losses of food in store, either by directly eating the
foods or by rendering them inedible through contamination. As the rodents
move in and around stored foods, they contaminate the food with droppings
(of which often more than 50 per day are produced) urine (which tends
to be sprinkled on surfaces over which they travel) and hairs. Rats
and mice may transmit disease to humans by a variety of means.
Contamination of food or utensils with rodent urine or faeces.
Examples: Salmonella food poisoning (bacteria carried by rats
and mice), choriomeningitis, mild meningitis (virus carried by
mice),
Weil’s
disease, infectious jaundice (bacteria), tapeworm.
Contamination by direct contact with urine or faeces, where bacteria
see to enter the skin through small scratches
Example: Weil’s disease.
Indirect contamination via blood-sucking insects ie. Ectopatasites
such as fleas
Example: Bubonic plague (Black Death bacteria, via fleas),
murine typhus fever.
Indirect contamination via pets to humans
Example: Favas, skin disease (fungus from mice to pets to
humans)
Contamination by directly biting humans
Example: Rat-bite fever, relapsing fever (bacteria)
Indirect contamination by an intermediate carrier
Example: Trichinosis (worm infested rodent eaten by pig,
worm infested pig eaten by human
Rats and mice in buildings pose a serious threat to human
health. The disease threat alone is justifiable cause
for concern and
for the implementation
of sound control procedures.
Our Technician will survey the premises and determine
if the building is at high risk of rodent infestation.
We will survey the perimeter of the building to
assess how many lockable bait stations will be
required
in accordance
to the
recommended HCCAP guidelines
to provide maximum protection.
All bait stations will be affixed permanently
by way of chains and/or clips.
At each pest management visit, each station
will be emptied into a bucket, dusted with
a clean
cloth, checked to ensure
the station
is still secure
and re-baited if necessary.
Our technician will determine if lockable
bait stations will be beneficial inside
the premises,
and how many
will be required.